Michael R. LeGault

So when I read about which promotes critical thinking and find its analysis shallow, its prose sloppy and its argument too reliant on conjecture and anecdotal evidence, it could mean that the author is brilliant in drawing out my critical faculties. Sadly, no. This was just one long whiny rant about the demise of good thinking.

LeGualt's chief selling point is a critique of Malcom Gladwell's Blink. I haven't read Blink yet, but as LeGault gave biased and superficial readings of absolutely show more every author whom I have read, I doubt he did Gladwell justice.

Are there salient points in the book? Yes, there are declining scores in literacy and math and people often lack good critical analysis. But should we argue for a return to rationalism? No. Unfortunatley this exactly what LeGualt is trying to do. He is very critical of postmodernity, radical feminism, environmentalism for their lack of thoughtful grappling with the facts. In some cases fair point, but seriously LeGault doesn't seem to want to do much better. So go read Blink, at least I heard that is interesting and this guy doesn't like it all that much. show less

This book is marketed as a refute to "Blink: How to Think Without Thinking" by Malcolm Gladwell. As such, it makes frequent mention of "Blinklike moments" or "Blinklike logic". But, this is only clever marketing: Mr. Gladwell doesn't say we SHOULD think without thinking, only that we do. Fact of life. Learn when to trust your gut and when not to.

Mr. LeGault argues that the American population is actively discouraged from critical thinking by television, permissive parenting, ideology and the show more focus on self-esteeem. I'm not convinced.

What I do know is that, without the references to "Blink", I wouldn't have bought this book. So, I guess the marketers deserve a star or two. If you think you might like to read this book, do it soon. It is very much about current events and will not stand the test of time. show less

I really enjoyed this book. It was, in a lot of ways, a counter-argument to the widely popular book, Blink. Michael R. LeGault brought out the heavy artillary to get the point across that Americans basically need to grow up and start critically thinking again. He touched on subjects such as our parenting styles today, our thinking process when it comes to politics, our seemingly favorite saying we love to use, the "I'm too busy," and how most "stress" is a myth, and the negative effects of show more information overload. He also talked about the damaging affects of our massive amounts of TV watching, video game playing that our young kids are wasting not only their time with, but their brains as well. Michael R. LeGault talked about so many other topics and he also gives his opinons on how to save American culture and society, one mind at a time.

A great read...a must read in my opinion. show less

I quit this when he had Galileo pointing his telescope at the sun. I think Galileo did get a good look at the sun, saw sunspots, and pointed out that there was no vocabulary for even discussing these things, since the sun was supposed to be perfect. But I really doubt he was dumb enough to stare through his telescope at the sun.

Too carelessly written to be worth continuing with.