Mark Twain’s timeless advice on how to become a critical thinker is still wise over 100 years later |
Mark Twain is one of the most celebrated authors in American history. Throughout his long career as a writer and lecturer, he instilled his wisdom about life to others through masterpieces (such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer) and journal entries alike.
Twain, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835, consistently put down thoughts and ideas to paper that continue to inspire people today, decades after his death in 1910. His quotes encourage people to steep and mull ideas over in their minds, a skill necessary for critical thinking.
Twain’s works challenged readers to become critical thinkers, and one famous Mark Twain quote on critical thinking remains particularly relevant.
What is critical thinking?
Merriam-Webster defines critical thinking as “the act or practice of thinking critically (as by applying reason and questioning assumptions) in order to solve problems, evaluate information, discern biases, etc.”
It also notes an additional example from First Amendment expert Greg Lukianoff and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt: “Today, what we call the Socratic method is a way of teaching that fosters critical thinking, in part by encouraging students to question their own unexamined beliefs, as well as the received wisdom of those around them.”
The root of critical thinking is to analyze ideas and opinions, taking nothing at face value. It’s something Twain lived out in his own life.
“Mark Twain was not afraid to reject values he had once accepted, and he thought long and hard about how these transformations happened—or failed to happen,” said Stanford Magazine writer Shelley Fisher Fishkin in 2007.
Mark Twain’s advice on critical thinking
According to Twain, this is how one becomes a critical thinker:
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”
This quote is cited in Mark Twain’s Notebooks and Journals, Volume II: 1877-1883. According to the University of California Press, it is a conglomeration of 12 of Twain’s notebooks from 1877-1883.
During this time, he documented three milestone trips he took that deeply impacted him: one to Bermuda, an extended tour of Europe, and his return to his roots on the Mississippi River.
For Twain, this quote challenges people to dig deeper about their convictions and popular opinion. While he does not convey a negative connotation towards mainstream (the majority) thinking, he encourages people to use critical thinking through quiet contemplation.
In his essay titled “Corn-Pone Opinions,” Twain once again challenged conformity. In the essay, Twain “argues that people generally conform their opinions to those held by the majority in their community rather than thinking independently people’s opinions,” per Scribd.
How to become a critical thinker
Critical thinking is a practice, and Steve Pearlman, Ph.D., founder of the Critical Thinking Institute, shared his insights in a 2025 Tedx Talk on four steps to help you become a stronger critical thinker.
“You cannot engage in problem solving at all without making a detailed observation of factors that might matter to the problem, formulating a correct and complex, insightful question about that problem, weighing out different pieces of information as they relate and impact your conclusion to that problem, and ultimately drawing a complex conclusion,” he says.
1. Analyze and observeThe first step of critical thinking is not an action at all, but a posture: to analyze and observe what a person sees, hears, and is presented with, according to Pearlman.
2. Question and clarifyRather than making assumptions, Pearlman notes the next step is to ask questions and look for clarity. It’s important to pay attention to any biases or opinions.
3. Evaluate and examine the evidenceNext, take a deeper look at evidence and variables. What represented facts can be supported (or not)? Compare, examine and question evidence, notes Pearlman.
4. Consider alternatives and draw conclusionsFinally, come to a conclusion. But in that process, he adds that it’s key to weigh alternatives (other possible explanations or viewpoints), using reason-based judgement to come to a decision.
A single door can open up a world of endless possibilities. For homeowners, the front door of their house is a gateway to financial stability, job security, and better health. Yet for many, that door remains closed. Due to the rising costs of housing, 1 in 3 people around the world wake up without the security of safe, affordable housing.
Since 1976, Habitat for Humanity has made it their mission to unlock and open the door to opportunity for families everywhere, and their efforts have paid off in a big way. Through their work over the past 50 years, more than 65 million people have gained access to new or improved housing, and the movement continues to gain momentum. Since 2011 alone, Habitat for Humanity has expanded access to affordable housing by a hundredfold.
A world where everyone has access to a decent home is becoming a reality, but there’s still much to do. As they celebrate 50 years of building, Habitat for Humanity is inviting people of all backgrounds and talents to be part of what comes next through Let’s Open the Door, a global campaign that builds on this momentum and encourages people everywhere to help expand access to safe, affordable housing for those who need it most. Here’s how the foundation to a better world starts with housing, and how everyone can pitch in to make it happen.
Globally, almost 3 billion people, including 1 in 6 U.S. families, struggle with high costs and other challenges related to housing. A crisis in itself, this also creates larger problems that affect families and communities in unexpected ways. People who lack affordable, stable housing are also more likely to experience financial hardship in other areas of their lives, since a larger share of their income often goes toward rent, utilities, and frequent moves. They are also more likely to experience health problems due to chronic stress or environmental factors, such as mold. Housing insecurity also goes hand-in-hand with unstable employment, since people may need to move further from their jobs or switch jobs altogether to offset the cost of housing.
Affordable homeownership creates a stable foundation for families to thrive, reducing stress and increasing the likelihood for good health and stable employment. Habitat for Humanity builds and repairs homes with individual families, but it also strengthens entire communities as well. The MicroBuild® Initiative, for example, strengthens communities by increasing access to loans for low-income families seeking to build or repair their homes. Habitat ReStore locations provide affordable appliances and building materials to local communities, in addition to creating job and volunteer opportunities that support neighborhood growth.
Everyone can play a part in the fight for housing equity and the pursuit of a better world. Over the past 50 years, Habitat for Humanity has become a leader in global housing thanks to an engaged network of volunteers—but you don’t need to be skilled with a hammer to make a meaningful impact. Building an equitable future means calling on a wide range of people and talents.Here’s how you can get involved in the global housing movement:
Speaking up on social media about the growing housing crisis
Volunteering on a Habitat for Humanity build in your local community
Travel and build with Habitat in the U.S. or in one of 60 countries where we work around the globe
Join the Let’s Open the Door movement and, when you donate, you can create your own personalized door
Shop or donate at your local Habitat ReStore
Every action, big and small, drives a global movement toward a better future. A safe home unlocks opportunity for families and communities alike, but it’s volunteers and other supporters, working together with a shared vision, who can open the door for everyone.
Visit habitat.org/open-door to learn more and get involved today.
Generally speaking, humans want to be happy. At the very least, we want to live with a certain baseline of happiness, even knowing life comes with inevitable ups and downs. An entire self-help industry exists because of this desire, and there’s no shortage of advice on how to be happier.
But what if the key to happiness was actually knowing how to make yourself unhappy? That’s the idea behind CGP Grey’s video explaining “7 Tactics to Maximize Misery” (an adaptation of How to Be Miserable by Dr. Randy J. Paterson).
By detailing the habits that make us unhappy, it becomes quite clear why we might be struggling with happiness and what we might want to change. The main video includes a video footnote, in case it’s not abundantly clear that the tactics for misery are not meant to be taken as literal advice, but quite the opposite:
“You, like me, might find the advice on happiness kind of tiresome,” Grey says. “Almost irritating. So it might be more useful to think about how to achieve the opposite, and thus, to see how the actions we might take work against us…My dear viewers, do not take the main video as literal advice.”
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get into the seven ways we can make ourselves miserable:
“Remain indoors as much as possible, preferably in the same room,” Grey suggests. “Be the human equivalent of a pile of laundry…Don’t let a beautiful day tempt you for a walk. Avoid anything even vaguely exercisial.”
He explains that stillness will keep reward chemicals out of your brain and lead to health problems, which will help you stay in the cycle of stillness and misery. And to be even more miserable, make your bedroom your “all room,” doing all of your not-doing-anything-physical in one small space.
2. Screw with your sleep
“A regular sleep cycle is a fragile thing and takes at least three days to establish,” says Grey. “Be sure then to vary your bedtime by several hours twice a week, at least. Even better: vary your wake time. Sleep in late, preferably very late, some but not all days. And tell yourself you are making up for sleep to feel like you’re doing something healthy, even though you feel terrible when you wake up early and when you wake up late.”
Basically, you want to make sure you befriend irregular sleep and insomnia, never waking up or going to bed at the same time.
You should try to go to bed at the same time every night, even on the days when you do not have to work. Your body loves to have a routine so it knows when to rest and when to be active. When you sleep well, you wake up with a lot of energy to chase your dreams. A tired mind…— Dave (@thought_harbor) April 16, 2026
You should try to go to bed at the same time every night, even on the days when you do not have to work. Your body loves to have a routine so it knows when to rest and when to be active. When you sleep well, you wake up with a lot of energy to chase your dreams. A tired mind…
3. Maximize screen time
“Boredom could drive you to motion, so let the screen entertain you,” suggests Grey. “Tiredness can push you to sleep, so let the screen keep you awake, sort of, as long as possible. Always fall asleep with a screen in your hand and put your eyes back on it as soon as you wake.”
Grey explains that you have allies on this front:
“Behind the screen are teams of the smartest people and brightest bots competing to hold your attention on them as long as possible. Let them reach you to pull you back if you turn away.”
4. Use your screen to stoke your negative emotions
Grey suggests using your feed to fuel your “anger or anxiety about things over which you have no control or influence.”
By focusing on the bad and only contributing in meaningless, token ways, especially about things we actually care about, we can further fuel our resentment and despair, says Grey.
To sum up: “Be well informed while doing nothing.”
Social Media is Making Me Angry byu/CharbonPiscesChienne inDecidingToBeBetter
Many of us are familiar with the concept of SMART goals—Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Responsible (or Realistic), and Time-Bounded. Grey suggests setting VAPID goals instead: Vague, Amorphous, Pie-in-the-Sky, Irrelevant, and Delayed.
“Make the target unclear and the path unclear,” he says. “If motivation strikes, aim ridiculously high to guarantee failure. ‘I will clean the whole house today’ is much better than ‘I will do the laundry in this pile.’ Cleaning a whole house is impossible. There’s always more to do, so you will always fail.”
Definitely focus on a goal that comes after your current goal.
“With VAPID goals, you will turn the productive part of your brain from a dangerous source of self-improvement that rewards every small step into a consistent nag that berates you for your failure to have already accomplished your goal every step of the way,” Grey says.
6. Pursue happiness directly
“Imagine happiness as a place where happy people are happy all the time,” Grey says. “This turns happiness into an unreachable feeling of constant bliss that no one has.”
Grey explains that happiness is like a bird that you can’t catch but will land on your ship if you’re not looking. So your best bet is to focus on improving your ship to get it to warmer waters, where the bird will most likely be.
“So be sure never to do that,” he advises. “Aim toward the mirage of happiness rather than improving the ship upon which you sail.”
Is Your Pursuit of Happiness Making You Sad? | John Tsilimparis MFT, Psychology TodayHere’s how the “bliss trap” can hold you back.Key points– We live in a culture that treats "joy" as a moral obligation.– Happiness is, by its very nature, a flicker—it is radiant, but it… pic.twitter.com/4GTlf9sZ8L— Owen Gregorian (@OwenGregorian) April 14, 2026
Is Your Pursuit of Happiness Making You Sad? | John Tsilimparis MFT, Psychology TodayHere’s how the “bliss trap” can hold you back.Key points– We live in a culture that treats "joy" as a moral obligation.– Happiness is, by its very nature, a flicker—it is radiant, but it… pic.twitter.com/4GTlf9sZ8L
7. Follow your instincts
“Navigation deeper into the sea of sadness is quite easy, for there is a dark magnetic field that points the compass of your impulses in the right direction once you get started,” Grey says. “You will want to stay indoors, you will want to not exercise. You will want to sleep in, you will want to do what you know will make you sadder after you’ve done it.”
Following your feelings and impulses instead of focusing on the long term is a surefire way to increase unhappiness.
If you felt personally attacked by this video, you’re not alone. As one commenter wrote, “My dude literally explained my life without missing the tiniest detail.” That was the point, but not the whole point. It wasn’t meant to just be a mirror, but to help people realize that happiness isn’t just a to-do list. It’s also a don’t-do list that many of us are very much doing.
This satirical approach to self-help may not be everyone’s cup of tea, of course. But some commenters found it much more effective than traditional “how to be happy” content:
“This was the hardest hitting wake up call in my life. Thank you.”
“I watch this frequently. The reverse psychology works a lot better for me than........