Critical thinking is often associated with philosophy, but it is very simply the ability to analyse all facts available to form a judgement. It sounds tiresome, and can be, but anyone can be trained to think things through in a much more systematic manner, and gain a more sound judgement about things that matter to them.

Simply put, critical thinking is the ability to deliberately and systematically process information, to understand a subject matter more fully, and make better decisions.

Benefits of Critical Thinking

So how does critical thinking help the non philosophical average Joe? It is actually an important life-skill to cultivate, and it has immense benefits outside of making you seem immediately smarter.

Ability to problem solve

Critical thinkers are also problem solvers. When you have a good framework upon which to look into problems, you’re more likely than others to come up with not only a solution, but a well thought out solution that works better than others.

Enhanced communication skills

When you’re able to properly articulate a problem, and talk through the solution, you’re naturally going to be more confident about presenting your findings and justify how you got around to the solution. It also allows you to build logical, persuasive arguments. (if nothing else, think about how you can use it to build up a case for a salary raise discussion with your boss?)

Fosters independent thinking

When you practice critical thinking, you’re essentially thinking for yourself, instead of taking what other people are saying at face value.

Builds up general knowledge

Critical thinking requires that you look at problems with across as many angles as possible, necessitating a build up of knowledge over time across many different subjects. All of this builds up your personal knowledge library. Definitely a good thing to have.

A life skill you bring with you

Once you start thinking through things differently, it stays with you and is cross domain. You’ll find yourself subconsciously applying it to other aspects of your life, and bringing a nett positive effect on your life overall.

How to sharpen your critical thinking?

Ask basic questions

Sometimes, we convolute a problem so much that we may lose track of the original question. So it’s always good to revisit the issue and go back to the basics.

We can start by asking:

• What do we already know?
• How do we know that?
• What are we trying to prove or disprove?
• Are we overlooking anything?

Revisiting these seemingly basic questions can sometimes shift the perspective and let us see something we previously inexplicably missed out.

Question assumptions

Hot on the heels of asking basic questions, is questioning any prior assumptions made. Are those assumptions still valid? Has anything changed recently that made those assumptions invalid?

Can we drill down to the first principle of any problem, and work from there?

Elon Musk famously practices the first principles method in working through problems. Here’s a video with Musk explaining how to tackle problems using the first principles method.

Evaluate existing evidence for biases

It’s important to evaluate existing information critically to see if there were any biases in coming up with any conclusions thus far.

For example, a study having no conclusive evidence that cigarettes cause cancer, when upon deeper investigation, uncovered that the study was funded by a tobacco company.

Find out if anyone has any motives for perpetuating a certain idea or concept.

Be evidence based

We are always finding out about new facts, and revising old theses to fit in with the new evidence. It’s ok to change your mind about certain things. After all, we can only make decisions based on the information present at hand.

Recognize that and be OK with the fact that we were sometimes wrong in our decision making, and right it.

This is also how we learn adapt to new challenges and shifting circumstances.

Read widely

The more you know, the easier you can form initial opinions and ideas on how to either prove or disprove your theory or problem.

Try hanging upside down

Or just try looking at it from a different perspective. One of the easiest ways to start with this, is to think about the direct opposite. If the assumption is X causes Y, think if it is actually possible that Y causes X instead?

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Here’s a good way to think about partitioning your time for ruminating vs solutioning.

If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions.

Albert Einstein

Happy thinking!

Here’s a list of 16 characteristics of critical thinkers.

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