Internal Critical Thinking, Humility and Taking Positions, Not Sides

Jason separates external critical thinking, using fallacies and biases to beat opponents online, from internal critical thinking, which questions your own process and decisions. Practical advice includes practicing humility and welcoming critique. Citing Chris Johnson, Jason urges clinicians to speak in denominators, not numerators: we remember successes and forget the patients we failed, so outcomes need objective tracking. Tribal thinking, such as pain science versus biomechanics, feeds confirmation bias. Instead of a side, take a position rooted in principle, foundational science and a reasoning process. In the questions, Jason describes the approach used in practice: the Maitland concept of manual therapy plus exercise therapy, general activity, stress management and sleep hygiene. To improve clinical reasoning, start with a framework, such as the Maitland concept for hands-on work or mechanical diagnosis and therapy for an exercise-based approach. On placebo, offering treatments believed to work only through nonspecific effects is unethical, but nonspecific effects should be used responsibly alongside efficacious care.