What Happened to Critical Thinking?

[Ace-Garageguy]

Something to think about. 

http://www.inddist.com/articles/2012/02/what-happened-critical-thinking

[MeatMan]

Very true.

[Harry P.]

Here's the really depressing part... that article is above the comprehension and/or intellectual level of most Americans.

 

[charlie8575]

Brilliant article and not a single false word in there I could think of off the top of my head.

THIS needs to be required reading for every teacher, college professor, school committee, and member of Congress, the several state legislatures, city councils and town board of selectmen. 

I'm going to see if I can get a .pdf of this for my own references and the occasional class I still teach, and share this on Facebook, where, thankfully, even some of my less-intellectual friends read what I post and think, and actually make some effort to discuss it and learn. It can happen if you lead people to the water, they might drink. 

Charlie Larkin

Edited October 11, 2015 by charlie8575

[Harry P.]

It can happen if you lead people to the water, they might drink.

With the state of our society today, odds are that if you lead people to water they'd tend to drown...

[chunkypeanutbutter]

Well, the easy way certainly is the more popular one these days. Either take this long regimen of a normal painkiller, or take a short regimen of Vicodin. Guess what most people choose?

[MrObsessive]

OK, i don't want to turn this into a political skunk spraying match, but one of the reasons that a lot of people don't think as critically as they once did can be summed up by one problem-------political correctness.

It's sometimes nigh impossible to say or have a thought about something without someone becoming offended. "Feelings" have become more important than what's a plain fact, and until that line of thinking goes by way of the Dodo bird, things will remain the same.

Edited October 11, 2015 by MrObsessive

[JollySipper]

"Two percent of people think, three percent of the people think they think, and ninety-five percent of the people would rather die than think."

---- George Bernard Shaw

[mikemodeler]

OK, i don't want to turn this into a political skunk spraying match, but one of the reasons that a lot of people don't think as critically as they once did can be summed up by one problem-------political correctness.

It's sometimes nigh impossible to say or have a thought about something without someone becoming offended. "Feelings" have become more important than what's a plain fact, and until that line of thinking goes by way of the Dodo bird, things will remain the same.

Very well said Sir.

[Roadrunner]

With the state of our society today, odds are that if you lead people to water they'd tend to drown...

That's funny,... sad, but funny.

[charlie8575]

With the state of our society today, odds are that if you lead people to water they'd tend to drown...

OK, i don't want to turn this into a political skunk spraying match, but one of the reasons that a lot of people don't think as critically as they once did can be summed up by one problem-------political correctness.

It's sometimes nigh impossible to say or have a thought about something without someone becoming offended. "Feelings" have become more important than what's a plain fact, and until that line of thinking goes by way of the Dodo bird, things will remain the same.

Neither of you will hear much argument from me.

 

Charlie Larkin

[Agent G]

Pretty much sums up my career.

I like #7, cops have a BS meter, a good one.

I can smell BS from a long ways out.

G

 

[Erik Smith]

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts"

Bertrand Russell

[charlie8575]

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts"

Bertrand Russell

Second.

Charlie Larkin

[Scott Colmer]

That was a great article. I am soon to be a teacher. When the idea first struck me, this type of thinking is what I wanted to teach. Then send them out into the world!

I am going to tip toe on the edge of politicism to make a point about what happens when we abandon critical thinking.

I claim to belong to one side of the political spectrum. People I know claim to belong to the other. The interesting thing is that when two of us name a series of the most common political issues and where we personally stand on each one, we find that we are in agreement on 90% and can get to a compromise on the rest. As soon as we start using party monikers to assign beliefs to each other, it devolves into the typical partisan argument. It seems we were trained to not be critical thinkers.

 

[fog cutter]

just a matter of time

Edited October 28, 2015 by fog cutter

[Deano]

and yet all the brown-nosers toe the mark lest the bannings begin. go figure ...

Please, Master, show us how to push the envelope.

[mrindy77]

I think my critical thinking skills were born out of my natural skepticism about the world in general and science class...thank you Mr. Schulstad. Scientific skepticism is about testing beliefs for reliability, by subjecting them to systematic investigation using the scientific method, to discover empirical evidencefor them.

[aurfalien]

Well, I don't think its on the decline.

Some ppl like to think, most like it simple.  There is nothing wrong with that.  And its always been that way.

However with the massive amounts of information seeminlgy easy to get to, it's an age of referance versus an age of problem solving.

Still, it's about the same, in terms of those who think in complex form versus those who don't, same ol same ol.

Of course in the end ppl will believe what they want and there is no changing that.

A simple example and perhaps one that some may disagree with.  I had an older gentlemen at work whom I consider above avg in IQ email me about his slow internet access to a site.  I asked that he test access to other sites which was fine.  I ended this transaction with the simple fact that thinking this out would have been faster and simpler then opening up your email, typing it out and sending.

Just saying, we are becoming Googlized in some form.

 

 

Edited October 28, 2015 by aurfalien

[Dave Van]

Just watch the film 'idiocracy'   it is set some 100+ years in the future.....but will happen, is happening, much sooner.....sometimes it's good to be old.

[sjordan2]

I bookmarked the article. I can hardly wait to use it at the right moment on Facebook, where others will refute it without having read it.