critical thinking examples in real life

critical thinking examples in real life

The Importance of Critical Thinking in Real Life

1. Introduction to Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is an invaluable skill that everyone should strive to achieve the highest level possible. Critical thinking is the ability to think reflectively and independently in order to make thoughtful decisions. By focusing on root-cause issues, critical thinking helps you avoid problems that are created by the traditional problem solving, often times in a cursory fashion. It is due to the evaluation and reflecting on the available information that critical thinking can distinguish between a strong decision and a poor one. Often times taking an hour to plan a series of tasks can save you days of work due to reducing resource consumption and addressing potential issues before they even surface. Critical thinking is the ability to break down complex problems in a manner that is easier to understand. This can be seen in the science and engineering students who are beginning their education. These students often times encounter much difficulty in their studies due to the fact that they are learning to think critically for the first time in their life. Once these students learn to apply the concepts of critical thinking, the quality of their learning will improve.

2. Section One: Decision Making and Problem Solving

When decision making, there are many steps that can be put into place. One of the simplest and most effective is something called the OODA loop (Boyd, 1987). The OODA loop can be defined as the decision cycle of Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act. The loop is recurrent. When you act on the decision you made, you start the process all over again. OODA can be used in a variety of decision. To exemplify its use, a fire team leader uses the OODA loop to decide where to maneuver his team during an enemy contact. This means that the leader will observe where the enemy is, taking into account how many there are and their activity, then he will orient his team on the enemy’s position deciding what to do regarding the enemy, and finally he will decide and act into to carry it out. After the action the leader will reevaluate using the loop again. OODA is in ideal tool to use when in game theory because it relies heavily on anticipating opponent’s moves. Sorting is decision making under a clear set of rules which finds the optimal solution. An analogy of this is the process of a chess game, where the concept of ‘nodes’ and ‘branches’ are easily applied. A node being a position in the game, and the branches being the possible moves from the current node. The process of chess is identifying where a sequence of moves from both players results in a win for one side. If player A plays a move which wins him a knight from the current position, but in doing so loses his queen, the sequence of moves nets player B a gain of points. By identifying every sequence of moves, player A can decide whether the exchange of the knight for a queen is a worthy one. This is identical to the concept of sorting in which a computer identifies every possible move for a sequence of moves and evaluates the end result before making the best move.

3. Section Two: Effective Communication and Persuasion

Effective communication and persuasion are therefore significant skills for a critical thinker to master. It enables them to share the results of their thinking and to influence others in making a particular decision. However, the complexity of these skills means that they can be difficult to execute. From start to finish, effective communication requires the thinker to consider the needs of the audience. A message is usually designed to have some effect on the receiver; therefore, the clearer an understanding the thinker has of who the audience is, the more effective the message can be. The ability to consider and weigh up what the receiver may be thinking is also of great benefit when constructing the message. It allows the message to be tailored to the needs of the audience and can often result in the message being changed to one that is more beneficial. At all stages, effective communication requires the thinker to think on his/her feet, employing various tools of critical thinking to solve any problems that occur in transmitting the message.

Persuasion is a more specific type of communication that involves an obvious attempt to influence people’s beliefs or actions. It is the final part of the critical thinking process and involves putting decisions into action. Because persuasion is based on the ability to cause a change in people’s beliefs or actions, it is very important for critical thinkers to be able to do this effectively. Considering that they will often have to persuade others to adopt their own beliefs and to make the best decision, it can be said that the ability to persuade is power. A master in the art of persuasion will be able to effectively utilize the various tools of critical thinking when making decisions, but will also be able to influence others to think and act on their own decisions.

Therefore, it is necessary for critical thinkers to be able to communicate effectively. This is where their objectives, arguments, and beliefs that they have uncovered in their research are expressed. An important element in communication is the ability to create clear and understandable messages, avoiding overly complex language that can be interpreted in a number of ways. If a message is unclear, it is very difficult for the receiver to evaluate it using critical thinking. This often results in the thinker going back and forth, not really knowing what he/she is arguing, and the listener being confused as to what is being said. Using reasoning and the evaluation of alternative viewpoints that occur in the later stages of the critical thinking process can also aid in making and expressing a firm decision.

4. Section Three: Analyzing and Evaluating Information

The first step is to take a look at the information presented and to understand it truly as good as possible. This step involves identifying and interpreting the key points in the information. Ideas can be visualized in the form of a concept map, paragraph map, or by using other forms of graphical organizer. The third step involves questioning the information, employing the use of Socratic questioning, with the purpose of finding any ambiguity or contradictions it may contain. More details on Socratic questioning can be found in part four of this essay. In the fourth step one must take into consideration his own biases and assumptions on the information. In doing this, he can be more open-minded and less susceptible to confirmation bias. Confirmation bias can lead to implementing step 2 and 3 in a way that is biased and so more susceptible to self-deception. The fifth step is to decide on whether to accept, accept provisionally, or suspend judgment on the information. At this stage, the thinker can begin to return to some degree of confidence in their decision-making, knowing that they are keeping the goal of truth in mind. However, the final step shares a very important idea with step one. This step is to re-evaluate the information by reflecting on the problem and seeing if any new information has come to light. The eight steps should allow a person to critically think through any information with the purpose of making an educated decision.

5. Conclusion: Applying Critical Thinking Skills in Everyday Life

The rigor of an academic subject, say biology, is not what makes it important. Critical thought is what makes things important. Anything and everything can be examined with the same process used studying the hardest academic subject. If we are able to get people to be adept at critical thought, then we will have prepared them to learn anything. In an ever-changing and increasingly complex world, it is more important now than ever to have a strong thinking population. It is my hope that this essay has accomplished that goal.

In conclusion, the importance of critical thinking cannot be emphasized enough. Many of the highest paying and most prestigious jobs are held by people with PhDs; yet this is not an accurate measure of critical thought. Upon closer inspection, a great deal of jobs are routine tasks that require little more than the presence of a human being. Presently, many of these jobs are being outsourced to other countries where labor is cheaper. The future job market is going to be incredibly competitive. The routine jobs that do not require much thought will be the first to go. In order to succeed, one will have to have the capability to think above the mean. This is the time when critical thought will be most important and also the time when the application of critical thinking will be most valuable.