We’ve always heard about critical thinking, without understanding what it really meant and how it created an impact on the masses. Critical issues, critical condition, critical patient. We’ve heard these words time and again but what are they really?
Critical thinking is the ability to think pragmatically, rationally and clearly about what exactly should be done and what should be believed in. It involves a practical orientation to your approach. Not only that, it includes how a person can engage in reflective thinking and in an independent thought process. This is why so many firms and companies use a critical thinking test because decision making, efficient working, coming up with ideas and solving crisis are all related to reflective thinking and steering the wheel to an independent thought process.
If anyone has good critical thinking skills, they can do the following things:
- Understand how two ideas are logically connected. For example if you show a picture of a hungry man and a picture of sprawling buildings in new york, a person with critical thinking can draw an inference between poverty and how the rich just keep getting richer.
- People with a critical thinking ability can identify problems, form and evaluate arguments. These people have a proof to support their arguments and don’t just speak without having a proper basis to justify their words. These people don’t speak to put their opinions on people or to call out people but simply want to educate.
- They know how to detect problems and inconsistencies people make while they try to reason.
- They can solve a problem in a planned manner and systemically so that the importance and relevance of ideas can be put across. For example if the company has had a series of losses for the couple of months, instead of losing her mind, a person with critical thinking abilities will device a proper plan which can be executed one step at a time so that there is a slow but systematic change in the system.
- These people have beliefs and values which they adhere to. These beliefs are not just fleeting but are grounded deep within them and they have logical justifications for these beliefs as well.
Critical thinking is not just a matter of gathering information and getting it heard. A person who can memorize things easily and knows anything and everything is not a critical thinker. However, we can call someone a critical thinker if they can use this knowledge to deduce and infer consequences and know how exactly they should make use of the facts and information to solve problems and look for a good amount and sources of information to keep herself educated at all times, not just to state facts but to implement and use these facts in statements they make.
We should understand that critical thinking should not be mixed up with someone who has a knack for arguing or being critical about anything and everything. If this was the case then most of the politicians all around the world would have been critical thinkers but that is not the case. Even though critical reasoning can be used to expose and remove bad reasoning and fallacies, critical thinking is more important when used in a positive manner. It helps in undertaking constructive tasks and helps in cooperative work and reasoning. Not just that, critical thinking allows us to learn and not criticize every small thing. It helps us to acquire a vast store house of knowledge, along with improving our theories and strengthening arguments with facts and a proper basis. We can use critical thinking in the manner that it helps us to enhance our social institutions and improve the work process.
A lot of people believe that a concept like critical thinking is detrimental for creativity. This is because it follows logical explanation and conceptualizing with rationality and creativity requires a strong use of imagination. However, this is far from the truth. Critical thinking is pretty much compatible with ‘out of the box’ thinking or latent thinking. Not only that, critical thinking can pursue both challenging and not so popular approaches. More than that, if critical thinking is anything, it is an important part of creativity. If creativity did not have a sound basis or logic embedded somewhere in the back of our minds then our thoughts would have been completely abstract. For example an architect needs to construct a modern house which has facilities that people have never even seen before. Now even though the architect can go aboard with this creativity and do anything and everything, he has to find a logical consensus in critical thinking. Each type of modern equipment has to be connected to an electricity line, and if an automatic temperature changing Jacuzzi has to be installed, he must see if it is even required if the climate is perpetually hot there.
Why do employers/professors and teachers need critical thinking tests?
- Critical thinking is based on a domain-general skill for thinking. To able to think clearly, rationally and most importantly with a sound structure is important no matter what you do and where you go. It is required in finance, research, education, in the entire management process of a legal institution. However critical thinking is not only related to such broad areas. Even a shopkeeper with limited education will have to deduce things, make sound decisions and select people who can do the same. Therefore being able to solve problems rationally and systematically is a big asset for any given career or profession?
- Critical thinking is very important in building up the economy in general. The global economic knowledge is driven with the help of technology and with an informational skill set. It is important because the economy is constantly changing and one needs to constantly be on his toes to understand and deal with the changes effectively and quickly. You need a flexible intellectual skill set and you need to know how to analyse situations.
