Master Your Mind: Critical-Thinking Exercises and Activities to Boost Brain Power and Think Smarter

Author Marcel Danesi, Ph.D. has created an enjoyable, entertaining, and accessible book without being overly pedantic. Master Your Mind functions as both CliffsNotes and workbook - or even a refresher course if you will-- to critical thinking and smarter analysis of news, arguments, debates, and discussions. If you studied psychology and philosophy, as I have, you are already familiar with deductive reasoning logic, Plato, Socrates, and syllogisms. I am personally an advocate of media literacy and media reform in this county and unfortunately, the social media platforms have opened the floodgates to bandwagon fallacies, and wild assertions. The bottom line, now more than ever, Critical thinking is imperative. The author includes his Top Ten Traits of a Critical Thinker: 1) Open-mindedness 2) Decisiveness 3) Creativity 4) Objectivity 5) Awareness 6) Perseverance 7) Language acumen 8) Using experience constructively 9) Curiosity 10) Skepticism The author is also unsubtle and topical in his examples by pointing out the provocative statements to make the reader think critically for themselves. For assumptions example: “China is trying to destroy our economy…” “You should buy domestic to keep our economy strong…” “So, you believe crime victims don’t have any rights…” You could use this a pre-election primer or post-political cheat sheet to understanding today’s spurious news, aka “Fake News.” I have to say, this is a sad moment in our culture when individuals do not welcome healthy debates or regurgitate, redistribute, and recycle untruths and unverifiable information… what’s even more reprehensible is to defend that information or guard it without verifying the facts. The irony is that we have had overabundant access to information and intel and resources... more than prior generations and like never before. I blame social media and the current political climate. We are dealing with political bigotry and illogical and emotional indolence. I don’t care what side of the fence someone is on if they can explain – logically – their stance. It used to be called respect. An enjoyable book for analytical thinkers. I hope you found my review helpful and stay clear-minded and think critically. De omnibus dubitandum (doubt everything)

I hope schools start teaching more critical reasoning, in the mean time, parents do your jobs and teach yourself and your children how to question, reason, apply, and then question again... EVERYTHING. Teach them how to separate the way something makes them feel, from how legitimate the information actually is. However, if you want your opinions to blindly be reaffirmed then this is not the book for you. Just move along, go read an auto-biography where they can make up anything they want.

I received a copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review. This book was around 3.5 stars for me. This book wasn't quite what I expected, but that's sort of on me. This is a book on critical thinking. It includes information on what it means to think critically, common logical fallacies, and suggestions on how to evaluate where information is coming from. The book also includes some lateral thinking puzzles and a summary at the end of each chapter of takeaways. There's answers for the puzzles and various quizzes included in the back of the book. Overall it is an informative book. Some of the information given is very basic, including definitions, but there are also exercises such as matching the statement to the fallacy or kind of assertion it is. It could be a helpful book in evaluating what sources to listen to. I'm not totally sure who the demographic this book is for as the people who need it most are probably the least likely to read it. It's an interesting book to consider when trying to think logically and have a productive discourse.

We are all enjoying this book. Critical thinking skills are invaluable for those who are interested in evaluating and understanding various issues. Our college student is especially interested and benefiting from it. And as they say, use it or lose it also applies to our minds. So learning something is always useful.

This was not just a book of activities like I expected. It was a lot of text and explanation behind why you do brain teasers. The introduction was very long and overly detailed. The first "puzzle" was one that has no solution at all. I was hoping to have a bunch of challenging activities and brain teasers, not just someone telling how those would be beneficial.

The genius of this book is the actual exercises designed to help one think critically. The book is filled with thought provoking questions that require critical thinking to answer correctly. The author does not leave you hanging about the right answers in the exercise. The answer key for each chapter is located in the back of the book. I love the premise of this book to boost brain power. The method is not the approach I would normally take to boost my brain power. However, the exercises are good and helpful in accomplishing the author’s goal for the book.

Master Your Mind is a compelling and uniquely educational book! I found it entertaining and thought provoking with puzzles and ideas drawing on a range of classic and contemporary sources, from digital media to Alice in Wonderland and Aristotle. Author Marcel Danesi playfully demonstrates how to develop critical thinking skills while connecting serious issues of contemporary life to a profound understanding of communication and logic. Elliot Gaines

This is an interesting book written in a very clear, personable, well-researched style. The exercises aren't as challenging as I was expecting, but I've also studied a fair amount of critical thinking skills and logic puzzles (especially when studying for the LSAT). It's really good lessons and practice to think about how you think.