toolbox of thinking skills

7/30/2019 Toolbox of Thinking Skills

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A Toolbox of Thinking Skills

People are not usually taught how to think in school. It is assumed that the clever onescan think and that the thick ones cannot. This is rubbish.

The clever ones are called clever because they can pass exams but this involves memoryand being able to respond correctly to what is put in front of them. This involves fairlylow levels of a limited number of very basic thinking skills.

There are many different kinds of thinking skills and most of them are easy to master -the problem is that few people have mastered them and even fewer bother to use them.

As a trainer your toolbox of thinking skills should be jam packed and you should begiving them away and acquiring new ones all the time. The good thing about ideas andskills is that you can give them away but still hold on to them - it is like drinking from acup that never runs dry. And your toolbox should be made of rubber - the more you put

into it the bigger it gets!

The list of thinking skills is endless - they can be used to create new ones! Three particularly useful ones are described here and this is followed by references to four other mental ironmongers.
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Tell it to your Granny

Imagine an old granny on the far side of Lewis who speaks only the Gaelic and has notyet been introduced to electricity. She has heard about 'computers' and asks you toexplain what they are.

This exercise tests your understanding of a concept because you cannot use the jargon.You have to explain using 'plain English' (or Gaelic if you have it). In the process of trying to explain in a simple way you invariably come up with new ways of looking at thesituation.

Write a script for two people discussing the topic

This is a variation on 'Tell it to your Granny'. The difference is that you are free to choosewho the two people are (old/young, male/female, town/country, rich/ poor etc) and youhave to imagine yourself inside the heads of both characters so that you can put words intheir mouths.

This exercise has the same advantages as the previous one with the addition that you haveto be clear about at least two different perspectives on the topic being discussed. The

process of trying to write the script can do wonders for your understanding of the topic.

State the History of the Topic

When was the very first OOSCC Club established and how has the idea progressed sincethen?

This exercise might involve you in doing some research - either in books or throughtalking to people. Everything has a history which tells how it has changed through time.When did it change? Why did it change? By looking into these issues you come to seethat the present is not like the past and you are thus more open to considering a differentfuture.

These three techniques are from the list given in 'A Good Thinker's Toolbox' which is based on MargaretBoden's Book The Creative Mind .


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Use Lateral Thinking

Sometimes you have to use creative thinking to come up with new ideas. Edward deBono's technique called Lateral Thinking helps your mind to escape from its normal rutsand to see new possibilities and directions. There are four main strategies each of whichhas many techniques.

The Four Strategies An Example

Recognise dominant ideas Identify main ideas and write them down

Search for different ways of looking at things

Decide in advance that you will look at the problemfrom six (?) different points of view - and then do it.

Relax the rigid control of vertical thinking

Make a deliberate logical/factual mistake and seewhere it leads you (eg boys and girls must use thesame toilets)

Make use of chance Pick an object at random and see how it might berelevant to the topic under discussion (How is anOOSCC Club like a tin opener?)

The two appendices ' Lateral and Vertical Thinking ' and ' Techniques of Lateral Thinking ' give a moredetailed explanation and also give the titles of some of De Bono's books.

Draw a Mindmap

A Mindmap is a drawing which represents what is going on in your mind while you makenotes, gather ideas for reports and/or try to be creative. There will be units (for things,ideas or events) joined up by lines which show how the units interact.

A mindmap is thus an interactive mind map but in Tony Buzan's version of the ideagreater emphasis is put on keywords and on the use of images and colour to enhanceunderstanding, creativity and memory.

Reference Tony Buzan (1989) Use both sides of your brain ; Plume. This book includes an easy to readexplanation of right and left brain thinking.

Check your Logic
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Much confusion can arise through muddled thinking. Most often the muddle isunintentional but some smooth operators (like double-glazing salesmen?) use itintentionally. Consider the No True Scotsman Move .

Imagine Hamish McDonald, a Scotsman, sitting down with his Press and Journal and

seeing an article about how the 'Brighton Sex Maniac Strikes Again '. Hamish is shockedand declares that "No Scotsman would do such a thing". The next day he sits down toread his Press and Journal again and this time finds an article about an Aberdeen manwhose brutal actions make the Brighton sex maniac seem almost gentlemanly. This factshows that Hamish was wrong in his opinion but is he going to admit this? Not likely.This time he says, "No true Scotsman would do such a thing".

This example is taken from Anthony Flew's book Thinking about Thinking - or do I sincerely want to be right?. Mr Flew is a Professor of Philosophy so the book, althoughquite thin, can be a bit heavy at times. But it is now in its eighth edition - it is worthmaking the effort as it describes such lovely notions as:

The but-they-will-never-agree diversion The but-you-can-understand-why evasion The fallacy of pseudo-refuting descriptions The logically-black-is-white slide The truth-is-always-in-the-middle damper The unAmerican fallacy Begging the question Persuasive definition Affirming the antecedent Affirming the consequent


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Straighten the Crooked Thinking

Not all muddled thinking is due to faults of logic, some of it is just crooked whether byintention or mistake. Robert Thouless has written a practical book for anyone who has todiscuss controversial topics. The jacket blurb notes that:

He believes that psychological factors often dangerously distort correct thinking. He shows, for instance, how the use of emotional words can obscure facts, and how fallaciesin argument can often mislead an unwary audience. He lists 38 dishonest trickscommonly used in argument, with methods of overcoming them, and ends with animaginary discussion between a businessman, a clergyman and a professor whichillustrates these pitfalls.

He first wrote the book in 1930 and my copy is of the 11 th edition which came out in1967. It is an all time classic! Here are the first 7 of his 38 dishonest tricks with their countermeasures.

Dishonest Trick Method of overcoming it

The use of emotionally toned words Repeat the statement using emotionallyneutral words

Making a statement in which 'all' is implied but 'some' is true.

Repeat the statement using 'all' and showingthat it is therefore false

Proof by selected instances Point to counter instances

Extension of an opponent's proposition bycontradiction or by misrepresentation of it

State again the more moderate positionwhich is being defended

Evasion of a sound refutation of anargument by the use of a sophisticatedformula

Analyse the formula to demonstrate itsunsoundness

Diversion to another question, to a sideissue, or by irrelevant objection

Refuse to be diverted and restate the realquestion

Proof by inconsequent argument Ask for a clear explanation of the

connection between the proposition and thealleged proof

Robert H Thouless (1953) Straight and Crooked Thinking ; Pan

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