Keeping a Cool Head

To me, at least, having been trained in robust logical analysis was certainly an important factor in preventing me from succumbing to the irrationality and hysteria at the time.

The most disturbing thing about the Covid-19 madness that gripped the world over three years ago has been the disappearance of rational thinking, and the often utter refusal to accept objective reality. This trait has actually not disappeared with the virus, instead we see it grow stronger and pop up again and again in various areas of discussion.

Holding two contradictory beliefs at the same time, resorting again and again to invalid ad-hominem and strawman argumentation, claiming how “my reality” is all that matters, even when it goes against the actual reality around us; a growing number of people seem to have no problem with this; to many, facts and reason, outer reality itself, are now irrelevant.

Perhaps this disturbs me even more, as apart from my voluntary work of writing about the Covid-19 madness and the harms from it, my day job is to train people in how to use structure logical thinking to improve decisions and analyses. My students are mostly executives and managers in large corporations who need the efficacy of a structured methodology to identify and solve persistent and serious problems. Those people are the few and far between, in management positions, who truly care about their organisations, and are not content with short-term ineffective fixes and cover-ups. They aspire to be critical thinkers.

The method I use for logical analysis consists in combining visual analysis and a set of robust logical rules to enhance our rational thinking, to make us better equipped to objectively analyse situations, unveil hidden obstacles and identify flawed assumptions behind deep-rooted conflicts. This requires practice, dedication and precision in the use of language, for as Saint-Exupéry famously said language is, in the end, the root of all misunderstanding. The method I use is based on the work of management guru Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt. By applying clear thinking, Goldratt said, every situation, no matter how complex it seems, becomes exceedingly simple, every conflict can be removed, every person can live a full life. You can read more about Goldratt’s theories on my professional blog, The Edge of Reason.

I applied this method myself in April 2020, concluding how we had entered a vicious cycle of repeatedly imposing, then easing the lockdowns and restrictions. At the time, no-one I showed this to would listen. They didn’t want to hear that the crisis wasn’t over. (This was shortly before the people of Prague celebrated their victory over the coronavirus.) You can see my rough analysis below. It is based on what information I had at the time, some of which has since been shown to be wrong, as I guess most of my readers know. But the conclusion holds, and it held back then; the vicious cycle was there to stay - for a long time.

Situation analysis, Iceland, April 21, 2020.

Last week I embarked on the journey of spreading Goldratt’s thinking principles to a wider audience, by publishing a short training course in applying those methods. The course is available on the Udemy platform, and below there’s a short introductory video on it. This course is aimed at executives mainly, but I plan to produce more courses on how to apply those methods in different areas, such as personal life, public policy, government and education, not to mention the coronavirus scare.

I’m now offering my loyal readers this course for free for a limited period. There are 100 free seats available until October 13. If you are interested you can use this url to redeem the offer: https://www.udemy.com/course/think-sharper-with-the-logical-thinking-process/?couponCode=THINKSHARPERFORFREE

I hope this little course may be useful to some of my readers, and perhaps in different ways. To me, at least, having been trained in robust logical analysis was certainly an important factor in preventing me from succumbing to the irrationality and hysteria at the time, but instead keeping a cool head.