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.

Conditional Love? No Thanks

I love you, except...

I belong to an organization that is debating whether we believe everybody is welcome, they can come as they are. The organization's founding was based on critical thinking and being open to everyone. That may change. Anyone can still join, but to fully participate, you will need to adhere to certain lifestyle standards. There varying degrees of critical and passive thinking at work here. Unconditional love suddenly has conditions applied to it.

Critical Thinking

According to credentials.deakin.edu.au, critical thinking is the ability to make informed decisions by evaluating several different sources of information objectively. As such, critical thinkers possess many other essential skills, including analysis, creativity, problem-solving and empathy.

Passive Thinking

According to exploremindfulness.wodrpress.com The thoughts we have as a result of those are what would be classified as “passive thoughts”. It is essentially living in the moment and fully experiencing a certain stimuli. Active thoughts, however, are much more complex than passive thoughts. Active thinking is a form of critical thinking. Passive thinkers are more likely to take the words on a page literally.

WHAT IS CONDITIONAL LOVE? (Treehouserecovery)

Conditional love doesn’t feel very nice. In fact, it doesn’t always feel like love at all. When someone loves us conditionally, it means that they put terms, restrictions, or rules on the giving of their love. While a person can have feelings of deep care or affection for you, their love is conditional if it feels like you have to earn it. Additionally, conditional love often vanishes during difficult times. We can perhaps term this “fairweather love,” meaning that your partner, family member, or friend, emotionally or literally bails when times get tough. Conditional love doesn’t feel good. It’s not a tried-and-true love and often it can cause deep pain to those on the receiving end. If someone is making you feel unworthy of love, even at your darkest times, this person is offering conditional love which, as we will learn, is contrary to the very definition of love.

WHAT IS UNCONDITIONAL LOVE? (Treehouserecovery)

Like many truly spiritual and transcendent things, unconditional love is difficult to describe. To put it simply, it’s love without conditions, limits, or barriers. In unconditional love, there is no sense of: “I will love you if…” or “I will only love you when you behave differently.” Unconditional love is boundless and it’s often compared to the kind of love that God (or the universe) has for us. There’s no sense of owing or repayment. Love is given freely and without cost. Unconditional love is not an exchange, it’s an offering. Unconditional love is deeply healing because it means we are seen and accepted for who we are, even during our most difficult times.

Healthline offers more on the benefits of unconditional love:

It can benefit emotional health

A small 2009 study explored the brain regions activated by feelings of unconditional love. The results of the study suggest that unconditional love activates some of the same areas of the brain’s reward system that romantic love does.

It feels secure

Unconditional love can provide a sense of security in both childhood and adulthood. Feeling confident in someone’s love and knowing it won’t go away can help create secure attachments and foster autonomy, independence, and self-worth.

It’s altruistic

Altruism refers to helpful actions taken to support and benefit others, often at your own expense. In terms of unconditional love, altruism means you don’t consider any potential benefits of loving someone. You offer your love for their support and benefit.

It involves acceptance and forgiveness

People aren’t perfect, and nearly everyone makes a few choices they regret. Unconditional love, however, requires unconditional acceptance.

Patriotic Education / Mindless Zealots?

Teaching Exceptionalism and Manifest Destiny.

Are you wondering what is meant by a Patriotic Education? The first paragraph below will be taught in our schools. The second paragraph will be cut from the curriculum. 

Manifest destiny is defined as “the concept of American exceptionalism, that is, the belief that America occupies a special place among the countries of the world.” The Puritans came to America in 1630 believing that their survival in the new world would be a sign of God's approval.

Manifest Destiny was the idea that white Americans were divinely ordained to settle the entire continent of North America. ... US President James K. Polk (1845-1849) is the leader most associated with Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny inflamed sectional tensions over slavery, which ultimately led to the Civil War.

Does it matter?

Damn straight it does. By putting these these concepts in full context, students become critical thinkers.

There are five key critical thinking skills are: analysis, interpretation, inference, explanation, self-regulation, open-mindedness, and problem-solving. (zety.com)

According to Indeed.com, Critical thinking helps people better understand themselves, their motivations and goals. When you can deduce information to find the most important parts and apply those to your life, you can change your situation and promote personal growth and overall happiness.