7 Steps to Improving Your Critical Thinking
What is the hardest task in the world? To think. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probably reason why so few engage in it. – Henry Ford
Every day, I’m amazed at the amount of information I consume; I listen to the news in the morning, check my social media accounts throughout the day, and watch some TV before I go to bed, all while getting constant updates via email and Facebook. It can be overwhelming , but things get really interesting when some of that information is biased, inaccurate, or just plain made up. It makes it hard to know what to believe.
Even with all the competing sources and opinions out there, getting the truth — or at least close to it — matters. What you believe affects what you buy, what you do, who you vote for, and even how you feel. In other words, it virtually dictates how you live your life. So how can you figure out what is true and what is not? Well, one way is by learning to think more critically. Critical thinking is as simple as it sounds — it’s just a way of thinking that helps you get a little closer to the best answer. Critical thinking is just deliberately and systematically processing information so that you can make better decisions and generally understand things better. So the next time you have a problem to solve, a decision to make or information to evaluate, here are methods you can use to help you find the truth.
1. Don’t Take Anything at Face Value The first step to thinking critically is to learn to evaluate what you hear, what you read, and what you decide to do. So, rather than doing something because it’s what you’ve always done or accepting what you’ve heard as the truth, spend some time just thinking. What’s the problem? What are the possible solutions? What are the pros and cons of each? If you really evaluate things, you’re likely to make a better, more reasoned choice. As the saying goes, “When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me.” It’s quite easy to make an ass of yourself simply by failing to question your basic assumptions. Some of the greatest innovators in human history were those who simply looked up for a moment and wondered if one of everyone’s general assumptions was wrong. From Newton to Einstein, questioning assumptions is where innovation happens.
If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking. – George S. Patton
2. Consider Motive Where information is coming from is a key part of thinking critically about it. Everyone has a motive and a bias. Sometimes, it’s pretty obvious; other times, it’s a lot harder to detect. Just know that where any information comes from should affect how you evaluate it — and whether you decide to act on it.
3. Do Your Research All the information that gets thrown at us on a daily basis can be overwhelming, but if you decide to take matters into your own hands, it can also be a very powerful tool. If you have a problem to solve, a decision to make, or a perspective to evaluate, get onto Google and start reading about it. The more information you have, the better prepared you’ll be to think things through and come up with a reasonable answer to your query. I have a personal library of over 3500 books and I use them all the time for research. You have access to your local library and an unlimited amount of good info on the net. Don’t rely solely on Google. The Library of Congress online is a great source of information. Another search engine I use a lot is called Refseek (www.refseek.com) It contains over a billion books, documents, journals and newspapers. When you’re trying to solve a problem, it’s always helpful to look at other work that has been done in the same area. It’s important, however, to evaluate this information critically, or else you can easily reach the wrong conclusion. Ask the following questions of any evidence you encounter: How was it gathered, by whom, and why?
4. Ask Questions I sometimes find myself shying away from questions. They can make me feel a little stupid. But mostly, I can’t help myself. I just need to know! And once you go down that rabbit hole, you not only learn more, but often discover whole new ways of thinking about things. I tell my students all the time, there are no stupid questions. That is how you learn. Sometimes an explanation becomes so complex that the basic, original questions get lost. To avoid this, continually go back to the basic questions you asked when you set out to solve the problem. What do you already know? How do you know that? What are you trying to prove, disprove, demonstrated, critique, etc.?
5. Don’t always assume You’re Right I know it’s hard. I struggle with the hard-headed desire to be right as much as the next person. Because being right feels great. But assuming you’re right will often put you on the wrong track when it comes to thinking critically. Because if you don’t take in other perspectives and points of view, and think them over, and compare them to your own, you really aren’t doing much thinking at all — and certainly not the critical kind. Human thought is amazing, but the speed and automation with which it happens can be a disadvantage when we’re trying to think critically. Our brains naturally use mental shortcuts to explain what’s happening around us. This was beneficial to humans when we were hunting large game and fighting off wild animals, but it can be disastrous when we try to decide who to vote for. A critical thinker is aware of their biases and personal prejudices and how they influence seemingly “objective” decisions and solutions. All of us have biases in our thinking–it’s awareness of them that makes thought critical.
6. Break It Down Being able to see the big picture is often touted as a great quality, but I’d wager that being able to see that picture for all its components is even better. After all, most problems are too big to solve all at once, but they can be broken down into smaller parts. The smaller the parts, the easier it’ll be to evaluate them individually and arrive at a solution. This is essentially what scientists do; before they can figure out how a bigger system — such as our bodies or an ecosystem — works, they have to understand all the parts of that system, how they work, and how they relate to each other. I think this is a primary reason why Dr. Schulties have been so successful with our radio show. We both seem to have the capability to take complex issues and break them down into something we and our listeners can understand. That is part of critical thinking.
7. Keep It Simple In the scientific community, a line of reasoning called Occam’s razor is often used to decide which hypothesis is most likely to be true. This means finding the simplest explanation that fits all facts. This is what you would call the most obvious explanation at least until it’s proven wrong. Often, Occam’s razor is just plain common sense. When you do your research and finally lay out what you believe to be the facts, you’ll probably be surprised by what you uncover. It might not be what you were expecting, but chances are it’ll be closer to the truth. Some of the most amazing solutions to problems are astounding not because of their complexity, but because of their elegant simplicity. Look for the simple solution first.
Conclusion: Critical thinking is not an easy topic to understand or explain, but the benefits of learning it and incorporating it into your life are huge. Remember : 1. Don’t Take Anything at Face Value 2. Consider the Motive 3. Do Your Research 4. Ask Questions 5. Don’t always assume You’re Right 6. Break It Down 7. Keep It Simple
I will close with one final quote:
Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. – Henry Ford
What do you think? Can you adopt critical thinking in your life? Better yet, can you pass it on to those who refuse to use it?