Module 02
4 lessons · ~55 minTraps & Pitfalls
Common errors in reasoning
Learn to spot the logical fallacies and mental shortcuts that quietly derail clear thinking, in other people's arguments and your own.
Overview
What this module covers
Traps and Pitfalls covers the two families of reasoning failure: logical fallacies, which are defects in arguments as stated, and cognitive biases, which are systematic tendencies in how minds process information. It treats formal, relevance, presumption, and causal fallacies alongside decision, social, and memory biases.
Most bad reasoning is random only rarely. It falls into a small set of patterns that show up again and again. This module hands you a field guide to those patterns so you can name them in someone's argument, and catch them in your own.
Two lessons cover logical fallacies (broken argument shapes and irrelevant appeals, then hidden assumptions and slippery words), and two cover cognitive biases (the shortcuts that skew decisions, memory, and self-judgment). For each one you learn not just its name but why it fools people, which is what lets you spot the subtle versions.
Fair warning: this module is a little uncomfortable, because it means admitting your own thinking isn't as clean as it feels. Pair it with the Identifying Fallacies and Common Cognitive Biases exercises to turn recognition into a reflex.
Outcomes
Learning objectives
- Name the fallacies and biases that show up most in real arguments
- See why each one is persuasive even though it's flawed
- Use structural fixes, not just willpower, to catch them in your own thinking
Contents
Lessons
4 lessons · about 55 minutes