4 ms·

I say how to think critically: problem solving, not always accepting the status quo, don't take things at face value (photoshops, or fake news), think about wha

I say how to think critically: problem solving, not always accepting the status quo, don't take things at face value (photoshops, or fake news), think about what motivates other people (when negotiating etc), learning self-independence. Maybe some of those things can't be taught effectively at school, but I sure don't think most kids are learning that stuff at home. Perhaps your school might sponsor a Scouts BSA program? A lot of the character development stuff can be taught that way. (And a lot of people on reddit say taxes.)

thundergolfer 7y ago
Rebuttal: There's good evidence that "thinking critically" is not a skill that can be divorced from domain-specific expertise. In order words, the capability to be a critical thinker is in direct relationship with one's competency in _specific domains_ and cannot be generalised. Source: Why Knowledge Matters - E.D Hirsch
- larnmar 7y ago
  I think what’s most important is not so much critical thinking skills as critical thinking discipline. Don’t go round believing things just because you want them to be true, or disbelieving things just because you don’t want them to be true. Don’t rush to judgment just because something provokes a strong emotional reaction. Always be doubting, always be listening to points of view that differ from your own. That kind of thing.
- roenxi 7y ago
  Which is true but also leaves the interesting follow up question - do people understand how uncritical thinking works and can they recognise in themselves when & why they are doing it? A lot of intelligent people seem to have skipped thinking about that one. I'd love to get it and a negotiation course into a high school curriculum.
- madacoo 7y ago
  It's difficult to accept this assertion at face value. After all for any given proposition p, regardless of the domain under which it ought to be considered, we can always choose not to immediately accept it without sufficient reason for doing so. We can always ask why p has been offered up to us, what the arguments for and against p are, and what the implications of accepting it would be.
- rimliu 7y ago
  Often what people need is just plain thinking about what they read/hear instead of having knee-jerk reaction to the topic.
- surajs 7y ago
  although subject matter expertise and whatever goes under the rubric of "critical thinking" these days is highly correlated, there is still a common sense approach to logical, analytical thinking that might fit under the umbrella of critical thinking while not being domain-specific.
baroffoos 7y ago
We had some of that in school. In English class there was a task that had an article that went something along the lines of "Aunt sues grandson over a hug" with the article body describing how she fell over due to the hug and broke her arm and is now suing the grandson over it saying he was irresponsible. We were then ask to analyse the article. On the next page was another article about the same event but this time it went in to the details that the only reason the Aunt was suing the grandson was because it would allow insurance to pay for her medical fees and would not negatively impact the grandson. It was a pretty eye opening task showing how 2 articles which both report only the truth can be twisted to bring about different stories/emotions.
capkutay 7y ago
how do you teach a teenager to 'not take things at face value' without inserting your own opinion about news that's fake? 'look at this fake news asserting A...this story is misleading because B is actually true'.
- SNACKeR99 7y ago
  I think it's best to let the student decide what's fake. It's better to analyze how the same story can be presented in vastly different ways, or with a different emphasis to further an agenda, even if neither is fake. The same can be done with data visualizations.
- vezycash 7y ago
  Critical thinking is good. Building the 30 seconds habit of verifying stuff online is better for fake news. And it's teachable. Regularly mix in half truths or outright lies and see who challenges you. Check a few classes later for who verified the claims. Do this often enough and at least 1% will bite. Lastly, the habit of reading for pleasure is a natural fake news antidote. Over time, a person who reads widely will build enough expertise to spot rubbish. Example, in unknown territories, I could be as gullible as my grandmother. Yet, it's very easy for me to spot wrong, misleading results on Google's search results and articles - in areas where I'm well read. I've told my younger bro that his MBA professor's wrong about in one area or another. Since I don't have an MBA, he'll naturally discount my position. He'll however, agree with me a few month's later, when another professor or sometimes the same prof backs up my claim. Summary: Cultivate the hacker's love of boundry-less learning in kids.

thundergolfer 7y ago

Rebuttal: There's good evidence that "thinking critically" is not a skill that can be divorced from domain-specific expertise. In order words, the capability to be a critical thinker is in direct relationship with one's competency in _specific domains_ and cannot be generalised. Source: Why Knowledge Matters - E.D Hirsch

larnmar 7y ago
I think what’s most important is not so much critical thinking skills as critical thinking discipline. Don’t go round believing things just because you want them to be true, or disbelieving things just because you don’t want them to be true. Don’t rush to judgment just because something provokes a strong emotional reaction. Always be doubting, always be listening to points of view that differ from your own. That kind of thing.
roenxi 7y ago
Which is true but also leaves the interesting follow up question - do people understand how uncritical thinking works and can they recognise in themselves when & why they are doing it? A lot of intelligent people seem to have skipped thinking about that one. I'd love to get it and a negotiation course into a high school curriculum.
madacoo 7y ago
It's difficult to accept this assertion at face value. After all for any given proposition p, regardless of the domain under which it ought to be considered, we can always choose not to immediately accept it without sufficient reason for doing so. We can always ask why p has been offered up to us, what the arguments for and against p are, and what the implications of accepting it would be.
rimliu 7y ago
Often what people need is just plain thinking about what they read/hear instead of having knee-jerk reaction to the topic.
surajs 7y ago
although subject matter expertise and whatever goes under the rubric of "critical thinking" these days is highly correlated, there is still a common sense approach to logical, analytical thinking that might fit under the umbrella of critical thinking while not being domain-specific.

baroffoos 7y ago

We had some of that in school. In English class there was a task that had an article that went something along the lines of "Aunt sues grandson over a hug" with the article body describing how she fell over due to the hug and broke her arm and is now suing the grandson over it saying he was irresponsible. We were then ask to analyse the article. On the next page was another article about the same event but this time it went in to the details that the only reason the Aunt was suing the grandson was because it would allow insurance to pay for her medical fees and would not negatively impact the grandson. It was a pretty eye opening task showing how 2 articles which both report only the truth can be twisted to bring about different stories/emotions.

capkutay 7y ago

how do you teach a teenager to 'not take things at face value' without inserting your own opinion about news that's fake? 'look at this fake news asserting A...this story is misleading because B is actually true'.

SNACKeR99 7y ago
I think it's best to let the student decide what's fake. It's better to analyze how the same story can be presented in vastly different ways, or with a different emphasis to further an agenda, even if neither is fake. The same can be done with data visualizations.
vezycash 7y ago
Critical thinking is good. Building the 30 seconds habit of verifying stuff online is better for fake news. And it's teachable. Regularly mix in half truths or outright lies and see who challenges you. Check a few classes later for who verified the claims. Do this often enough and at least 1% will bite. Lastly, the habit of reading for pleasure is a natural fake news antidote. Over time, a person who reads widely will build enough expertise to spot rubbish. Example, in unknown territories, I could be as gullible as my grandmother. Yet, it's very easy for me to spot wrong, misleading results on Google's search results and articles - in areas where I'm well read. I've told my younger bro that his MBA professor's wrong about in one area or another. Since I don't have an MBA, he'll naturally discount my position. He'll however, agree with me a few month's later, when another professor or sometimes the same prof backs up my claim. Summary: Cultivate the hacker's love of boundry-less learning in kids.