Customer Reviews

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

I bought this book in the hope of learning some helpful critical thinking skills. With all the 5 star reviews I was sure it would be a worthwhile investment. Instead what I got was 150 pages of vague, unexplained, simplified, repetitive, and irrelevant advice. A book of this type should educate and give new insights including detailed examples and exercises. But unfortunately it teaches nothing new.

The author chooses not to elaborate on much of his advice - it's like a self help book that just says "be more confident". Some of the recommendations are laughable, for example in 'how to investigate', he dedicates a full chapter to recommending research, using a library, internet, etc. And in purchasing a car one should compare price, affordability, reliability, value for money. The advice is unnecessary as it is already PAINFULLY OBVIOUS! This is a common annoyance with this book. I yawned and frowned my way through to the end. It's such an amateur effort, with half the space taken up by needless cartoons, and so many spelling and grammar mistakes that it was thoroughly laughable. I could understand how a child aged 10 might get some use out of it, but for intelligent adults out there do not buy this book!

This book is a guide to decision making for solving business and personal problems. Basically, it is what you always knew but were to lazy to implement.

One of the best parts is the numerous quotes sprinkled throughout the chapters. One that caught my attention was by Lou Holtz, "When all is said and done, more is said than done!" Pretty good coming from a football coach.

Usually this type of book is based solely on analytical thought. It was a nice touch for the author to go for a holistic approach - both right and left brains functions. It allows for intuition and subconscious involvement, so you are not denying yourself full power in the process.

I have read several of Mr. Clayton's books, and I think this is the best. This book is an introductory book to critical thinking and can be read by just about any age group. It can be used to introduce someone to the practices of critical thinking, or, as for myself, a wonderful refresher course that could be read over a weekend. Mr. Clayton has also provided an excellent summary and worksheets in the appendix that make the book an easy reference when I want to apply critical thinking to a new idea. I also signed up on his website to get regular updates through a newsletter. I believe after reading this book, people should look into DeBono's 6 hats thinking methods and collective intelligence methods as a comparison to group think. Overall, a very good book and great resrouce.

Thomas Edison once noted that "Many of life's failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." Charles Clayton gives his readers a robust tool for the road to success in his book, "The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking." As I near the end of my current career and look forward to my next one, I have found a very valuable tool in Clayton's book. His writings recall to mind many of the concepts I learned in my early years, reinforcing their validity. And he provides new thoughts as well. This is the book I wish I had read decades ago; and yes, this is the book I wish I had written. A job well done, Mr. Clayton!

Have you witnessed the "dumbing down" of America? Have you seen cashiers unable to count change? Have you seen people blindly make poor choices when better ones are seemingly obvious? Jay Leno's "Jaywalking" segment on television, while entertaining, is symptomatic of a deeper problem. As evidenced by the show, we don't learn and we don't know. If you have witnessed these things don't despair - there is hope.

The root-cause of this problem may be poor decision making or in the author's words poor "critical thinking." The good news is the author takes the reader through many examples of how to make good decisions by thinking through them in a step-by-step manner. Many simple and practical examples are provided to explain these decision-making concepts clearly. These skills, once obtained, can serve as a foundation for higher level thinking later. This book is timely and is needed.

If you ever read the paper or watch the news and ask yourself, "What the heck is wrong with our Federal Government?"...Read this book! The information contained in this entertaining easy to read book has the answers you have been seeking. Chuck Clayton explains some of the things we are doing right so we can repeat the process...and...he points out the missing pieces of the puzzle that lead us to stupid decisions and disasterous policies. This is must reading for anyone that has to make decisions....not just life or death issues....basic day to day things are no longer a hassle....I wish I had read this book when I started dating....or thought about marriage.....or bought that ugly Yugo....lots of common sense was missing in all these blunders! Even though it is too late for those msitakes....Thanks Mr. Clayton!

I am a friend of Jan Dynes the author of the novel Refraction, she recommended that I get this book for my daughter who was floundering about, aimless and uninspired her Senior year of high school. Something in this book triggered her to engage in her studies and bring a D average up to a B plus in 6 weeks. Next thing I knew she was writing colleges for applications and then got accepted at Cal Tech. Before this book I would have bet on her being a drop-out. I highly suggest all high school and college students read this book! It works miracles.

Jan Dynes author of Refraction recommended this book to me, for my son and I bought it at the L.A. Book Festival with the workbook. My somewhat directionless son actually enjoyed the way the material was presented and read each page and did each step and he is a changed kid. A big thank you to Chuck Clayton and books that mold and make a difference!

Clayton's book comes at the right time in American society where whim has replaced thought in most decision-making. Bone-headed decisions in business, education and government seem to dominate the culture, often producing disastrous results. While written for the general audience, younger readers will benefit the most from it because the author has systematized routine, but important, decisions everyone makes with the aid of easy-to-follow step-by-step problem solving methods and simple spreadsheets. Personalized with anecdotes, Clayton makes the point that this is not some detached methodology for others to follow; he uses it himself in everyday life.

A remarkably easy read clearly illustrated, practical guide on the challenging subject of decision-making and problem-solving. Chuck Clayton has an obvious gift for conveying a systemized common sense approach for making wise decisions taking the guess work out of making purchases, where to vacation and everything in between. A handy everyday reference for anyone at home, work or school, the book itself stands as an example of a common sense approach to teaching these skills.