How are you thinking, whatever you are thinking? How would you answer this question?
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Howsoever, take care that how you think does not change what you think, until otherwise. Way of thinking is a distinct matter from matter of thinking. The matter of this paper is about certain ways of thinking, which some people refer it to as the two think-tanks: Natural and Critical Thinking, from the human’s mind.
Natural thinking is embedded in our mind’s DNA. First, a thought comes in the mind just as a cloud appears in the sky from somewhere. Then the mind pullulates it into an idea. The idea later takes shape of an action activity that in turn results into a palpable creation in the world outside the mind. Some thoughts branch out to build opinions, beliefs, personality, and value system that are rather abstract and volatile creations. A mind is very fertile and it procreates myriads of thoughts. Each one of us lives in our own virtual kingdom of thoughts. This according to me is natural thinking, where thinking is the process of your running the show in the theatre of your mind’s insight and intuition’s. Thoughts are the protagonists in the movie of the mind, some of which you consciously cast in and some dropped in errantly. If the mind is a laboratory, then the thoughts are chemicals.
This is how Wikipedia defined critical thinking: “the intellectually disciplined process of activity and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.”
For me, critical thinking is the way to arrive at a conclusion that is unbiased, logical, honest, and is supported by strategically structuring facts/logical argument’s with the information gathered, presented and judged.
Critical thinking is reasoned and reflective judgment applied to solving problems or making decisions about what to believe or what to do. Critical thinking gives reasoned consideration to defining and analyzing problems, identifying and evaluating options, inferring likely outcomes and probable consequences, and explaining the reasons, evidence, methods and standards used in making those analyses, inferences and evaluations. Weather its business, professional or personal everyone needs to think ahead, to plan and to problem solve. In multi national corporation’s employees are required to show their critical thinking skills as the more clear aware they are of themselves, their strengths and weaknesses, the more likely their critical thinking will be productive which in turn returns value for the employers. This is the result of when people get back home from their work schedule, they just want to think naturally and relax. People of all ages and educational levels exhibit critical thinking to a greater or lesser degree.
Critical thinkers are curious about the world, posing creative right questioners, frequently asking "why?" and seeking reasons to defend a position. Interested only in credible sources of information. They stick to the main point, but also always looking for alternative explanations, positions, or arguments. They are open-minded and who seriously consider points of view other than their own and willing to change a position when the evidence is sufficient to make them do so. We all encounter opportunities in our daily lives to engage problems and decisions using strong critical thinking.
An impulse buy during shopping of an unwanted need is an example of natural thinking, where the thinking mind overrides the critical thinking amygdala to go ahead and make that purchase. It is appropriate to use natural thinking when an earthling wants to be creative without influences. Music artists, writers, & painters are some of the creative fields, which require a natural process of thinking, whereas critical thinking is used for solving some defined problems.
The key to becoming more self-aware is becoming more of a critical thinker. Why become a critical thinker? Simply because we want to see the BIG picture. The BIG picture about who we are and making that connection with our surroundings, our ideas, the ideas of others and developing a higher level of thought processing.