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every day a sea of decisions stretches
before us some are small and unimportant
but others have a larger impact on our
lives for example which politician
should i vote for should i try the
latest diet craze or will email make me
a millionaire
we’re bombarded with so many decisions
that it’s impossible to make a perfect
choice every time but there are many
ways to improve our chances and one
particularly effective technique is
critical thinking this is a way of
approaching a question that allows us to
carefully deconstruct a situation reveal
its hidden issues such as bias and
manipulation and make the best decision
Critical thinking
if the critical part sounds negative
that’s because in a way it is
rather than choosing an answer because
it feels right a person who uses
critical thinking subjects all available
options to scrutiny and skepticism using
the tools at their disposal they’ll
eliminate everything but the most useful
and reliable information
there are many different ways of
approaching critical thinking but here’s
one five-step process that may help you
solve any number of problems
formulate your question
one formulate your question in other
words know what you’re looking for this
isn’t always as straightforward as it
sounds for example if you’re deciding
whether to try out the newest diet craze
your reasons for doing so may be
obscured by other factors like claims
that you’ll see results in just two
weeks
but if you approach the situation with a
clear view of what you’re actually
trying to accomplish by dieting whether
that’s weight loss better nutrition or
having more energy that’ll equip you to
sift through this information critically
find what you’re looking for and decide
whether the new fad really suits your
needs
gather your information
two gather your information
there’s lots of it out there so having a
clear idea of your question will help
you determine what’s relevant if you’re
trying to decide on a diet to improve
your nutrition you may ask an expert for
their advice or seek other people’s
testimonies information gathering helps
you weigh different options moving you
closer to a decision that meets your
goal
apply the information
three apply the information something
you do by asking critical questions
facing a decision ask yourself what
concepts are at work what assumptions
exist is my interpretation of the
information logically sound for example
in an email that promises you millions
you should consider
what is shaping my approach to this
situation do i assume the sender is
telling the truth based on the evidence
is it logical to assume i’ll win any
money
consider the implications
four consider the implications
imagine it’s election time and you’ve
selected a political candidate based on
their promise to make it cheaper for
drivers to fill up on gas at first
glance that seems great but what about
the long-term environmental effects if
gasoline use is less restricted by cost
this could also cause a huge surge in
air pollution an unintended consequence
that’s important to think about
explore other viewpoints
5. explore other points of view ask
yourself why so many people are drawn to
the policies of the opposing political
candidate even if you disagree with
everything that candidate says exploring
the full spectrum of viewpoints might
explain why some policies that don’t
seem valid to you appeal to others
this will allow you to explore
alternatives evaluate your own choices
and ultimately help you make more
informed decisions
this five-step process is just one tool
and it certainly won’t eradicate
difficult decisions from our lives but
it can help us increase the number of
positive choices we make critical
thinking can give us the tools to sift
through a sea of information and find
what we’re looking for and if enough of
us use it it has the power to make the
world a more reasonable place
[Music]
[Music]
you
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