How do you tell truth from fiction?  How do you get past your own biases and misconceptions to have a clearer-eyed view of things?  How do you tell when someone's trying to mislead you intentionally?  This course will give you some basic groundwork for skepticism and critical thinking -- how to recognize fallacies in media, how to pick out spurious statistics, how to craft an argument, and how to know when scientific terms are being misdefined.  By the end, you'll be a more savvy reader and listener, and have a better ability to articulate your own views clearly and accurately.