THNK Research
The research behind Think First.
The research behind Earned Rankings, our podcast, essays, and practical tools.
Behind the work
What we know, and how we know it.
A headline makes a bold claim. Two reports disagree. A statistic leaves out a key detail. Each gives us a reason to look closer.
We trace claims to their sources, compare explanations, and show what supports our conclusions and what remains uncertain. Readers and listeners can check the evidence for themselves.
This is research for Think First’s published work, not an academic research program.
Applied research / 01
Earned Rankings
Developed by THNK Research.
College Football
Earned Rankings: College Football compares what teams have earned under explicit, published rules. Each result contributes to a record readers can examine.
The rankings describe accomplishment under the chosen rules. They do not predict who will win next, and the choices behind the method remain open to scrutiny.
Current questions / 02
Questions we are exploring.
Confidence and evidence
How can we tell when someone sounds more certain than the evidence allows?
Sources and summaries
How can we check whether a summary accurately reflects the original report, study, or recording?
Human judgment and AI
When we use AI, how do we show what it contributed, what a person checked, and who made the final decision?
Public tool / 03
Signal Check
Explore how words may shape your first reaction. This early version matches phrases to written notes and questions for you to consider.
Signal Check does not determine whether a claim is true.
Your text is not saved by Signal Check.
Questions to consider
Working method / 04
How we work through a question.
Define the question
State what you want to find out and why it matters. Identify the evidence that could support or challenge an answer.
Find the original sources
Find the original report, study, document, or recording. Record who made it and when. Check for missing details, corrections, and evidence that points another way.
Separate evidence from interpretation
Separate what the source shows from what someone says it means. Note any guesses, opinions, and gaps. A recording can show what someone said without proving that their claim is true.
Test other explanations
Consider the strongest other explanation and look for evidence against your own. Apply the same standards to both. A critic can point out a real error even if their own answer is wrong.
State what could change your mind
Write down your current conclusion, what you still do not know, and the evidence that would lead you to revise it.
Publish and keep a record
Use what holds up to prepare an episode, essay, Brief, ranking, or tool. Make the sources easy to find. Keep a visible record of corrections and changes that affect the conclusion.
Connected work / 05
Where the research goes.
Explore the conversations, essays, updates, and tools that grow from this work.
Think First with Jim Detjen
Listen as we examine a question and discuss the evidence.
Still Thinking
Read independent essays and the questions they leave open.
The Standing Brief: AI & Technology
Consequential developments—what changed, why it matters, and what remains uncertain.
Clarity Framework
Apply six stages to a question of your own.
TakeNotice.ai
One consequential subject at a time. A separate Attention Intelligence experience developed through THNK Research for independent investigation.
Explore TakeNotice.ai