by
M.
Richard Maxson
My
family delights in pointing out times when I make really dumb
mistakes. What does it mean to be intelligent? The most widely known
measure of intelligence is the intelligence quotient, more commonly
known as the IQ test, which includes visuospatial puzzles, math
problems, pattern recognition, vocabulary questions and visual
searches. The advantages of being intelligent are undeniable. Given all the advantages of intelligence though you may be surprised to learn that several large-scale studies have failed to find evidence that IQ impacts life satisfaction. This requires more than intelligence.
The
ability to think critically has been associated with wellness and
longevity. Though often confused with intelligence, critical thinking
is not intelligence. We all probably know someone who is intelligent
but does surprisingly stupid things. Is it better to be a critical
thinker or to be intelligent? The latest research pitted critical
thinking and intelligence against each other to see which was
associated with fewer negative life events. People who were strong on
either intelligence or critical thinking experienced fewer negative
events, but critical thinkers did better.
Critical
thinking is a collection of cognitive skills that allow us to think
rationally in a goal-orientated fashion and a disposition to use
those skills when appropriate. Critical thinkers are amiable
skeptics. They are flexible thinkers who require evidence to support
their beliefs and recognize fallacious attempts to persuade them.
Critical thinking means overcoming all kinds of cognitive biases (for
instance, hindsight bias or confirmation bias). Critical
thinking predicts a wide range of life events.
We everyone to complete an inventory of life events and take a
critical thinking assessment (the Halpern Critical Thinking
Assessment). The critical thinking assessment measures five
components of critical thinking skills, including verbal reasoning,
argument analysis, hypothesis testing, probability and uncertainty,
decision-making and problem-solving. Critical
thinking is necessary for having strong analytical skills.
You
use analytical skills when detecting patterns, brainstorming,
observing, interpreting data, integrating new information,
theorizing, and making decisions based on multiple factors and
options available. You must learn more about a problem before solving
it. You will have to first collect data or information before
analyzing it. Therefore, an important analytical skill is being able
to collect data and research a topic.
We,
at the American Constitutionalist, have repeatedly called on you to
use both critical and analytical thinking in attempting to circumvent agendas and find real truth in our
world. There is a difference between to two. Analytical
thinking describes a thinking style that enables a person to break
down complex information or a series of comprehensive data. It uses a
step-by-step method to analyze a problem and then come to an answer
or solution. In essence, analytical thinking represents a cause and
effect style of looking at a problem, and is sometimes referred to as
perceiving something through multiple lenses or
looking at something from different points of view. Critical thinking
has to do with evaluating information that is fed to you, and
determining how to interpret it, what to believe and whether
something appears to be right or wrong. Critical thinking also takes
outside information into account during the thought process. Rather
than sticking strictly with the information presented, critical
thinking lets the thinker explore other elements that could be of
influence.
Combining
the two you get critical/analytical
thinking. The
purposes of critical thinking and analytical thinking are not the
same. You do not employ critical thinking strategies to figure out
the solution to a complex question or to problem-solve. Rather,
analytical thinking is used for this purpose. However, you would not
use analytical thinking if your main goal was to come up with a
belief or perception about something. In this case, you would use
critical thinking methods.
Using
this technique is critical for finding truth in what you read, see,
or hear in a world fraught with agenda driven news and subtle
propaganda. In
critical thinking you attack the information to see if it stands up
to extreme scrutiny. Then, using analytical
thinking, you
use the facts facts
to build on information and support evidence that leads to a logical
conclusion. Let
us use an example on how this technique works. You read a news story
and start to decipher it.
1.
Is it true?
Consider
everything to be false. Then look at facts, but be aware that those
facts be used for different purposes.
2.
Are the quotes accurate or
are they taken out of context?
Examine the entirety of the remark.
3.
Is there an agenda?
Is
there
a
history of the source slanting or omitting items? You
use analytical skills when detecting patterns.
Reaching
your conclusions and finding real truth may bring you into conflict
with those who read, hear, or see something and take it at face value
and parrot it rather than using their intellect to reach their own
conclusions. It
is vital to everyone's mental health and happiness in life to find
real truth. Repeatedly, we found that critical and analytical
thinkers experience fewer negative life events. This is an important
finding because there is plenty of evidence that critical thinking
can be taught and improved with training, and the benefits have been
shown to persist over time. Anyone can improve their critical
thinking skills. Doing so, we can say with certainty, is a smart
thing to do.
These
are the keys:
1.
Gather relevant information
2.
Focus on facts and evidence
3.
Examine chunks of data or information
4.
Identify key issues
5.
Use logic and reasoning to process information
6.
Separate more complex information into simpler parts
7.
Sub-divide information into manageable sizes
8.
Find patterns and recognizing trends
9.
Identify cause and effect
10.
Understand the connections and relationships
11.
Eliminate the extraneous information
12.
Organize the Information
13.
Then draw your appropriate conclusions
No comments:
Post a Comment