2 Powerful Words That Open the Door to Critical Thinking

Having thoughts is not the same thing as thinking.

Knowing how to think empowers you far beyond those who know only what to think. ~ Neil deGrass Tyson

Premature judgement and assumption are the greatest killers of thinking and creativity out there. And we often rush to do it. Your brain is an "assumption making machine". We make assumptions about everything and everybody all day long. It's natural. We have to. It's part of survival. And, because we make a lot of assumptions, we're bound to get some of them wrong. What you think, what you say, what you do is almost always based upon what you know, and what you know might be wrong.

Aristotle advised, "Be a free thinker and don't accept everything you hear as truth." Stated a bit differently: postpone judgement and stay curious. When your mind is full of assumptions, conclusions, and beliefs it doesn't leave much room for learning and growth.

Critical thinking is widely defined as the key to creative problem-solving, the ability to distinguish fact from fiction, and the primary tool for making well-informed decisions in an era of information overload. It's important.

2 powerful words that interrupt premature judgement and assumption, and open the door to better critical thinking: What if ?

Asking "What if ..........?" helps free you from deeply ingrained assumptions. And, it's a lot of fun.

Examples:

What if I'm wrong?
What if this person knows something I don't know?
What if I can learn something new here?
What if I don't know everything?
What if there's a different way to look at this?
What if knowledge about this issue is incomplete?
What if my assumptions are causing blind spots?
What if we're both right?
What if we're both wrong?

The possibilities are endless .... but you already know that.

Here are 4 of my favourite quotes on all this:

The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. A second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. A first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking. ~ A.A. Milne

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. ~ Albert Einstein

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. ~ Aristotle

Critical thinking is not something you do once with an issue and then drop it. It requires that we update our knowledge as new information comes in. ~ Daniel Levitin

I like to try to prove myself wrong. I have a small card on my computer with "What if ...." on it. It reminds me that I'm right, except when I'm not. Which seems to be rather frequently these days. Perhaps the card will work for you.

Remember, when your mind is expanded by a new idea it never goes back to its original dimensions. And it's fun to learn new ways to think about things. It keeps our brains young.

Thanks for reading. You are a genius!

This article was first published in Terry Small's Brain Bulletin newsletter.

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