In college I took a Critical Thinking class and boy oh boy did I feel like it was a total waste of time. It really just seemed like common sense to me. I attended less than %60 of the class and still pulled off over a 100% in the class (extra credit).

What I didn’t realize until later in life was that not all people have the correct thought process to be a critical thinker but most definitely have the ability. Thus the reason for the class.

So to start off let me clarify what critical thinking really is.

Critical Thinking is a form of judgment, specifically purposeful and reflective judgment. Using critical thinking one makes a decision or solves the problem of judging what to believe or what to do, but does so in a reflective way (Wikipedia.org).

Quite often I get frustrated with people around me and shoot my mouth off complaining about how Stupid Sucks. What is the real problem here? It isn’t really stupidity, as much as it is a lack of critical thinking. A better judgment thus decision could have been made but by ignoring simple steps of critical thinking, an inferior decision is chosen.

What can you do to be a critical thinker? Follow along:

1. Learn how to discern the difference between opinion and fact. As simple as that sounds, you would be very surprised and how easily people are mislead by cleverly advertised opinions appearing as facts. Developing your ability to separate the two will take you a long way and prevent you from misleading others as well.

2. Question opinions but in a non-confrontational manner. It’s really surprising at how many opinions don’t have anything factual to back them up yet are dished out as if factual material. We are all entitled to our opinions but minimize the use of opinions in decisions and judgments. By questioning opinions you’ll find yourself making much more accurate choices.

3. Put some effort into higher quality thinking & problem solving. The majority of questions I am asked are usually the derivative of being lazy. In turn, those choosing not to put effort into critical thinking lack the ability when it is necessary. Practice walking through these activities to improve your capabilities. (This list is in thanks to an article by Joe Old.)

• Prioritize
• Identify Purpose
• Determine Consequences
• Determine Effects
• Identify Bias
• Identify Assumptions
• Draw Conclusions
• Make Contrasts and Comparisons
• Do Syntheses
• Develop Hypotheses
• Use Figurative Language
• Make Critiques
• Make Summaries
• Make Evaluations

4. If you want to be a critical thinker, follow the characteristics of one. Nobody said you couldn’t copy the characteristics of those ahead of the curve. Sometimes watching closely and following the people who are really good at something will help you pick up things faster.

So observe and practice. If you have nobody to follow here are some good characteristics:

• Ask Pertinent Questions
• Assess statements and arguments
• Examine problems closely
• Readily admit a lack of understanding or informaiton
• Discard incorrect or irrelevant information
• Maintain a sense of curiosity
• Be interested in finding new solutions
• Clearly define a set of criteria for analyzing ideas
• Examine beliefs, assumptions, and opinions, weigh them against facts and look for evidence
• Listen carefully to others and give feedback
• Make critical thinking a lifelong process of self-assessment
• Suspend judgment until all facts have been gathered and considered

5. Don’t be afraid to change sides. Sometimes after you find new facts/evidence you’ll have to switch sides. This is all part of making the best judgment/decision possible. It goes against our nature but is something we must learn to do.