Critical Thinking Mike Phillips Geology Professor REQUEST

Critical Thinking Mike Phillips Geology Professor

REQUEST FOR URGENT BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP FIRST, I MUST SOLICIT YOUR STRICTEST CONFIDENCE IN THIS TRANSACTION. THIS IS BY VIRTUE OF ITS NATURE AS BEING UTTERLY CONFIDENTIAL AND 'TOP SECRET'. I AM SURE AND HAVE CONFIDENCE OF YOUR ABILITY AND RELIABILITY TO PROSECUTE A TRANSACTION OF THIS GREAT MAGNITUDE INVOLVING A PENDING TRANSACTION REQUIRING MAXIIMUM CONFIDENCE. WE ARE TOP OFFICIAL OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CONTRACT REVIEW PANEL WHO ARE INTERESTED IN IMPORATION OF GOODS INTO OUR COUNTRY WITH FUNDS WHICH ARE PRESENTLY TRAPPED IN NIGERIA. IN ORDER TO COMMENCE THIS BUSINESS WE SOLICIT YOUR ASSISTANCE TO ENABLE US TRANSFER INTO YOUR ACCOUNT THE SAID TRAPPED FUNDS. THE SOURCE OF THIS FUND IS AS FOLLOWS; DURING THE LAST MILITARY REGIME HERE IN NIGERIA, THE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS SET UP COMPANIES AND AWARDED THEMSELVES CONTRACTS WHICH WERE GROSSLY OVER-INVOICED IN VARIOUS MINISTRIES. THE PRESENT CIVILIAN GOVERNMENT SET UP A CONTRACT REVIEW PANEL AND WE HAVE IDENTIFIED A LOT OF INFLATED CONTRACT FUNDS WHICH ARE PRESENTLY FLOATING IN THE CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA READY FOR PAYMENT. HOWEVER, BY VIRTUE OF OUR POSITION AS CIVIL SERVANTS AND MEMBERS OF THIS PANEL, WE CANNOT ACQUIRE THIS MONEY IN OUR NAMES. I HAVE THEREFORE, BEEN DELEGATED AS A MATTER OF TRUST BY MY COLLEAGUES OF THE PANEL TO LOOK FOR AN OVERSEAS PARTNER INTO WHOSE ACCOUNT WE WOULD TRANSFER THE SUM OF US$21, 320, 000. 00(TWENTY ONE MILLION, THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND U. S DOLLARS). HENCE WE ARE WRITING YOU THIS LETTER. WE HAVE AGREED TO SHARE THE MONEY THUS; 1. 20% FOR THE ACCOUNT OWNER 2. 70% FOR US (THE OFFICIALS) 3. 10% TO BE USED IN SETTLING TAXATION AND ALL LOCAL AND FOREIGN EXPENSES. IT IS FROM THE 70% THAT WE WISH TO COMMENCE THE IMPORTATION BUSINESS. PLEASE, NOTE THAT THIS TRANSACTION IS 100% SAFE AND WE HOPE TO COMMENCE THE TRANSFER LATEST SEVEN (7) BANKING DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THE RECEIPT OF THE FOLLOWING INFORMATIOM BY TEL/FAX; 234 -1 -7740449, YOUR COMPANY'S SIGNED, AND STAMPED LETTERHEAD PAPER THE ABOVE INFORMATION WILL ENABLE US WRITE LETTERS OF CLAIM AND JOB DESCRIPTION RESPECTIVELY. THIS WAY WE WILL USE YOUR COMPANY'S NAME TO APPLY FOR PAYMENT AND RE-AWARD THE CONTRACT IN YOUR COMPANY'S NAME. WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO DOING THIS BUSINESS WITH YOU AND SOLICIT YOUR CONFIDENTIALITY IN THIS TRANSATION. PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE THE RECEIPT OF THIS LETTER USING THE ABOVE TEL/FAX NUMBERS. I WILL SEND YOU DETAILED INFORMATION OF THIS PENDING PROJECT WHEN I HAVE HEARD FROM YOURS FAITHFULLY, DR CLEMENT OKON NOTE; PLEASE QUOTE THIS REFERENCE NUMBER (VE/S/09/99) IN ALL YOUR RESPONSES.

JEFFERSON MORGAN & CO. Dear Friend, Greetings to you. I wish to accost you with a request that would be of immense benefit to both of us. Being an executor of wills, it is possible that we may be tempted to make fortune out of our client's situations, when we cannot help it, or left with no better option. The issue I am presenting to you is a case of my client who willed a fortune to his next-of-kin. It was most unfortunate that he and his next-of-kin died on the same day in the Sharja plane crash of Tuesday 10 February 2004. I am now faced with confusion of who to pass the fortune to. According to the English law, the fortune is supposed to be bequeathed to the government. However, I don't belong to that school of thought which proposes that the fortune of unlucky people be given to the government. My purpose of contacting you is to seek your acting as the beneficiary of the will, and lay claim the legacy of Ł12. 4 million, which this unfortunate client of mine bequeathed to his next-of-kin. For now, I alone know about his will, as my client has great confidence in me. Everything will be left between you and I. The share would be 35% for you and 65% for me. I would want to take care of the needy and less privileged, as this is my primary objective. All I have to do is amend the will to make you the beneficiary to the Ł12. 4 million legacy. Again, I feel that you may apprehensive and consider this amount too big for you to defend. It does not matter, as there are documents to back it up. This is a legacy being passed on to a next-of-kin. As I am not very sure of getting your consent on the issue I prefer not to divulge my full identity so as not to risk being disbarred. The English Bar considers it a breach of the oath of the English Bar. I need not emphasize to you that the sensitivity of this issue need not be toyed with by neglecting its confidentiality. I therefore appeal to you not discuss this request with anybody, even if you decline my request. Until I am sure of your consent and full cooperation, I would prefer that we maintain correspondence by email or if you wish, call me. At this point I want to assure you that your true consent, full cooperation and confidentiality are all that are required for us to take full advantage of this opportunity. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Yours truly, Jefferson Morgan. Tel: +447031841724. Fax: +447075009808.

Dearest one: My name is Madam Nenita Villaran, A complete citizen of Philippines, widow to the late former minister of finance in Philippine who was a victim of the terrorist attack against the country by the Abu sayyaf movement in the southern luxury beach region on the 11 th April 2002 that rendered many people of different nationals dead. I inherited a total sum of 12 million dollars from my late husband, This money which is concealed in a metallic trunk box is deposited with a security and finance company in Cote d' ivoire under a secret arrangement as a family treasure. This means that the security company does not know the content of this box that was shipped from the Philippine to Cote d' ivoire under a diplomatic coverage. My main purpose of sending your this mail is because of the way I found you and perhaps trustworthy to give this priority of shipping this box of money to any address that you think is very secure and safe in your country with your percentage of which we shall chat on soon. There is need for urgent action because the consignment is accruing charges per day as demurrage to the security company for safekeeping couple with the resent attempt of coup plot last july that has distracted attention of the government and the security delegates on me. This is the contact of the company in Cote d' ivoire for you to call them and give them your address for the immediate shipment of the box today. I will send you the Authorization Certificate to call them in my next mail which is the Certificate of deposit that they gave me on the very day when the box of money was deposited under their company. I give thanks immensely for the co-operation as I look forward to your urgent response. Best Regard Madam Nenita Villaran

Critical thinking n What is it for? ¨ Definition: A set of skills that may be used to evaluate information and options in a sytematic, purposeful, efficient manner ¨ Evaluating new information ¨ Planning action

Critical thinking n What is it for? ¨ choosing a class ¨ on the job decision making ¨ voting ¨ shopping ¨ playing cards

East Coast Blackout

Ear candles What are they? n http: //www. earcandle. com/way. htm n http: //walkandroll. bizland. com/ear_candle. htm Is it a good idea? Does it really work? n The Straight Dope n CBC report n Quackwatch report n Research article abstract

Critical thinking n Characteristics ¨ logical ¨ contextual ¨ methodical n Model (formal) ¨ plan the process ¨ monitor the thinking ¨ evaluate the results

Bushes in New Orleans

Dear Citibank customer, Recently there have been a large number of identity theft attempts targeting Citibank customers. In order to safeguard your account, we require that you update your Citibank ATM/Debit card PIN. This update is requested of you as a precautionary measure against fraud. Please note that we have no particular indications that your details have been compromised in any way. This process is mandatory, and if not completed within the nearest time your account may be subject to temporary suspension. To securely update your Citibank ATM/Debit card PIN please go to: https: //web. da-us. citibank. com/cgi-bin/citifi/scripts/home/visitor_homepage. jsp Please note that this update applies to your Citibank ATM/Debit card - which is linked directly to your checking account, not Citibank credit cards. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter and thank you for using Citibank! Regards, Jonathan Hightower Head of Citi® Identity Theft Solutions Copyright A 9 2004 Citicorp. All rights reserved.

Critical thinking What is the purpose of my thinking? n What precise question am I trying to answer? n From what point of view am I operating? n What information am I using? n How am I interpreting that information? n What concepts or ideas are central to my thinking? n

Critical Thinking What are my conclusions? n What am I taking for granted, what assumptions am I making? n If I accept the conclusions, what are the implications? n What would the consequences be if I put my thoughts into action? n

GATOR! Stay out of the water. . . Now this is a Crocodile! Man, can you imagine what else was swimming around down there in that water? Lord have mercy. . . This crocodile was found in New Orleans swimming down the street. 21 FT long, 4, 500 lbs, around 80 years old minimum. Specialists said that he was looking to eat humans because he was too old to catch animals. This crocodile was killed by the army last Sunday at 3: 00 pm, currently he is in the freezer at the Azur hotel. The contents of it's stomach will be analyzed this Friday at 2: 30 pm.

News Conference Do the reporters trust Scott Mc. Clellan? n Should they? n n Are they critical or biased?

n Here are instructions on how to make $10, 000 US cash in the next 2 weeks: n $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ If you don't try it - you will never know. n n n n n There are 3 addresses listed below. Send the person at the top of the list a $5 bill wrapped in 2 pieces of paper (to securely hide it), along with a note that says: "Please add me to your mailing list". Then delete that name, move the other 2 up and put your name at the bottom. Now start sending this ENTIRE e-mail back out to people. When 20 people receive it, those 20 people will move your name up to the middle position and they will each send out 20. That totals 400 people that will receive this letter with your name in the middle. Then, those 400 people will move your name up to the top and they will each send out 20 E-mails. That totals 8, 000 people that will receive this E-mail with your name at the top and they will each send you a $5 bill. 8, 000 people each sending you a $5 bill = $40, 000 cash. That's if everyone responds to this E-mail, but not everyone will, so you can expect more realistically to receive about $10, 000 cash $5 bills in your mailbox. This will work for anyone, anywhere in the world in any country, but send only a US CASH $5 bill. The more E-mails you send out, the more cash you will receive. If each person sends out 100 E-mails, there will be 1, 000 people that receive this letter when your name reaches the top. If only 1% of those people respond, you will still get $50, 000 cash.

Critical thinking - requirements skepticism n independence n openmindedness and flexibility n accuracy and orderliness n persistence n relevance n contextual sensitivity and empathy n decisiveness n courage n humility n

More info! http: //www. criticalthinking. org/ n http: //www. csicop. org/ n ¨ Skeptical Inquirer available in IVCC library http: //www. skeptic. com/ n http: //www. randi. org/ n

Teddy says “Thanks!” …and I say thanks to www. snopes. com