Newsletter Sunday Synapse
In addition to the FREE E-BOOK which gives you the fundamental, and basic groundwork required for building good thinking habits, you will also get one weekly email called the Sunday Synapse.
This FREE Newsletter talks about how to become a critical thinker or intelligent thinker. It is a balance between emotional intelligence and rational thinking.
We all can be better thinkers. Dysfunctional thinking practices are the cause of most of our bad decisions.
Some people have consistently better outcomes and more success in their lives. I argue this is because they have high-level critical thinking skills, including deep self-awareness, self-perception, curiosity, and creativity.
As a critical thinking educator, I know there are factors in your history, environmental, and biological factors that contribute to your current perspectives.
The reasons behind why you think a certain way is unique to the power you have now to approach the way you both view and engage with the world.
Scroll down for past Newsletters!
Latest
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Sunday, November 3rd, 2024
The Application of Knowledge: The Objective View and Third Eye
This week I explore the application of knowledge through objective thinking. Using lenses of diversity and multiculturalism, I draw parallels between Eastern and Western wisdom on objectivity. By exploring the "third eye" concept from Eastern traditions alongside Western critical thinking, I highlight the clash between acquiring information and transforming it into meaningful action. Smart thinking is learning how to balance human intuition with logic for decision-making that directly impacts our lives.
Sunday, October 27th, 2024
The Insecure Mind: Bias and Judgment
This week I explore how our insecurities, biases, and unhealed past experiences can cloud our judgement and impact critical thinking. I emphasise learning how to reflect and develop self-awareness, & encourage you to focus on improving your thought processes and responses to triggers, understanding that cognitive freedom comes from actively working on your mental relationship with yourself. True critical thinking means engaging with information in a way that’s personally relevant, allowing for more balanced and reasoned decisions instead of reacting based on our insecurities linked to our history.
Sunday, October 20th, 2024
Curiosity and The Knowledge Gap
This week I talk about the essential role of curiosity in critical thinking, particularly in recognising and filling knowledge gaps. I emphasises how assumptions often easily arise from these gaps in order to quickly fill them and discuss how curiosity, when allowed to flourish, enables learning and intellectual growth, even in sensitive or emotionally charged situations..
Sunday, October 13th, 2024
Consciousness, Social Learning, and Evolution
This week’s newsletter explores Gerald Edelman’s ideas on consciousness and brain development. We need interdisciplinary insights to highlight how these concepts link to critical thinking and social experiences. I use important examples like the Polgár sisters and synaptic plasticity, which helps us examine how repeated mental engagement shapes our ability to think critically and make intelligent decisions. These ideas demonstrate that talent and wisdom can be cultivated through experience and environment.
Sunday, October 6th, 2024
Somatic Emotions and Clear Thinking
This newsletter discusses how unresolved somatic emotions—those stored physically in the body—can cloud judgment and inhibit rational thought. It explores how these deep-seated emotions influence decision-making, drawing on theories from key figures like Freud, Damasio, Kahneman, and Nussbaum. The letter stresses the importance of emotional self-awareness, critical thinking, and balancing rational thought with emotional intelligence in daily life to overcome internal and external barriers to personal growth and success.
Sunday, September 29th, 2024
FREE E-BOOK: THE FOUNDATIONS OF THOUGHT BY DR ESHA LOVRIC
This week, existing subscribers were given access to my FREE E-BOOK Foundations of Thought.
Sign-up to my email list at the top of this page and you will get the E-BOOK delivered to your inbox. This resource provides you with important foundational thinking habits as basic groundwork for effective thinking. If we do not have a steady foundation we can not build anything stable.
Sunday, September 22nd, 2024
Critical Thinking: Why and How
This week I discuss the essential role of CT in making effective decisions that make our lives better. I talk about why CT is crucial, and highlight some of our common cognitive biases that hinder our thought processes. I also offer a practical four-step guide—exploration, comprehension, synthesisation, and articulation—to help you develop deliberate and rational thinking habits, making you a more confident and articulate thinker.
Sunday, September 15th, 2024
Systems of Thinking: The Intuitive Mind versus Logical Mind
This week's newsletter introduces you to the two systems of thinking as identified by behavioral psychologist Daniel Kahneman. System 1 is referred to fast thinking or the intuitive mind. System 2 is slow thinking and refers to the more deliberate thinking associated with the logical mind. As a social scientist, I explore how our patterns of thought shape our interactions, highlighting the importance of balancing intuition with deliberate, critical thinking to truly understand the complexities of our world.
Sunday, September 8th, 2024
Critical thinking: How to be an independent thinker in the information age
This letter discusses our capacity for independent thought. Recently, our thoughts have been constantly challenged by curated content and narratives that both overtly and subtly shape our opinions and choices. This newsletter explores practicing using critical thinking to empower us to recognise these influences and elevate our ability to try and think for ourselves. The letter suggests nurturing a mindset that balances scepticism with open-mindedness by exploring the motivations behind information, learning to question ethically, and encouraging creative thought.
Sunday, September 1st, 2024
Biased Critical Thinking: A Common Oxymoron
This week’s newsletter explores the pervasive influence of biases on critical thinking and decision-making, emphasising the need for self-awareness and openness to diverse perspectives. In a time of great social and political divide, the letter advocates for using critical thinking skills to enhance democratic engagement and combat societal division, urging readers to continually challenge their assumptions and engage thoughtfully with opposing viewpoints.
Sunday, August 25th, 2024
Critical Thinking: The Purpose and Validity of Information
In this newsletter, I explore the dual nature of information—how it can both empower and mislead us—and stress the importance of engaging only with information that is truly relevant to our lives. Additionally, I provide a practical seven-step guide for assessing the validity of information, helping readers enhance their critical thinking and make informed decisions that align with their personal values and goals.