Thinking Tools Playbook

A repeatable critical-thinking system for an age of infinite synthetic text. Build a manipulation-move checklist (emotional loading, urgency, false authority, cherry-picking); run the SIFT loop (Stop, Investigate the source, Find better coverage, Trace to the original) on any claim worth believing or sharing; map the cognitive biases most likely to trip you; assign every claim to a calibrated confidence bucket; and steelman the opposing view before you're allowed to be confident. A running claim log shows you your own hit rate. Every section ships as copy-paste prompts your Ally runs with you - if you can copy and paste, you can think clearly in the AI age.