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CRITICAL THINKING
Thinking out of the Box
WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING? Wade (1995) identifies 8 characteristics
of critical thinking. Critical thinking involves:
asking questions, defining a problem, examining evidence, analyzing assumptions and biases, avoiding emotional reasoning, avoiding oversimplification, considering other interpretations, and tolerating ambiguity.
THINKING CREATIVELYTo think creatively, we need to step outside the framework of
what we see or hear. We have to observe, ask questions
and analyze so that we can open up
new thoughts and ideas on old matters or commonly-
accepted arguments.
Some fool once said, “The earth is round!” People shot down
that conclusion without even looking at the supporting
premises. “Of course it isn’t,” they shouted back. “That
makes no sense!” Others tried to refute the claims. “The
Earth can’t be round,” they put forth. “The ground is flat.
See?”
THE WORLD IS FLAT?But the believer pointed out that there was a slight curve to the
horizon. The world wasn’t flat. He set aside his biases and opened
his mind to analyzing what he’d been told all his life. Why should
he believe it? What made it true? What made it false?
He asked questions and demanded proof. He examined the
arguments of authorities who made sweeping statements and
claims that didn’t hold water. This round-world believer didn’t just
refute what others said. He brought up premises to support his
own ideas.
He was thinking creatively, and then he took world-changing
action after critically evaluating his innovative idea.
HOW DO YOU THINK CRITICALLY?
Critical thinking and creative thinking go
hand in hand. Creative thinking means
generating ideas and processes; critical
thinking evaluates those thoughts,
allowing for rational decision.
So how do you think critically to think
more creatively? Here are a few quick
tips:
LITTLE DETAILS MATTER
Pay attention to words like ‘may’, ‘can’,
and ‘will’. There’s a huge difference
between something that will [insert
marvelous benefit here] and something
that might do the same. Never accept
anything at face value.
QUESTION THE AUTHORITY
If a piece of content quotes an expert to
help support the argument or
conclusion, ask questions. What
qualifies the individual to give advice?
What credentials does the person have
to make claims? Why is he or she an
authority on the subject?
SWEEPING AWAY STATEMENTS
Over-generalization usually discredits an
argument’s validity from the get-go.
Knock down sentences that use words like
‘all’ and ‘everyone’. Not all people do,
and not everyone knows.
More careful wording such as ‘most’ and
‘some’ pass muster more easily.
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU FAIL
Whenever we attempt to do something
and fail, we end up doing something
else. As simplistic as this statement may
seem, it is the first principle of creative
accident. We may ask ourselves why we
have failed to do what we intended, and
this is the reasonable, expected thing to
do.
THE CREATIVE ACCIDENT
But the creative accident provokes a different
question: What have we done? Answering
that question in a novel, unexpected way is
the essential creative act. It is not luck, but
rather creative insight of the highest order.
Even when people set out to act purposefully
and rationally to do something, they wind up
doing things they did not intend.
HANG IN THERE! John Wesley Hyatt, an Albany printer and
mechanic, worked long and hard trying to find a
substitute for billiard-ball ivory, then coming into
short supply. He invented, instead, celluloid— the
first commercially successful plastic.
B.F. Skinner advised people that when you are
working on something and find something
interesting, drop everything else and study it. In
fact, he emphasized this as a first principle of
scientific methodology.
EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED!
In principle, the unexpected event that gives rise to a
creative invention is not all that different from the
unexpected automobile breakdown that forces us to
spend a night in a new and interesting town, the book
sent to us in error that excites our imagination, or the
closed restaurant that forces us to explore a different
cuisine.
But when looking for ideas or creative solutions, many of
us ignore the unexpected and, consequently, lose the
opportunity to turn chance into a creative opportunity.
THE CREATIVITY BARRIER
By limiting your creativity, it needs to
stretch beyond its comfort zone to find a
solution. It goes through a warm-up
process while your brain neurons start
firing. Then you’ll get the burst of an
idea that suddenly sparks a fire.
For example, on the next slide is a mental
challenge to break the creativity barrier:
MENTAL CHALLENGE EXERCISE Choose three random words. It doesn’t matter what they are.
They could be sheep, lilac and dragon, for example.
Write a three-paragraph blog post on copywriting, with each
of your chosen words the focus of one paragraph.
Devote all your resources. Unleash your creativity inside the
restrictions to wander loose. Find ways to relate the words to
the subject. Use metaphors. Use examples. Use history. Tell a
story.
Impossible? Not at all.
Demanding? Sure.
Worth it? Oh yeah.
STRETCH BEYOND THE FAMILIAR! By limiting your creativity, it needs to stretch beyond
its comfort zone to find a solution. It goes through a
warm-up process while your brain neurons start firing.
Then you’ll get the burst of an idea that suddenly
sparks a fire.
You’ll write. You’ll feel the rush.
And then you’ll enjoy the satisfying cool-down as you
polish off you’re your post – lilacs, dragons and all.
You’d be amazed at what your creativity can come up
with. Are you up for the challenge?
GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
Remember, when you are completing an assignment,
use your creative and critical thinking skills.
Think differently about what you’re asked to write.
Don’t just write the same old tired ideas. See
something in a new way!
Analyze, problem-solve!
When you’re writing about common concepts that
anyone can find in a textbook or a resource, you
aren’t being original.
USE WHAT YOU KNOW CREATIVELY
Use what you know and apply it in a whole
new way.
You’ll be surprised at how exciting it is to
come up with something new and fresh--
something that only you could have
thought of.
Go get ‘em!
RESOURCES
http://www.copyblogger.com/fresh-conten
t/
http://www.copyblogger.com/creative-acci
dent/