We are in a world with tons of information scattered everywhere on the internet. Sometimes, the tons of information might be a bane because it is difficult to analyze or process. This is a generation with much information but little output; what ought to be an advantage for us has now become a disadvantage.
Thinking shouldn’t be passive or spontaneous, or impulsive. You will likely not get much from it that way. Thinking needs to be deliberate, planned and cultivated. We all find time to read and play, but we do less thinking. The best decisions or innovations are never accidental; they are borne out of hours of critical thinking. So, if you want to know why you are not productive despite your reservoir of knowledge, you may consider horning your critical thinking. If you want to improve your speaking or presentation skills, consider critical thinking.
What, then, is critical thinking? Let me lean on how two experts defined it:
‘If we all behaved optimally, costs and benefits would always be accurately weighed, impatience would not exist, gains would never be foregone to spite others, no relevant information would ever be overlooked, and moral behaviour would always be aligned with moral attitudes. ‘
– Milkman, Chugh & Bazerman (2008)
Critical thinking is thinking about your thinking while you’re thinking to make your thinking better. – Richard Paul.
Critical thinking aims to make an informed judgement- we all make decisions or judgements at places of work or home but have we really thought it through- the benefits, the risks, the potential outcomes etc? Society will be a better place if we all engage in critical thinking.
There are three steps of critical thinking that we discussed in class:
- Researching: This comes with asking expert questions and collecting factual information. The first criterion to know if you are thinking critically is the quality of the questions you ask. You cannot separate thinking from asking questions. The 5W and 1H are a good place to start: Why, What, Where, Who, When and How.
- Processing: Every time you are about to make a decision, there must always be more than one option/alternative being considered. At this point, it is good to present them as a bucket list and begin to rank them. The most difficult decision to make is deciding between two good alternatives. Explore all
- Output: There will be a disconnect between your thinking and decision-making if you do not write down what you have gotten or share the information with people around you.
A prompt for me is that I must have a specific day within the week to begin thinking actively.
