Things That Work / Critical Thinking

Michal Matlon

Impairment created by a continuous stream of negative information is rising.

Our information bubbles are damaging our ability to think, reason and make good decisions. These bubbles are creating a feedback loop that amplifies anger and hatred. Strong emotions hijack our ability to think critically.

Edutopia points out, when a continuous stream of negative emotions hijacks our frontal lobes, our brain's architecture changes, leaving us in a heightened stress-response state where fear, anger, anxiety, frustration, and sadness take over our thinking, logical brains.

Critical thinking is the act of deliberately analyzing information so that you can make better judgements and decisions. It involves using things like logic, reasoning, and creativity, to draw conclusions and generally understand things better.

So, who is the uncritical thinker?

They don't see critical thinking as a good value point. Pretend they know more than they do and ignore their limitations. They are close-minded people and resist criticism of beliefs and assumptions. Often base beliefs on mere personal preference of self-interest. May 18, 2021 tutsmaster

Children are not born with the power to think critically, nor do they develop this ability naturally beyond survival-level thinking. Critical thinking is a learned ability that must be taught. Most individuals never learn it.

Since critical thinkers are made, how do we promote that ability in children? Walden University came up with these seven ways of developing critical thinking skills.

Critical thinking exercises for elementary education

• Ask questions. ...
• Encourage decision-making. ...
• Work in groups. ...
• Incorporate different points of view. ...
• Connect different ideas. ...
• Inspire creativity. ...
• Brainstorm.

The idea is to teach children how to think rather than what to think.

Is it too late for adults? 

Indeed has come up with a list of ways to improve critical thinking.

Become more self-aware. ...

Understand your mental process. ...

Develop foresight. ...

Practice active listening. ...

Ask questions. ...

Evaluate existing evidence. ...

Meeting with a mentor. ...

Participating in team-building exercises.

Our Future Depends on Critical Thinking

Psychology today says, critical thinking is the skill that, among many things, enables you to tell a truly informed and researched opinion apart from an uninformed one. Employees with critical thinking skills benefit an organization because it makes them better able to develop better solutions. They go on to say, Thinking critically takes effort, study, and sometimes a struggle to understand and analyze an argument. It's a skill that is cultivated. Developing critical thinking skills allows us to resist the bombardment of misinformation and mount a positive argument for the truth.