11/14/2017 What is critical thinking?

– Steven Michels – Medium

Steven Michels Follow

Assistant provost for teaching and learning at Sacred Heart University. #pedagogy #assessment
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Nov 28, 2016 · 3 min read

What is critical thinking?

Most college courses include “critical thinking” as a desired learning
outcome. But what do we mean by the term? And why is it so
important — for coursework and for life?

“Critical” is derived from the Greek word krisis, which means “to
separate.” When we think critically, we are pulling things apart to
evaluate them, but we are also separating ourselves from our thinking
(our interests and biases) to be better thinkers.

Sometimes that is easier said than done.

Let’s take something easy to digest: sports. It’s easy to have a favorite
team. Mostly, loyalties come from who your family favors and where
you grow up. You can root, root, root for the home team, but if you are
going to make a claim that any one team is better than another, you’re
going to have to back it up with evidence.

There is a big di erence between saying (1) the Cubs are the best team
in baseball and (2) the Cubs are the best team in baseball because they
had the best regular season record and went on to win the World
Series. (Yes, that really happened.) Critical thinking can be directed
toward others, but we need to be the most critical about our own views.

Very quickly, however, invoking statistics (win-loss record, runs scored,

etc.) becomes a discussion of the relative merit of one piece of evidence
over another. The classic example of this is batting average, which was
for far too long exaggerated. On-base-percentage (which also takes into
account walks and being hit by pitches) is a much better measure of a
hitter’s skill.

In academic settings, critical thinking is more than just remembering or

understanding content or o ering an opinion. It’s an essential skill that
requires analyzing and evaluating theories and evidence; identifying
biases and challenging assumptions; considering the consequences of

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11/14/2017 What is critical thinking? – Steven Michels – Medium

hypothetical or counterfactual situations; developing new and probing

questions; making informed decisions about complex problems; and
applying knowledge to a new eld or area and even creating new
knowledge.

A great example of critical thinking is Lorenzo’s Oil. The 1992 lm

documents the true story of Augustos and Michaela Odone as they
attempt to nd a cure for their son’s adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), a
fatal disease. The cure they discover, a combination of rapeseed oil and
olive oil, runs counter to the established medical wisdom of the time
and resisted by most experts they consult. They eventually have seek
help abroad to have their cure manufactured, and it ends up adding 20
years to Lorenzo’s life.

Critical thinking is almost always radical because it goes “to the root” of
things, which is why it is so essential to problem solving. Karl Marx,
rather cynically, alleged that people can only see a problem once a
solution is available. A more optimistic, if idealistic, version comes from
John Lennon (from “Watching the Wheels”), where he sings, “there’s
no problem, only solutions.” Marx and Lennon were both critical
thinkers, but Lennon wrote better songs.

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11/14/2017 What is critical thinking? – Steven Michels – Medium

Critical thinking is not always creative, but thinking critically is

essential to the creative process, if by creativity we mean seeing things
in a new light. Steve Jobs was a great critical thinker. “Sometimes when
you innovate, you make mistakes,” he said to The Wall Street Journal in
1993. “It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your
other innovations.” For him, trial and error were essential, but so too
was not letting biases stop him from throwing an idea overboard.

Some people might be more naturally critical and independent

thinkers, but everyone can improve their thinking. We especially need
to be mindful about the undue deference we give to both experts and
what is commonly held to be right or true. Social conformity and
tradition are powerful obstacles to critical thinking.

Even though our aim is more than content knowledge, knowing

something is the rst and most important step to critical thinking. We
need to get in the habit of reading extensively and carefully and then
giving ourselves enough time to know what it all means.

This rst appeared on TheRubric.xyz.

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