Principles of Critical Thinking

Principle #4 - Replicability

A study's findings can be duplicated consistently.

Principle #5 - Ruling out Rival Hypotheses

We should ask ourselves whether we've excluded other plausible explanations for it.

Principle #6 - Correlation isn't Causation

error of assuming that because one thing is associated with another, it must cause the other.

Principle #2 - Falsifiability

for a claim to be meaningful it must be capable of being disapproved.

Principle #3 - Occam's Razor

if two explanations account equally well for a phenomenon, we should generally select the more parsimonious one.

Principle #1 - Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence

the more a claim contradicts what we already know, the more persuasive the evidence for this claim must be before we should accept it.