Post by Amanda Kogut-Rosenau on Feb 12, 2016 1:00:40 GMT
Reading Reflection
Effective critical thinking calls for a number of skills that may seem counter-intuitive, if not followed in sequence. For instance, we should be open to all points of view, but filter out “the noise” or “the bright shiny things”. One of the greatest obstacles to critical thinking is awareness—awareness of our own biases or preconceived idea, awareness of the strengths and weakness of our team, and awareness of the issue we want to examine or problem we hope to solve.
If we aren’t aware of our own biases or preconceived ideas critical thinking falls apart because we are only looking for things to prove us right. As someone who loves to be right, critical thinking works best when you try to use it to prove yourself wrong. This forces you to look at other perspectives, find any flaws in your thinking and to build evidence for your decision, I find that at the end this process I’m often wrong, but have enough evidence to make the correct decision (which is still makes me a little bit right, right?)
The manager’s article highlighted the importance of knowing the people and environment around you. What are the strengths and weaknesses of you team, how do certain people take in information, how do they express themselves? When you assume that you are “the normal”, then you will inevitably discount a colleague’s skills or potential contributions. Additionally, as a manager, if you don’t objectively observe and evaluate your team’s abilities, you can miss out on opportunities to deploy the right resources and you also limit an employee’s opportunities for growth and development—if you don’t know how someone performs, how they take in and put out information and what their interests are, how can you help them grow?
Lastly, the blog highlighted the importance of relevance and reminding yourself of the purpose of your critical thinking exercise. In exploring the horizon it can become extremely vast and without some focal point, no matter how fuzzy, it’s easy to drift away. I find “the shiny thing” can distract me and I veer off topic—especially if the question I need to examine is less interesting than the tangential one that arose through brainstorming.
If I had to select a time where I wish I had employed a higher level of critical thinking, it would be in selecting a graduate school. I spent a good deal of time and critical thinking selecting a degree, but when choosing the school I relied upon rankings and recommendations. I had a great experience and loved the program, but only after starting school did I realize that the course work is the same in every program and most of the faculty teaches at at least one other school. If had focused less on the school’s reputation and did more thoughtful research, I think I could have gotten a bigger bang for my tuition dollar.
Fact/Opinion Exercise
1. The deepest part of the ocean is 35,813 feet deep.
I interpret this statement to be a fact because it contains data.
2. Smoking is bad for your health.
I interpret this statement to be an opinion because it provides no concrete evidence or data to support it.
3. 85 percent of all cases of lung cancer in the US are caused by smoking
I interpret this statement to be a fact because it provides statistics or data I can verify.
4. One out of every hundred American citizens is color blind.
I interpret this statement to be a fact because it provides a statistic that I can verify.
5. Two out of ten American citizens are boring.
I interpret this statement to be an opinion because it is associated with a subjective characteristic. Unlike in the two examples above, there is not objective measure of “boring” and because people’s interests vary, “boring” can mean different things to different people.
Effective critical thinking calls for a number of skills that may seem counter-intuitive, if not followed in sequence. For instance, we should be open to all points of view, but filter out “the noise” or “the bright shiny things”. One of the greatest obstacles to critical thinking is awareness—awareness of our own biases or preconceived idea, awareness of the strengths and weakness of our team, and awareness of the issue we want to examine or problem we hope to solve.
If we aren’t aware of our own biases or preconceived ideas critical thinking falls apart because we are only looking for things to prove us right. As someone who loves to be right, critical thinking works best when you try to use it to prove yourself wrong. This forces you to look at other perspectives, find any flaws in your thinking and to build evidence for your decision, I find that at the end this process I’m often wrong, but have enough evidence to make the correct decision (which is still makes me a little bit right, right?)
The manager’s article highlighted the importance of knowing the people and environment around you. What are the strengths and weaknesses of you team, how do certain people take in information, how do they express themselves? When you assume that you are “the normal”, then you will inevitably discount a colleague’s skills or potential contributions. Additionally, as a manager, if you don’t objectively observe and evaluate your team’s abilities, you can miss out on opportunities to deploy the right resources and you also limit an employee’s opportunities for growth and development—if you don’t know how someone performs, how they take in and put out information and what their interests are, how can you help them grow?
Lastly, the blog highlighted the importance of relevance and reminding yourself of the purpose of your critical thinking exercise. In exploring the horizon it can become extremely vast and without some focal point, no matter how fuzzy, it’s easy to drift away. I find “the shiny thing” can distract me and I veer off topic—especially if the question I need to examine is less interesting than the tangential one that arose through brainstorming.
If I had to select a time where I wish I had employed a higher level of critical thinking, it would be in selecting a graduate school. I spent a good deal of time and critical thinking selecting a degree, but when choosing the school I relied upon rankings and recommendations. I had a great experience and loved the program, but only after starting school did I realize that the course work is the same in every program and most of the faculty teaches at at least one other school. If had focused less on the school’s reputation and did more thoughtful research, I think I could have gotten a bigger bang for my tuition dollar.
Fact/Opinion Exercise
1. The deepest part of the ocean is 35,813 feet deep.
I interpret this statement to be a fact because it contains data.
2. Smoking is bad for your health.
I interpret this statement to be an opinion because it provides no concrete evidence or data to support it.
3. 85 percent of all cases of lung cancer in the US are caused by smoking
I interpret this statement to be a fact because it provides statistics or data I can verify.
4. One out of every hundred American citizens is color blind.
I interpret this statement to be a fact because it provides a statistic that I can verify.
5. Two out of ten American citizens are boring.
I interpret this statement to be an opinion because it is associated with a subjective characteristic. Unlike in the two examples above, there is not objective measure of “boring” and because people’s interests vary, “boring” can mean different things to different people.