Thinking Critically about Critical-Thinking
That critical-thinking is a powerful tool both in reasoning and in decision-making is undeniable. It allows us to scrutinize information instead of accepting it at face value, and promotes the pursuit of a greater and deeper understanding in whatever domain we choose to use it in. Just like any other powerful tool, however, its power can become misused. What happens when critical-thinking is applied without basic understanding of human heuristics and biases? When considering what characteristics all critical-thinkers share, some can be quite visibly illustrated. All seem to promote doubt for accepted assumptions, seek alternative explanations for whatever phenomena they are thinking-critically about, and all seem to argue for a greater transparency within a variety of aspects in social contexts. In other words, the critically-turned are all of us, blog readers and writers (and sometimes influential movie-makers). We are those who, among othe...