The Art of Critical thinking

 Importance of critical and creative thinking in today’s society

When one is faced with an issue, it is fundamental to make a right decision. Critical thinking thus helps one to deeply understand the pros and cons of the outcome of the decision they have made(Ruggiero, 2011). Improving its utilization can thus lead to an improvement in decision making.

Critical thinking is thus very important, it enables one to find a useful method of reaching to a particular outcome. It also provides a suitable platform to measure any possible solutions to an issue which are in light of the collected evidence. Creative thinking plays a very crucial role when it comes to issues that need very innovative solutions. Critical thinking thus forces intellectual self-development. This is because it enables one to maximize the ability they have to think rationally. It also enables one to become a better team player. It enables one to be a better collaborator and listener when working as a group(Ruggiero, 2011). This is because it helps them to focus on the logical reasoning rather than on emotions.

There are several concept to critical thinking which are very well interrelated. For one to be a critical thinker, they have to be able to follow the following concepts; first of all, they have to be able to establish the historical significance of the problem, then use the primary source evidence. Once this is done, they have to identify the change and continuity and analyze the cause and the consequences of their decision. Finally, they also have to understand the ethical dimension of their problem. They can thus have very many thoughtful ways of tackling several issues (Sexias, Morton, Colyer, & Fornazzari, 2013).

There are several hindrances or obstacles to critical thinking. These include;

– The self-imposed barriers which can be imposed by ourselves and are difficult to identify but very easy to correct. In this case, one should ask themselves of the out of the box solution to this problem and brainstorming different ideas is beneficial. Talking to other creative people and gaining ideas can also be helpful (Ruggiero, 2011).

– Conformity. So many people have the thought that they have to always conform of the patterns their colleagues have established or those in their social world. In this, try thinking about what new you can add to the idea your colleagues have and once you come up with one, think of the ways you can introduce it (Ruggiero, 2011).

– Failing to challenge the obvious. Most people find it challenging to challenge something that they have doubts about. It is advisable to put the ideas on hold then review them and challenge them later(Ruggiero, 2011).

Distinguish between perception and reality in messages.

Perception and reality for a long time has been confusing to many people as they find it hard to differentiate them. A person’s perception shows how that individual perceives a particular event. It shows how the individual receives the facts and the information and is not about what happened. It involves how the person was able to understand the problem and how they understand it to be true to them. Reality on the other hand shows the true event that has transpired. It represents the true or original message and also depicts it in the intended way it was supposed to be received(Backer, 2005).

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