An Instruction Booklet for the Brain

Jon’s journey to becoming a critical thinker was pretty unique.  Just before turning twenty he impulsively stabbed a man, which earned him 27 years for Attempted Second Degree Murder.  While in prison, he got deep into litigation as he tried to overturn his conviction.  He researched his own appeals, filed suit against his lawyer for ineffective counsel, and even sued the department of corrections several times, winning a landmark case which declared Humanism as an officially recognized religion in the Wyoming Dept. of Corrections.  Unfortunately his appeals were ultimately not successful, and he slowly moved from studying law to reading books on science and philosophy.  As he read more and more, he started writing his own thoughts on the brain, which culminated into his book on critical thinking entitled ‘Think Straight, An Owners Manual for the Mind‘.  This book really is an instruction booklet to how we think, and ways to improve how we process information.  Listen as Jon and I discuss his weird and winding path, how a vending machine is the perfect analogy for the brain, why memories are like an old man telling stories, and how attempted second degree murder is an illogical contradiction in terms.