Analyzing the Concept of Thinking: 'Master Student' and 'Truth' Books

This essay explores the theme of 'thinking' by comparing and contrasting the perspectives presented in 'Becoming Master Student' and 'The Truth About Stories.' The author discusses how both books, while using different approaches (direct explanation vs. storytelling), emphasize the power and importance of thinking in shaping individual decisions and understanding the world. The essay also incorporates insights from other sources, such as 'A Rulebook for Arguments,' 'Predictably Irrational,' and 'Thinking, Fast and Slow,' to further examine the nature of rational and irrational thought processes. The analysis highlights the influence of emotions, social factors, and information on thinking, ultimately emphasizing the need for responsible and positive thinking.

Running head: COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE
College and University Experience
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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The topic that has been chosen from the two books “Becoming Master Student” and “The
truth about Stories” is “thinking”. The topic of thinking may seen to be very simple one but the
process of thinking in each and every person differs from one another and is quite a complex
process. The individual thought process makes a person the way he or she is. The way of
processing information, taking a decision is hugely influenced by the thought process of the
individuals. In both the books, the authors tried to discuss deeply about the process of thinking.
The authors emphasizes on the power of thoughts, while the book “Becoming Master Student”
uses direct points to explain the topic, the other book called “ The truth about stories” uses
different stories from the Bible and Native stories to explain the importance of thinking. In the
following paragraphs I will explain the theme of “thinking” and how it relates with both the
books and the other sources.
In the book “The truth about stories” there are stories about the creation of the Earth or
the “Genesis”, there are also stories about the disappearing of the Native Indians (Cottrell, 2017
the). According to my understanding, the author explains how the stories help us to interpret the
meaning of our world or the surrounding in which we live in. In both the books the human being
are considered to be the most intelligent species, the humans are capable to make their own
decisions and come to a conclusion about any decision. After analyzing the two books, I can say
that the decisions of the people can be influenced to a great extent and this is done by the other
human beings only. This kind of behaviour is observed in the political circumstances, when an
individual or a group of individuals are trying to persuade the mass to do something. I think this
can also be experienced with the advertisers who also try to pursue the people to buy their
products (Bruner, 2017). This thing is also explained in the book “The truth about stories”, it is
mentioned that the teachings in Bible also influence the people in the same way the politicians or

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advertisers influence the common people. I have found that similar concept has also been
provided in the book “Becoming Master Student”. In the two books, importance has also been
provided to the rational form of thinking. Rational thinking differentiates between correct and
wrong decisions (McWhorter, 2016). I believe that a responsible thinker will show positive vibes
which will help that person to get a lot of friends and he/she will be called to be a positive
thinker, the negative thinker will always face problems while making relationships with others.
I have found that “Becoming a master student” use direct speeches and direct language to
explain the concept of thinking while the other book “The truth about stories” use the different
stories from various communities and religions to explain the importance of thinking and its
different ways (Davis, 2017). The book “Becoming a master student” emphasizes on the
prejudices and the social thinking which can also lead to wrong and negative thinking in an
individual.
The book named “A Rulebook for Arguments” by Anthony Weston provides a logical
and concise advice on how to find out evidences to support decision-making (Weston, 2018).
Another book called “Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces
That Shape Our Decisions” written by Dan Ariely is a revelation for many and delves deep into
the rationale of human thinking. According to this book, behaving in an irrational way is in the
nature of human beings (Fey, 2016). According to this book I have found out that human beings
do not take decisions that are rational or logical by nature rather human beings are dictated by
their emotions and psychological conditions. I saw that the author to prove his point has provided
many other interesting references. The book “Thinking fast and slow” is a bestseller by the New
York Times; this book has been written by Daniel Kahneman (Vohra & Biradar, M2017). This
book is a popular choice among the readers as the author provides easy and interesting ways to

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improve the thought process. I have found that the theme of the book revolves around the
thinking processes, which can be fast and slow. By knowing the two major systems of the mind
the individuals can become effective thinkers.
According to my research, all the above-mentioned sources portray the human beings to
be the most intelligent species who can take all kinds of decisions, all the sources point out that
there is a huge power in the thinking ability of people (Jackson, 2015). Similar to the two books
taken for this writing the other sources also point out to the fact that wrong information causes
negative thinking and that makes the others feel negatively about that person. I think wrong
thoughts can also affects someone’s self-confidence and invoke the feeling of jealousy in that
person. I have seen that often feeling of jealousy also comes to the mind when a person compares
himself/herself with others and is unable to meet up to the expectations (Key & Noble, 2017).
These sources emphasize on the importance of thinking responsibly and behaving carefully.
According to the two books and other sources, as I have found out, the individuals should try to
think as responsibly as possible so that the people around them does not move away due to the
negative approach. Another thing is that, when a person is surrounded by negative people then
that person is unable to bring in any positive thinking.
I think that the ability to think is the most important feature that can be found in a human
being. The actions and the character of an individual are highly influenced by the ability of the
person to think rationally. I believe that the individuals should keep on thinking in a positive
manner and they should cancel negative thoughts from their mind. Thinking is the most
important ability of the human beings thus; it should be used in a proper manner.

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Reference List:
Bruner, J. (2017). A study of thinking. Routledge.
Cottrell, S. (2017). Critical thinking skills. Macmillan Education.
Davis, N. (2017). The selfish gene. Macat Library.
Fey, J. (2016). A Review of The New Math: A Political History.
Jackson, S. L. (2015). Research methods and statistics: A critical thinking approach. Cengage
Learning.
Key, L. E., & Noble, B. P. (2017). Course in general linguistics. Macat Library.
McWhorter, K. T. (2016). Study and critical thinking skills in college. Pearson.
Vohra, P. S., & Biradar, M. B. (2017). Review of Daniel Kahneman’ s Thinking, Fast and
Slow. Global Journal of Management And Business Research.
Weston, A. (2018). A rulebook for arguments. Hackett Publishing.

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