Critical Thinking: It’s Not Just All Siskel and Ebert

I’ve probably dated myself with the reference to Siskel and Ebert (famous film critics from the seventies and eighties). Oh well! It is still appropriate! In contrast to Siskel and Ebert, critical thinking doesn’t mean running around criticizing everyone and everything. It also doesn’t mean that you never believe anything. The dictionary defines critical thinking as “the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment”. So basically, thinking objectively about something before you get all judgy about it. Is judgy a word? Maybe you thought critically about that!

Drinking From The Fire Hose

In today’s society, there’s so much coming at us, from our friends, family, workplace, and especially social media. Who hasn’t seen a funny meme that aligned with your opinions and shared it on Facebook? Who hasn’t heard a news story, and because it aligned with your opinions, you were more likely to believe it? For the next few weeks, we’re going to explore critical thinking, what it is, and how you can develop and hone your critical thinking. It’s dry, maybe, but we’ll make it fun. So let’s put our (critical) thinking caps on, and get started!

Today I’m going to focus on some top critical thinking skills, then explore those skills further over the next few weeks. I love this topic because while I’m not always the most critical thinker, it’s a skill that’s, well, critical in my job. So I’m hoping to use what I learn while writing these posts, in my real life! I’ll try to make it relatable for most people, including people that don’t work in the same role I do. These skills are helpful no matter who you are. Whether you’re an executive, a student, a stay at home parent, or something else, thinking critically about the things you see, hear, and observe is important.

Why Is Critical Thinking Important?

But why? Why is critical thinking important? For me, one of the most important reasons is because it increases my marketability. The better I can think critically, the more opportunities are open to me in my career. Secondly, for protection. Especially when you think of the number of scammers and con artists out there, it is really truly a fact that you have to protect yourself by evaluating all the facts before making a decision. Critical thinking is important when dealing with kids, too! You have to know what’s going on, have the facts, then make decisions and judgements.
No matter who you are, having the skills to analyze a problem or situation, discover the facts, and then form an informed opinion is important.

Top Skills

Here are the top skills that I think are essential to develop in order to be a good critical thinker:

• Observation
• Objectivity
• Asking Questions
• Analysis
• Skepticism
• Open Mindedness
• Creativity

There are several articles out there that talk about critical thinking skills. Many of them talk about finding solutions, or problem solving. While I agree that problem solving is a good skill to have, and it’s important to think critically about solutions to problems, I’m not sure problem solving in and of itself is one of the more important skills for a critical thinker.

Let’s break it down!

Observation

Noticing things. Sometimes we’re so wrapped up in what’s happening or going on that we don’t notice the details. Become a first class “noticer” to develop your critical thinking skills. Observe everything! Everything you notice is a data point you can use in analyzing what’s really going on.

Objectivity

This is probably what I struggle with the most. When you’re passionate about a subject, it’s hard to stay objective, whether that’s your kids, a presidential candidate or some project at work. In order to think critically, you have to be objective before forming an opinion.

Asking Questions

We can observe all day, but without asking questions we won’t get all the information we need. I like to call this “interrogating reality”. What you think you see and hear may not be the case; ask questions to gain understanding of what’s really happening.

Analysis

When you start collecting information through observations, asking questions, and any other data you can get your hands on, analysis is taking those pieces and putting them together to form a whole picture. This can be hard, and you can make errors in judgement if you don’t have all the facts. It’s also possible to get stuck in “analysis paralysis” where you’re afraid to move forward because you’re afraid of missing something. So you don’t want to get stuck here, but you do need to spend time doing it.

Skepticism

Earlier I said critical thinking is not disbelieving everything, and that’s still true. When I think of skepticism, I think of not taking things at face value. Just because it agrees with your opinion, or it’s what you want to hear, doesn’t make it accurate. Question the evidence.

Open Mindedness

The answer isn’t always what you think it is, and it really is true that you can’t judge a book by its cover. Be open to ideas that aren’t your own, and opinions that don’t align with yours. This is another thing I struggle with sometimes. I tend to form opinions early and quickly, and have a hard time backing off once that’s happened. Be aware when you’re not being as open minded as you’d like to be.

Creativity

Remember that creativity is not just for the “talented”! It’s a skill you can develop. Being creative will help you think around corners and obstacles. It will allow you to think of and consider options that you might not otherwise. Creativity doesn’t have to be artistic, or artsy and craftsy. It just means thinking outside the box and coming up with alternatives to what might be the “norm” or standard.

What’s Next?

In my next few posts, I’ll talk more about these skills and how to grow them. If you want to stay in the loop, subscribe using the form below! I’ll also be talking about a lot of this in the upcoming podcast episodes, so stay tuned!

What might I have missed? Any critical thinking skills that you have developed that aren’t here? Share in comments!

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