Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 3: Hone Your Interviewing Skills
• Method 2 of 3: Customize Your Point of View
• Method 3 of 3: Put it all together
• Tips
• Warnings

Critical thinking is the true art of deep analysis of information and the ability to develop your thinking abilities. Thinking critically does not mean thinking more or more difficult things. First of all, it is to think “better, better”. By honing your critical thinking skills, you develop your intellectual curiosity. But everything is not so simple here. Critical thinking requires a lot of discipline. You must be completely objective and, most importantly, self-critical. You need to seek and acknowledge the truth even in situations where you were wrong.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Hone Your Interviewing Skills

1. 1 Building a guess question. We talk a lot and about everything. This is how our brain processes certain pieces of information. This is the foundation of our daily life. But what to do in a situation when our assumption turned out to be wrong or wrong? Indeed, in this case, the whole process will initially fail.
   • What is a guess question? Thus, A. Einstein questioned the assumption that Newton's laws of motion could accurately describe the world. He opened up completely new boundaries by describing the world from scratch.
   • You can ask yourself similar guessing questions. For example: why do we eat in the morning without even having time to feel hunger? Or, how can you talk about defeat without even starting a fight?
   • Can all the assumptions that we are used to take for granted can be destroyed by detailed analysis?
2. 2 Do not take information as truth until you have researched this or that issue yourself. Instead of checking how correct the information is, we very often trust the inscriptions on the labels or some reliable source, in our opinion. Do not try to save time and energy by rechecking information, even if it comes from a reliable source. Not everything is true what magazines and newspapers write about and what they talk about on television and radio.
   • Learn to trust and use your instinct. Especially on the most controversial issues. If something seems dubious to you, look for more information about it, and also use different sources. Soon enough, you will learn to distinguish between useful information and filter out unnecessary information.
3. 3 Such a thing as a question. Remember, the quality of the information you receive depends on how you ask the question. The ability to ask the right questions is perhaps the quintessence of all critical thinking. Without knowing which questions to ask first and which ones to leave for the final part, you will never get the desired result. Finding the right questions is a fundamental principle of critical thinking.
   • How does ball lightning work?
   • How do fish fall from the sky right in the center of Australia?
   • What effective measures can you take to fight poverty around the world?
   • How do you feel about the elimination of nuclear weapons by the countries of Europe and the whole world?

Method 2 of 3: Customize Your Point of View

1. 1 Identify your own biases. Human judgments are often subjective, and sometimes generally unfair and offensive. One of the scientific studies showed that the number of parents informed about the safety and the need for vaccination is significantly less than the number of all vaccinated children. Why is that? The hypothesis is that most parents accept this information as correct. Consider your passions when dealing with information.
2. 2 Think several moves ahead. Not 1 or 2 steps, but somewhat like chess players. Do not underestimate your opponent - this has ruined more than one grandmaster. You must enter into an intellectual duel with him, having calculated all possible combinations.
   • One of those who realized the benefits of thinking ahead was Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos. He believed that everything that a person does should be calculated for several years in advance. He also meant his own business. If a person is not ready to invest in a project of 5 or 7 years of duration, he will never stand up to healthy competition. And only a few companies, in his opinion, are capable of this.
3. 3 Read great works. Nothing beats the transformations of our thinking and perception that occur after reading another interesting book. Be it "Moby Dick" or lyric poetry. You should not just read, but get into the essence of the book and ask questions.
4. 4 Put yourself in other people's shoes. It promotes the development of critical thinking skills. Empathy can help you better understand human psychology, people's motives and aspirations. Don't be heartless, because empathy is essential for everyone.
5. 5 Set aside 30 minutes daily for brain training. There are dozens of ways you can improve your brain function. Here are some of these ideas:
   • Solve problems during the day. Take some time to figure out the essence of the problem and start solving it. This can be both a theoretical problem and personal troubles.
   • Take time and take 30 minutes for aerobic exercise. Walking in the fresh air is essential for improving brain function.
   • Watch for proper nutrition. Avocados, blueberries, salmon, nuts and seeds, and brown rice play important roles in keeping your brain healthy.

Method 3 of 3: Put it all together

1. 1 Define your goals. If you want to use your critical thinking skills for philosophical reflection, sitting in a chair is one option. You can also use them for self-knowledge and getting out of difficult life situations, when it seems that there is no other way out, critical thinking will become your assistant.
2. 2 Don't be afraid to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. Do not give in to complexes and strives to be a big fish in a small pond. Drop your ego. Surround yourself with smart people who will teach you something and learn something from you.
3. 3 Go ahead despite possible setbacks. Be fearless in the face of defeat. Failure is a great way to discard wrong choices. There is a myth that famous people do not fail - they are not. They just endure and do everything so that others can only see their success.

Tips

• Use online resources and libraries to find more information on the subject of your thinking. Ignorant criticism is worse than ignorance.
• Don't be too categorical, but bold enough to think critically. Avoid the words "never" if you are not 100% sure about it. Be convincing in your arguments, use facts. Speak slowly and confidently, there is no need for a race.
• Distinguish between inductive and deductive methods of reasoning. You should, when the conversation is conducted from the private to the general, and when from the general to the specific.
• Ask for the opinions of other people. People from different age and social groups can give you a whole new perspective on things.
• Read other people's reviews in newspaper and magazine articles. Consider their mistakes and strengths to improve your own style.
• Pay attention to what other critics think about you.
• Be diplomatic. Your goal is not the person himself, but the proposal that he puts forward.
• Think hypothetically deductively. That is, given the specific situation, apply the appropriate knowledge of the principles and constraints and show them in an abstract, possible way.
• Criticism will be much more successful if its subject matter is in your area of ​​expertise. For example, who will appreciate the painting better than the artist? And who, if not a writer, has a better opinion of a book or literary work?

Warnings

• use the "sandwich" method: a compliment, an offer, a wish. The criticism is better if you use this approach. You can also use the first and last name of the face, a sincere smile, a look in the eyes.
• Never criticize in an offensive manner. In this case, the person takes a defensive-attacking position (especially if the subject of the dispute concerns him personally). Therefore, you should not, for example, in a conversation with a supporter of abortions, add fuel to the fire by speeches that abortion is a crime. In such a situation, the person does not listen to arguments and it will be even more difficult for you to convince him otherwise. Finally, criticism works great with praise.