Our sensory nervous system sends gigabytes per minute of data to the brain but the brain has the attentional bandwidth to process megabytes per minute. It is simply not possible to perceive reality accurately and everyone's reality is different. Let that sink in for a minute: these are incorrect assumptions. For example, most of us believe (1) we are perceiving reality accurately, (2) our perceptions are valid, and (3) that what is obvious to us must be obvious to others. By critically examining our assumptions, we can adjust them to be in better accord with reality and they become more powerful mental models in the toolkit through which we understand reality.Īll of us go through life with many incorrect core assumptions about reality. The best models improve our likelihood of making the best decisions. The quality of our thinking is only as good as the models in our head and their usefulness in a given situation. Mental models shape what we think, how we interpret what we value most, where we direct our attention, how we reason, and where we perceive opportunities. Therefore, we use filtering models to simplify the complex into organizable and understandable chunks, conceptual models to file and organize new information, and reasoning models to create new ideas and make decisions. Everyday we encounter so much information that we cannot store it all and the phenomena we encounter are too complex to understand every detail. A mental model is a representation of how something works. Mental models are the filters we use to understand the world. Decisions based on critical thinking are more likely to be ones we feel confident about and to have the effects we want them to have. Critical thinking describes the process we use to uncover and check our assumptions. To make good decisions in life we need to be sure that these assumptions are accurate and valid – that they fit the situations and decisions we are facing. At other times we have picked these assumptions up as we travel through life but can't say exactly where they've come from. Sometimes we hold these assumptions because people we respect (friends, parents, teachers, religious leaders) have told us they are right. At other times, however, the assumptions we base our decisions on have never been examined. We assume that the foods we choose to eat are healthy for us, and so on. We assume politicians we vote for have our, or the community's, best interests at heart. We assume our career choices will be personally fulfilling or financially remunerative. We assume our friends will be trustworthy and won't talk about us behind our backs. Whom we date or choose as friends, the work or career we pursue, which political candidates we support, what we choose to eat, where we live, what consumer goods we buy, if and whom we marry, if and how we raise children-all these decisions are based on assumptions. Life is a series of decisions, some small, some much larger. Finally, we make informed decisions or judgments that are based on these researched assumptions. Next, we check the accuracy of these assumptions by exploring as many different perspectives, viewpoints, and sources as possible. First, we analyze to discover the assumptions that guide our decisions, actions, and choices. Ĭritical thinking describes a process of uncovering and checking our assumptions and reasoning. What is Critical Thinking?Ĭritical thinking is the art of analyzing and evaluating thinking with a view to improving it in order to make an informed decision that is most likely to result in desired effects.
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