How to Improve Critical Thinking Skills
Question your assumptions., Don't take information on authority until you've investigated it yourself., Question things.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Question your assumptions.
We make a lot of assumptions about almost everything.
It's how our brain processes certain pieces of information, and how we get along in everyday life.
You could say they are the foundation of our critical framework.
But what if those assumptions turned out to be wrong, or at least not entirely truthful? Then the whole foundation needs to be re-built, from the bottom up.
What does it mean to question assumptions? Einstein questioned the assumption that Newtonian laws of motion could accurately describe the world.He developed an entirely new framework for looking at the world by redescribing what he thought had happened, starting from scratch.
We can question assumptions in a similar way.
Why do we feel the need to eat in the morning, even when we're not hungry? Why do we assume that we'll fail when we haven't even tried? What other assumptions are we taking for granted that might crumble upon further examination? -
Step 2: Don't take information on authority until you've investigated it yourself.
Like assumptions, taking information on authority can be useful.
Instead of double-checking everything anyone says, we tend to label information as either coming from a trustworthy or not trustworthy source.
This keeps us from double-checking every piece of information that comes our way, saving time and energy.
But it also keeps us from getting to the bottom of things we perceive as coming from a trustworthy source, even when they don't.
Just because it was published in a magazine or broadcast over TV doesn't mean it's necessarily true.
Get in the habit of using your instinct to investigate questionable pieces of information.
If your gut isn't satisfied with an explanation, ask the person to elaborate.
If you don't question a fact, read about it or test it yourself.
Soon enough, you'll build up a pretty good sense of what deserves more research and what you've determined to be true in your own judgment. , You've already read about questioning assumptions and questioning authority figures.
Now you're about to be told to question...everything? Asking questions is perhaps the quintessential act of critical thinking.
If you don't know what questions to ask, or don't ask the questions in the first place, you may as well not get the answer.
Finding the answer, and finding it elegantly, is what critical thinking is all about.
How does ball lightning work? How do fish fall from the sky in the middle of Australia?How can we take meaningful steps to fight global poverty? How do we dismantle production of nuclear weapons worldwide? -
Step 3: Question things.
Detailed Guide
We make a lot of assumptions about almost everything.
It's how our brain processes certain pieces of information, and how we get along in everyday life.
You could say they are the foundation of our critical framework.
But what if those assumptions turned out to be wrong, or at least not entirely truthful? Then the whole foundation needs to be re-built, from the bottom up.
What does it mean to question assumptions? Einstein questioned the assumption that Newtonian laws of motion could accurately describe the world.He developed an entirely new framework for looking at the world by redescribing what he thought had happened, starting from scratch.
We can question assumptions in a similar way.
Why do we feel the need to eat in the morning, even when we're not hungry? Why do we assume that we'll fail when we haven't even tried? What other assumptions are we taking for granted that might crumble upon further examination?
Like assumptions, taking information on authority can be useful.
Instead of double-checking everything anyone says, we tend to label information as either coming from a trustworthy or not trustworthy source.
This keeps us from double-checking every piece of information that comes our way, saving time and energy.
But it also keeps us from getting to the bottom of things we perceive as coming from a trustworthy source, even when they don't.
Just because it was published in a magazine or broadcast over TV doesn't mean it's necessarily true.
Get in the habit of using your instinct to investigate questionable pieces of information.
If your gut isn't satisfied with an explanation, ask the person to elaborate.
If you don't question a fact, read about it or test it yourself.
Soon enough, you'll build up a pretty good sense of what deserves more research and what you've determined to be true in your own judgment. , You've already read about questioning assumptions and questioning authority figures.
Now you're about to be told to question...everything? Asking questions is perhaps the quintessential act of critical thinking.
If you don't know what questions to ask, or don't ask the questions in the first place, you may as well not get the answer.
Finding the answer, and finding it elegantly, is what critical thinking is all about.
How does ball lightning work? How do fish fall from the sky in the middle of Australia?How can we take meaningful steps to fight global poverty? How do we dismantle production of nuclear weapons worldwide?
About the Author
Carolyn Baker
Enthusiastic about teaching organization techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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