Anyone: What does the term "Critical Thinking" mean to you?
This BA sums up a lot of the points better then I could ... http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ai3jG_29d8sCqohl52oB5o_sy6IX?qid=20070902014145AAH9y93&show=7#profile-info-I8hOvtc7aa Just ignore the bits about the actual question the poster is responding to ... If I had to put the concept of critical thinking in my own words ... Maybe something like ... realising that my senses are limited in what they perceive and only convey a small amount of the relevant information I may need to answer a problem ... realising that every person (myself included) has bias (be it cultural or personal- I call these "lenses" - it's a crappy description but it works for me ) ... I am also a firm believer in if you want to answer a particular problem then you must frame the question appropriately (or at least to the best of your ability and knowledge)... the problem with framing boundaries on things is by definition in my mind that you limit them ( have found this can cause problems)... and finally looking for flaws in my thinking ... or my summation if I get that far ... redefining what I previously thought also based on new information ... Reply- "performing rigorous experiments herself correctly argue that she's not committing the same fallacy," - do you mean that literally as in actually conducting the scientific experiments or relying on well documented and well preformed science ...? there comes a point where trust backed by accountability and the ability of others to validate scientific experiments becomes not only apparent ... but also necessary ... no one human can know it all ...*** plz note- I may have misunderstood your point ***...
Can anyone learn critical thinking?
I think so, but it requires two things; a desire to think critically, and a willingness to admit your initial assumptions / biases were wrong.I also believe we live in an ideal time to hone your skills. The current polarization of our nation’s politics provides many opportunities to dig in and find the truth.Pick almost any article from Fox, then read about the same event from a different source and ask yourself:(1) why have they come to different conclusions?(2) what did each article omit that was a focus in the other?(3) what biases drove the different conclusions?Then look for other primary sources, is there a transcript or a video? If not, find additional secondary sources and try to understand the underlying facts behind the stories.Once you feel like you have a good idea what actually happened, reread the two articles to understand how each used the truth to come to their conclusions.You may still agree more with one over the other (most differences between right and left are valid differences in opinion), but identifying facts and recognizing biases becomes easier with practice and will benefit you across all aspects of your life.
Anyone good at critical thinking questions for antaomy and physiology?
Interesting question. In response to the stress of waking up under such stressful conditions, cortisol levels in the blood would suddenly increase as a result of ACTH secretion from the pituary gland at the base of the brain. The autonomic system would kick with the inevitable sympathetic physiological effects shortly following - tachycardia, sweating, papilitations, anxiety. Arterioles supplying the skeletal muscular system will dilate and blood glucose levels will be elevated from the breakdown of carbohydrates in the liver, which will be mobilised to target areas. e.g the brain, skeletal muscles. The body also boosts the supply of oxygen to the brain by increasing oxygen intake by hyperventilating. Taking together, this prepares the body for emergency situations. All this is fairly common knowledge, the real interesting aspect to this scenario which you have created is how the brain suddenly interprets the window breaking as a possible threat and arouses itself from the inner depths of REM sleep? We know that neurotransmitters are released and this stimulates the retics portion of the brain, which consitutes a very specfic part of the mid brain, if I can recall from my neuroanatomy classes, but the interesting part to this equation is, how does the brain process the information subconsciously and how does it recognise, given its relative inactivity at night, that a certain kind of accoustic disruption that doesn't fit in with normal blend of harmonious sounds that occur during the night (e.g. glass breaking) could mean the approach of something dangerous, is beyond our understanding at the moment. We have generalised theories but nothing concrete but I hope my explanation of how the autonomic system works is useful to you at least.
Watson-glaser critical thinking test?
i'm in 8th grade right now, and i just got a letter from my high school saying that according to my high school placement tests, i'm qualified to take the watson-glaser critical thinking test to get into some program during freshman and sophmore year. what is it? like, what exactly is the test on and what do the programs look like? i don't really understand what it's for. and is it good that i got this? thanks. :]
Why is critical thinking important?
Critical thinking involves: Higher level of analysis - the better you are at noticing "underlying issues" rather than just "surface" stuff, the better observer/evaluator you are Higher level of thought processing - whenever something involves critical thinking, it calls for our intelligence to go through a much lengthier and demanding process of thought than just "simplistic thinking" which hardly demands any thought process at all Higher level of concentration - "critical thinking" causes the 'student' or learner to use knowledge, background, questioning, formulas, hypothesis, and other information to focus. When someone is involved in "critical thinking" they use all this and more and are much more engaged (concentrating more) than someone who is not using critical thinking, like someone who guesses or someone who does not want to focus. Abstract thinking - ties into critical thinking. A person will try to make broad connections whenever they critically analyze something. They do not look for what is the obvious. They try to connect to other things / other ideas / other evidence and see a "bigger picture." So, critical thinking is also abstract thinking. That's all for now, hope some of it helped.
Why is critical thinking so important ?
It wouldn't be, if installed beliefs were not dangerous or bigoted.. but they are. For example, religious teachings should be examined and critically analysed, as they sometimes promote inequality, restriction and hate "thou shall not lie with another man". Some religious people will install this belief into their own personal views, and can damage others and widen societal acceptance of hate.. when they cannot learn to tolerate themselves. The media. People are programmed to believe certain things are good, attractive, worthy and valuable. For example, look at this product! YOU NEED it because it benefits US!.. Not, wow isn't nature beautiful and inspiring? Neither is peace or love promoted, but anything that enhances your looks, status or power. I would say critical thinking is important to opening the mind to the deceptions of media, absolutes, the government and more importantly, to open and free the mind.
How can I know if I'm a critical thinker or not?
First: What is Critical Thinking?From Wikipedia:The U.S. National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking defines critical thinking as the "intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action."To put that in simpler terms, you tend to want to understand things before you form opinions about them.When I was a child, my favorite TV show was called Why Is It So? and featured a classic wild-haired physics professor who’d do these really cool experiments, then pose his trademark question, “But why is it so?”I consider that curiosity, that need to figure out not just how things worked, but why, to be a sign of critical thinking.And keep in mind; you don’t have to apply critical thinking to every situation, every moment, to be a critical thinker. It is, I think, as I described; a tendency or preference.You will tend not to accept information on face value, especially if there seems something “off” about it. The very act of noticing something odd is, I believe, an indication of critical thinking; you are likely to be analytical about things you see, hear, and experience and thus notice things others do not.You will want to be logical in your approach to figuring things out, and gaps of information, or explanation that defy the laws of logic, will bother you and be unacceptable.While you will probably want to challenge others on “errors” or suspect data, whether or not you do will be determined by other personality aspects; just because you stay silent doesn’t mean you aren’t a critical thinker. You may be shy or diplomatic.So… logical, curious, skeptical, analytical.If this feels like who you are, then you are probably a critical thinker.
Do you know how to think critically about authority?
It depends on the type of authority you mean.If I am researching something, I look for sources that are acknowledged in their fields,and then I review what a few of them say. I also keep an eye out for any industry connections a researcher may have. And I look for where else this was cited by others and who they cited. Then I am pretty confident about the information.If you're referring to authority figures, that's a little harder for me. Even with that kind of authority, I still want to know why. Why does person have authority to do what they want to do? (Authority figures are not always right.) Is what they want to do legal and ethical? I am probably difficult to supervise in some areas, as I want to know why. You know your stuff and deal with me as an equal, we'll get along fine and you will have my loyalty.My personal statement is, “May I act with courage, honor, and integrity.” Any authority figure who does not share that and try to live those values is not someone I want to work for, if I have a choice.Thanks for the A2A.