ABSTRACT
As science acquired new knowledge that led to more effective treatments, the health-care system developed hospitals, advanced diagnostic capabilities, a greatly expanded and diversified workforce, and powerful financial incentives that influenced the nature and distribution of medical knowledge. The examples of contemporary health-care issues: technology and costs associated with complaints of back pain, depression and pharmacology. Scientific thinking requires more than intelligence and can be sidetracked by dysrationality, as was the case with candidate Giuliani. Statistical illiteracy renders us vulnerable to commercial and political manipulation and can cause us to make misguided decisions. Psychotherapy is a process whereby the patient expresses their interpretation of their experience, the therapist shares patient interpretation, and ideally the patient is able to modify their thinking in a way that leads to the relief of distress. Critical thinking refers to a systematic application of scientific principles to compensate for our multiple cognitive limitations.
