Conversation 1 What is Critical Thinking?
Critical thinking involves skillfully examining and evaluating various types of thinking to improve their quality and effectiveness. Both speakers, Gary Meegan and Jesse Richardson, emphasize the importance of critical thinking.
Critical thinking is an art, as defined by Gary Meegan, designed to analyze and evaluate thinking in order to improve its quality. This means it is a skill that takes time and practice to refine. Like an archaeologist digging for artifacts, critical thinking requires us to scrutinize and dismantle the way thinking is constructed. Through this process, we can better understand how others think and further assess their quality. This way of thinking helps us solve problems better, make informed decisions, and understand the world more deeply. Thus, critical thinking not only improves the quality of our own thinking, it also helps to improve the world.
Jesse Richardson’s perspective emphasizes the educational importance of critical thinking. He argues that critical thinking is not only an art but also a design because it helps us solve problems. He emphasized how education should focus on developing students’ critical thinking skills by encouraging them to think actively rather than just passively receiving information. He also mentioned School of Thought International, a non-profit organization that aims to provide free creative and critical thinking educational resources. This approach to education aims to help children better understand the world, think independently and adapt to the challenges of the information age.
I agree with both speakers that critical thinking is an invaluable skill that can help us think and make better decisions in a variety of areas. This is because it not only improves the quality of our personal thinking, but also helps us to better understand and improve the world. Through critical thinking, we are better able to recognize and correct potential biases, logical errors, and misleading information. It also encourages us to proactively ask questions and actively seek solutions rather than being passively receptive to information. This ability is critical to the challenges we face in the information age, helping us to filter and evaluate large amounts of information in order to make informed choices. Therefore, I believe that critical thinking is a key life skill that is important for both individuals and society.
