An unprecedented study that followed several thousand undergraduates through four years of college found that large numbers didn't learn the critical thinking, complex reasoning and written communication skills that are widely assumed to be at the core of a college education.
Many of the students graduated without knowing how to sift fact from opinion, make a clear written argument or objectively review conflicting reports of a situation or event, according to New York University sociologist Richard Arum, lead author of the study. The students, for example, couldn't determine the cause of an increase in neighborhood crime or how best to respond without being swayed by emotional testimony and political spin.
TVNL Comment: Religion starts the process of preparing one to bypass critical thinking. You are forced to accept as truth the silly and impossible. They tell you what is right and wrong, what is a sin, and who to hate, even if the reasons do not make sense to you. (You don't need a book or a man in a silly hat to tell you how to be a good person!) After that the media take over, telling you what to like, what to feel and how you should feel about political events.
Scott Adams, the author and cartoonist whose "Dilbert" comic strip satirized corporate life to wide acclaim...
