CRITICAL THINKING

A LIFE SKILL

KNOW-IT-ALLS

 The Problem
Everyone thinks. It is our nature to do so. But much of our thinking, left
to itself, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed, or downright
prejudiced. Yet, the quality of our life and that of what we produce,
make, or build depends precisely on the quality of our thought. Poor
thinking is costly, both in money and in quality of life. Excellence in
thought, however, must be systematically cultivated.

 A Definition
Critical thinking is that mode of thinking about any subject, content,
or problem in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her
thinking by skillfully analyzing, assessing, and reconstructing it.
Critical thinking is self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and
self-corrective thinking. It presupposes assent to rigorous standards of
excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective
communication and problem-solving abilities, as well as a commitment
to overcome our native egocentrism and sociocentrism.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?

HOW DID YOU KNOW?

CONDITIONED THINKING
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7jqPLv7F2M

CONDITIONED THINKING / BIASES

Conditioned thinking if when we are impacted by previous experiences and we pass
judgements which may not be true.
Sometimes this is useful and can be correct. But sometimes it becomes a hurdle
which you need to overcome in order to come to a better understanding of things.
In the video, my first impression was that the stork was not going to return.
Why did I think that?

 The Five Monkeys Experiment

An experimenter puts 5 monkeys in a large cage. High up at the top of the cage, well
beyond the reach of the monkeys, is a bunch of bananas. Underneath the bananas is
a ladder. The monkeys immediately spot the bananas and one begins to climb the
ladder. As he does, however, the experimenter sprays him with a stream of cold
water. Then, he proceeds to spray each of the other monkeys. The monkey on the
ladder scrambles off. And all 5 sit for a time on the floor, wet, cold, and bewildered.
Soon, though, the temptation of the bananas is too great, and another monkey begins
to climb the ladder. Again, the experimenter sprays the ambitious monkey with cold
water and all the other monkeys as well. When a third monkey tries to climb the
ladder, the other monkeys, wanting to avoid the cold spray, pull him off the ladder
and beat him. Now one monkey is removed and a new monkey is introduced to the
cage. Spotting the bananas, he naively begins to climb the ladder. The other
monkeys pull him off and beat him.

 Heres where it gets interesting. The experimenter removes a second one of

the original monkeys from the cage and replaces him with a new monkey.
Again, the new monkey begins to climb the ladder and, again, the other
monkeys pull him off and beat him including the monkey who had never
been sprayed. By the end of the experiment, none of the original monkeys
were left and yet, despite none of them ever experiencing the cold, wet, spray,
they had all learned never to try and go for the bananas. The metaphor and
the lessons that apply to work are clear. Despite the exhortations from
management to be innovative and collaborative, cold water is poured on
people and their ideas whenever someone tries something new. Or, perhaps
worse, the other employees suppress innovation, and learned helplessness
spreads throughout the firm.

DONT BE JUST ANOTHER MONKEY

There are ideas in life which have been developed and are being spread all over the
internet which are simply wrong.
People everywhere have very strong feelings based on life experiences and based
on others telling them how to do things.
Take charge of the way you think and know how to think.
Critical thinking

ACTIVITY
Find a partner.
Think of your favorite movie, animal and your favorite food. Ensure it is different
from your partner.
You have 2 minutes to do the following before we switch rolls.
One partner needs to convince the other why their movie is the best movie from
the list at all cost.
Strategies
Not listening to the other person
Attacking the other persons movie
Attacking the other person directly
Talking about how great your movie is and nothing else
Etc.

HOW DID IT FEEL

Did you feel that you won the argument?
Did you feel that you accomplished something?
Did it feel a little weird saying these things to other people?
Explain

CANT PEOPLE THINK WHAT THEY WANT

AND SHARE IT WITH OTHERS?

NO
People are sharing ideas which have, and have had, drastic negative effects

POOR THINKERS
James Jones
A man who convinced his cult followers to commit mass suicide because he convinced
them that the U.S.A. government was going to imprison them. He had 900 people drink
cyanide mixed with grape juice and they all died.

Adolf Hitler
A man who convinced a nation that groups and nations were inferior to others. Thereby
trying to exterminate millions of lives and successfully doing so for many years.

Charles Ponzi (Pyramid Scheme)

A man who convinced people to give him their money in good confidence they he would
give them more money back in one month for their investment. Ponzi ran away with $20
million dollars of his investors money.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE POOR THINKERS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWCSQm86UB4

WHY DO PEOPLE THINK BADLY?

Poor information?
Not enough formal education?
Gullible?
Persuaded by bad argument?

EXPECTATIONS OF OTHERS
We naturally expect others to be critical thinkers and often dont try and develop out
critical thinking skills in the process.
Think of a major purchase.
What is the people who made that thing were not critical thinkers and you just spent all of
that money on it.

WOULD YOU BUY IT IF

Car
If you lived in Phoenix and your car was not made with an air conditioning system?

House
If your doorways were all 4 feet tall instead of closer to 7 feet?

Food
If the kitchen was not sanitised regularly?

Therefore, we need to be better thinkers

HOW AND WHEN IF THIS IMPORTANT TO

YOU?
High School
Am I spending my time wisely to achieve my current goals and prepare for the future?
How often do you think about the things you do every evening?

Life After High School

New ideas will bombard you on a regular basis. Are you capable of thinking about these things
and not jumping on the band wagon.

University
Philosophy 1000

Career
Is what I am doing ethical?
Do I solve problems and think about things while working (not a robot or drone)

Lifes big questions

What is most important to me? Family, money, faith, friendship, cars, fame, legacy

CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING

Come to a joint decision on 2 of the following

Is breaking the law ever okay?

Is lying ever okay?
Should Europe be accepting more refugees right now?
Hotdog or Hamburger?
What color is this dress?
Is it GIF or GIF?
What is the best shape to make fries?

SKILLS
Riding a bike is something you were not born with
Skills need developing
You need to be mindful and practice the skill of critical thinking

Visit
www.criticalthinking.org