Level 2 Topics

Level 2: Skills for Overcoming Barriers

Topic-1: Critical Thinking

I. Bare Essentials →

Develop the ability to analyze information, evaluate evidence, identify logical fallacies, and make sound judgments—the foundation for all other skills.

II. Intermediate-A →

Evidence, Probability, and Trust — How to evaluate claims and sources, how much evidence different claims actually require, how to think in probabilities rather than certainties, and why confident-sounding people are not necessarily reliable ones.

II. Intermediate-B →

SOS: The Subjective Trap — A deeper look at how subjective narratives — romantic ideas, cultural sayings, emotionally resonant stories — can quietly slip into objective decision-making if you’re not watching for them.

II. Intermediate-B →

Media Literacy — Applying critical thinking to the information environments you live in every day: news, social media, advertising, and more.

II. Intermediate-D →

Intellectual Virtues — The character side of critical thinking: intellectual honesty, courage, and humility as learnable skills, not fixed personality traits. These help turn the tools you learn in the rest of the topic into good habits.

II. Intermediate-E →

More Tools — An expanded look at logical fallacies and cognitive biases, with resources to keep building beyond this program.

II. Intermediate-F →

Scam and Manipulation Defense — How scams and cons work, how they bypass your reasoning, and how to defend against them.

Topic-2: Psychology

I. Bare Essentials →

Understand how the mind works, why people think and behave the way they do, and how psychological principles apply to yourself and others.

II. Intermediate-A →

Learn about different frameworks for describing personality, their strengths and weaknesses, and how to use them responsibly.

II. Intermediate-B →

Learn about neurodiversity and the suprising different ways that people think, communicate, and perceive the world, as well as the problems and opportunities they face.

II. Intermediate-C →

Take a deeper look into the limitations of the field of psychology, and how to navigate it to get the best use out of it.

II. Intermediate-D →

This section covers trauma, from the mechanisms of how it works and affects our lives, to the various pathways to healing it.

II. Intermediate-E →

Learn about Memetics as a useful framework for understanding the adoption, transmission, and perseverance of any kind of idea or information, including how to better protect yourself from harmful ones.

Topic-3: Emotion Management

I. Bare Essentials →

Learn to recognize, understand, and work with your emotions effectively—using them as valuable information rather than being controlled by them.

Topic-4: Communication Skills

I. Bare Essentials →

Master the art of expressing yourself clearly, listening actively, resolving conflicts, and building understanding across differences.

Topic-5: Science

I. Bare Essentials →

Understand science as a method for discovering truth, not just a collection of facts—and learn how to apply scientific thinking to everyday questions.

II. Intermediate-A →

This is the first of three parts of the Intermediate Science lesson. It starts with a useful perspective shift about science, followed by an explanation as to the choice of subjects chosen for this level. It then begins with the first lesson, Chaos Theory, and how it applies to this program and your life.

II. Intermediate-B →

Part 2 continues Intermediate Science by covering the topic of Evolution, and how it applies to other topics in the program, your life, and community.

II. Intermediate-C →

Part 3 completes Intermediate Science by taking a look at Ecology and how it applies to the rest of Techne and our lives.

Topic-6: Education (as a concept)

I. Bare Essentials →

Explore what education really means beyond schooling, how people learn effectively, and how to become a self-directed learner.

Topic-7: Community & Cooperation

I. Bare Essentials →

Learn why humans need community, how cooperation creates outcomes impossible alone, and how to build and maintain healthy collaborative relationships.

Topic-8: Technology & Society

I. Bare Essentials →

Understand how technology shapes society and how society shapes technology—and learn to think critically about technological change and its impacts.

II. Intermediate-A →

Learn more about humanity’s deep relationship with technology, its dependence on it, and what this means for you.

II. Intermediate-B →

Discover how Artificial Intelligence and Large Language Models really work, how to use them effectively, and the ethics involved in their deployment and use.

II. Intermediate-C →

A grounded look at what automation actually does to jobs and communities, what history tells us, and what individuals and societies can do about it.

II. Intermediate-D →

An exploration of open source as both a practical tool and a proof of concept for alternative ways of organizing knowledge, technology, and community.

Topic-9: Efficiency

I. Bare Essentials →

Discover how to achieve more with less wasted effort, time, and resources—in your personal life, work, and collaborative projects.

Topic-10: Long-term Thinking

I. Bare Essentials →

Develop the ability to consider future consequences, plan beyond immediate gratification, and make decisions that benefit your future self and future generations.