The Art of Clear Thinking: A Stealth Fighter Pilot's Timeless Rules for Making Tough Decisions

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Technology has now automated many of our lower-level tasks. This has added leverage to each decision we make. The computer that I’m typing on can, by itself, perform the job of dozens of people from just a few decades ago, a car can travel over ten times faster than a horse-drawn wagon, a modern combine harvester can harvest crops hundreds of times faster than by hand, and the jet I fly allows me to be thousands of times more capable than I could be on my own. One way to illustrate this leverage is through the energy we use. The average person, despite physically generating only one hundred watts of electricity—about what a light bulb uses—now consumes over twelve thousand watts of energy. That energy powers the technology that amplifies our decisions. Today, the difference in outcome between a good decision and a bad decision has never been so great. Critical thinking is important in all subjects and disciplines – in science and engineering, as well as the arts and humanities. The types of evidence used to develop arguments may be very different but the processes and techniques are similar. Critical thinking is required for both undergraduate and postgraduate levels of study. What, where, when, who, why, how? We then jump to some mental toughness skills – Many of these are about calming down the mind and positive self talk as well as visualization.. While you may think I have heard this before the author brings this alive with real examples from pilot training- Hasard brings this to life and shows the statistical benefits of doing all the above and more importantly the why behind it. Hasard also has more lessons on mental toughness and shows us how more experienced pilots then him did not make it through pilot training because they were not able to harness these and other skills he teaches. While the overall choice I had to make was only whether to slow down or speed up, each course of action led to further decisions. If I elected to slow down, should I pull out of my dive, adding additional stress to the wings, and if so, how hard? Or should I maintain my current dive and just pull the throttle out of afterburner, which would take longer to slow down but minimize the stress? And if I chose to speed up, should I maintain my dive and reduce my control inputs, or should I increase my dive angle to accelerate faster? There were an infinite number of options on how I could execute my decision.

You've been in countless high-stress situations. Dogfights. Engine flameouts. Tough landings. I was hoping you could walk us through a particular moment when you were in trouble and needed to make a clear decision. And then lastly is to try to get yourself out of tunnel vision. Literal tunnel vision. What I teach new students is you really want to look out of the corner of your eyes. That helps you to detach and allows you to look at the situation separately and that helps to calm you down, to be able to make more rational decisions. These are examples of cognitive biases, simple errors we all make in our day-to-day thinking. But by knowing what they are and how to spot them, we can avoid them and make better choices - whether dealing with a personal problem or a business negotiation; trying to save money or make money; working out what we do or don't want in life, and how best to get it.This book is no less practical now than when it was published in 1951. I was curious about the book because I’d been taught to read (better) with his book Teaching Johnny to Read, which was essentially a primer with long lists of words that were to be read aloud, using phonics to decipher new words. This book was a follow-up to his popular Why Johnny Can’t Read, which was a sensation in the mid-50s for its expose of the poor pedagogy that was being practiced in public schools, namely teaching children to sight read, to recognize words as whole entities, rather than as aggregates of syllables and letters. Based on a career of making high-stakes, split-second decisions as a U.S. fighter pilot, The Art of Clear Thinking teaches readers to apply Hasard Lee's combat-tested techniques in everyday life. In The Art of Clear Thinking , Hasard Lee distills what he’s learned during his career flying some of the Air Force’s most advanced aircraft. With gripping firsthand accounts from his time as a fighter pilot and fascinating turning points throughout history, Hasard reveals powerful decision-making principles that can be used in business and in life, including: There are several key stages involved in developing your ideas and constructing an argument. You might like to use a form to help you think about the features of critical thinking and to break down the stages of developing your argument.

Through his first seven chapters, each rife with anecdotes and references he is able to validate with detailed endnotes at the end of the book, he comes up with a summary list of five points, and then ten chapters later, the list has grown to eight practical points. Clearly, repetition is a good way to ensure that one is thinking clearly about a subject. The list: The assessment phase is important. If you're not able to see the problem clearly, you're not going to be able to consistently make good decisions. Lee effectively breaks down the tools that individuals and organizational leaders can apply to some of their biggest problems and most difficult situations. The idea of pattern recognition is obvious, and yet I think that the author takes it to the next level. He suggests reasons why pattern recognition is advanced by studying different types of languages and exposure to a wider variety of experiences. This is interesting to think about given that the public education system doesn't appear to really engage in this idea at all in its view of learning. This particular chapter focuses on how to think through difficulties, and Flesch surveys the field of commentators, each having essentially the same insights about the process. At the end, he offers this down-to-earth list of reminders:Developing critical thinking skills is essential to your success at University and beyond. We all need to be critical thinkers to help us navigate our way through an information-rich world. This book is a 7 out of 10 (⭑⭑⭑⭑) for me. It's a good read, despite minor weaknesses (like that it is a little dated by now) I would generally recommend this book to most people. The chapter on bright ideas and where they come from is fascinating. I like that the end conclusion is that such ideas can come from anywhere. The broader the experience, the more likely that pattern recognition is possible, the more often you'll have such a so called bright idea. Really gives me a different perspective on how to approach thinking about new things and new experiences.

I bought this book for €1 and was disappointed; I imagine it's much more of a let down at full price.) nature will never mind whether your decision is perfect or not, as long as we can maneuver what the life has given. but, identify the error thinking, i think, is a must, for at least showing us now in the right place, at least for now. One day I walked into the secure vault, which is the tactical nerve center of every fighter squadron, and Cygon was there telling a story about the test program he had been a part of in the F-16. He had learned that in a clean configuration, the F-16 would begin to buffet at around Mach 1.6—it was a known area where the aerodynamic forces would compound and amplify the vibrations. He said that it was possible to push through it by counterintuitively going faster. The change in resonance would dampen the flexing and reduce the vibration. It was an interesting story, but one that I didn’t think would apply to the tactical flying we did during day-to-day operations. The entire incident lasted maybe 15 minutes, and I had to make probably about 50 different decisions, including three or four critical life-changing ones. Because if we had gotten it wrong, me and my wingman would've had to eject.

Assess, Choose, Execute

The ability to make a correct decision with incomplete information and a limited amount of time is not just for fighter pilots, though—it’s a universal skill. From leaders to entrepreneurs to teachers to nurses to first responders, our success and ability to achieve our goals relies on making the right decisions at the right time. The world is a complex adaptive system where all decisions are interconnected—like the gears in a mechanical watch, each decision affects peripheral decisions, often leading to disproportionate changes in outcome. Everything in life is a trade-off; there is a cost—be it time, money, energy, or some other precious resource—for each decision we make. The key is to find the best long-term value for the given cost. And today, the stakes for our decisions have never been higher. The Art of Clear Thinking by Hasard Lee is certainly an interesting read. Lee is a former fighter pilot for the United States military, and now an instructor who teaches aspiring pilots the ins and outs of the f-35 fighter jet. He has had a very decorated military career, and sets out to write a book to educate common people how to mentally behave like a good fighter pilot. Second, I have different expectations from a fighter pilot than I do for a seasoned author when it comes to writing quality (as I'm sure most people do). That being said, I was pleasantly surprised with how well this book was written. I found myself learning new things more from the way he conveyed the information than the information itself. His writing is succinct and on topic, but with the occasional flourish to keep it interesting and unique to him. Further chapters discuss ways to get more out of reading, thinking in and around the home about family and quotidian things, what kind of thinking is best at work, and, finally, he reminds the reader that thinking can be difficult, that accepting common ways of doing things (even if in error) is often easier. He concludes the book: “…Life’s problems are always new, and defy all ready-made solutions. That’s what makes life interesting.” To make an aircraft fly is a constant struggle against physics. An airliner traveling six hundred miles per hour at thirty thousand feet is not something that happens naturally. It’s not a fail-safe act, meaning the default is to crash—it’s up to our ingenuity and decision-making to prevent it from happening. It’s a unique environment that’s highly unforgiving. Whereas a loss of power in a car typically results in a few hours on the side of a road, a loss of power in the air is often disastrous. Even in business, bet-the-company decisions are rare, and when encountered, only a fraction of the employees take part in them. Aviation, however, relies on everyone performing at an optimum level just to keep the aircraft flying. It’s an unstable system where even a single person forgetting to do their job, or doing it improperly, can lead to catastrophic results. It was this unforgiving nature, however, that led to a deep focus on decision-making.

What sets this book apart is its universal appeal. The combat-tested techniques and principles can be applied not only in business but also in personal life, providing readers with a comprehensive toolkit for success. Lee's storytelling prowess, coupled with his expertise as a fighter pilot, makes the concepts easily relatable and actionable. I had mediocre expectations of this book, but was easily drawn to it because of my interest in flying and military aircraft (especially fighters). I am, however, happy to say this book exceeded my expectations in several ways.Critical thinking is the art of making clear, reasoned judgements based on interpreting, understanding, applying and synthesising evidence gathered from observation, reading and experimentation. Burns, T., & Sinfield, S. (2016) Essential Study Skills: The Complete Guide to Success at University (4th ed.) London: SAGE, p94. Lee delves into the art of making clear, effective decisions, drawing from his experiences as a fighter pilot in the US Air Force. The book explores application of combat-tested techniques & principles of real-world situations. It emphasises the significance of mental toughness, the role of emotions in decision-making, the necessity of prioritisation, & the development of clear, systematic frameworks for making choices. Through a combination of personal anecdotes & strategic insights, Lee offers a guide for individuals seeking to improve their decision-making abilities. Dobelli examines our most common decision-making failings with engaging eloquence and describes how to counter them with instructive good sense.” (Robert Cialdini, author of Influence) Lee's storytelling prowess creates an immersive experience, allowing readers to understand the immense pressure and high stakes faced by fighter pilots. The book brilliantly outlines the skills necessary to excel in such an environment, emphasizing the importance of learning faster, cultivating mental toughness, and developing the ability to assess, choose, and execute decisions swiftly. Strap in and hold on as Hasard Lee lights the afterburner on leadership and risk management under extreme pressure. The Art of Clear Thinking is a riveting read, full of instantly actionable advice—not just for high-stakes decisions, but also for handling everyday choices at work and home." —Scott Parazynski, 5x NASA shuttle Astronaut, Astronaut Hall of Fame, credited with saving the Space Station during STS-120, Physician, Inventor, Tech CEO, Author