Former Wyoming inmate releases critical thinking book | Local Recreation

Guy said the book, titled “Think Straight,” describes itself as a “user’s manual for the mind.” Part science, part philosophy, it’s full of detailed debunkings of common misconceptions and guidelines for fighting them.

In a Wyoming prison, writing the book became “a solace” for Guy—a way of expanding and tempering his mind.

“It’s stimulating,” he said, “in an environment that’s the opposite of the stimulus.”

Guy said much of the book was researched and written in Wyoming prisons in Torrington and Newcastle. He estimates he read nearly 300 books and thousands of articles while working on the project in prison. Once he finished the books, he donated them to the prison library.

“I had a small team of college professors and my family and friends, and I would write and say, ‘I need this, this and this,'” Guy said. “They’ll send me these packages, and I’ll spend hours reading them.”

He was inspired to start the project after listening to a lecture given by a university professor in prison. An article on “deceptive thinking” he saw in Newcastle got Guy interested in putting together his own critical thinking course that could be understood by ordinary prisoners.

At first, Guy estimated that it would take about six months to write a data package that would guide critical thinking groups led by prisoners.

But then he started, knowing how much he didn’t know. In total, he spent about two years researching, writing and editing the book, and submitting it to publishers about two months after its 2021 publication. The finished project is about 400 pages long.

“I have to admit, I’m totally not done with what I set out to do,” he said with a laugh. “It took almost all my time, maybe three years or so. If I wasn’t working, I was either reading or writing.”

In 2004, Guy stabbed a man. He slashed the man’s back with a pocket knife. The stabbing hit the man’s liver, doctors said, according to court documents. The man apparently didn’t know he was stabbed at the time until friends finally saw him bleeding.

This came after a night out in Laramie, where Guy said he and a friend got into an argument with a group of men after leaving the bar. He was arrested hours later and charged with attempted second-degree murder.

He moved from California to Wyoming with his dog for just two weeks in order to find a job and reduce the cost of living. Before the stabbing, he was employed by the local Albertsons, but never started.

After a jury found Guy guilty, he was sentenced to 30 to 45 years in prison. He is 20 years old.

He ended up serving 17 years thanks to a reduced sentence and some good time credits.

He said prison officials intercepted several scientific papers sent to Guy from outside, but he opposed the decision and won them back through an internal grievance process.

Guy ended his work at the Casper Reentry Center in November. Now, he lives in Cheyenne and works for a natural gas company in Colorado.

Guy said the book was not about him. But the skepticism and critical thinking that inspired it came from his experiences.

“It’s full of examples,” he said, “from ghosts and aliens to GMOs and vaccines. It covers everything.”

Several professors, including those who helped and advised Guy in the writing process, now plan to use “Think Straight” in their classes. He has appeared on podcasts about skepticism and biotechnology, and will be reviewing the book in magazines such as Psychology Today, The Skeptic, and The Skeptic. Now that “Think Straight” is out, Guy is writing a chapter for a clinical psychology textbook that will appear alongside chapters from giants in the field.

He still wants to see “Think Straight” end up in jail. Guy said he contacted the Wyoming Department of Corrections and was told each facility would have to decide whether to spend money from their budget to store it in the prison library.

“I think this will be a great example of how you can completely change your life and your mind,” Guy said. “It can be done.”