http://alexvermeer.com/hidden-side-of-your-brain/There is a large, hidden side to our brains. Understanding how it works and what it does is key to improving our thinking and deciding.
We have this amazing ability to think without thinking. Not literally think without thinking, but thinking without thinking that we’re thinking.
Let’s try that again. We are often thinking, but because we can’t feel or notice this thinking, we’re not aware of it.
While walking down a street and chatting with a friend, you’re not thinking, “Right foot, left foot, right foot – stay balanced! – left foot, right foot…” Yet you walk without difficulty, taking thousands and thousands of steps without fault, and you’re keeping a conversation, and you’re aware that your friend is in a good mood, and you notice a car approaching from the corner of your eye. All of this is the furthest thing from an effortful task. How much could your brain really be doing if you don’t feel anything happening in there?
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In short…
Much of your thought happens beyond your awareness. Type 1 processing is totally automatic. If I say “elephant” it is impossible for you to not think of an elephant. In general, Type 1 thinking is:
Automatic like your beating heart.
Hidden like the back of your head.
Fast like a sports car.
Effortless like a casual stroll.
Simultaneous like a juggler.
We may recognize what our Type 1 thinking did after the fact, but not while it’s happening. It’s too fast! Your conscious awareness (Type 2 processing) needs time to process and recognize it, but by then you have already made a disgusted face, caught your balance, or noticed your mother is angry.
Remember how completely unaware you are of your Type 1 thinking as it happens.
This will play an important role in much to come. Type 1 and Type 2 processing interact in interesting and illuminating ways. Recognizing the key characteristics of our Type 1 thinking will help us understand both how our minds work and how to improve our thinking and deciding.
So, what is critical thinking?
A complex activity, not a set of generic skills, Concerned with judging or assessing what is
reasonable or sensible in a situation,
Focuses on quality of reasoning,
Depends on the possession of relevant knowledge
Can be done in endless contexts and is required whenever the situation is problematic
Is effortful but not necessarily negative
When is someone thinking critically?
A person is thinking critically only if she is attempting to assess or judge the merits of possible options in light of relevant factors or criteria.
Critical thinking is criterial thinking— thinking in the face of criteria.
http://www.otffeo.on.ca/english/images/thinking_garfield_powerpoint.pdfSomething I came across.
Topic: Types of thinking