These blog sites sure do hang around. Its been a couple of years since my last post. During that time much has happened. Not the least is my recent formation of the fully on-line Science Works magazine.
The magazine is the result of some years of lateral thinking projects. Its aim is to help many voices in the sciences to have a professional outlet. The early articles are helping us to find the platform and develop our editorial style.
Hope you enjoy it.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Thursday, July 2, 2009
A note or two about Critical Thinking
Well, one thing to know about critical thinking is that it can be fun. If you are good at it you can really go to town demolishing other peoples ideas. As you can imagine that doesn't always make you the most popular kid on the block, but sometimes you can come across as a champion.
At RichardDawkins.net forums there is someone who goes by the name Calilasseia. Calilasseia is a type of blue butterfly which is Cali's avatar. Anyway, Cali is renowned for replying to posts by members that are, shall we say, ill thought out. Not immediately. Cali lets them go on for a few posts before deciding that they have had long enough to come good. After a particularly good critical thinking bombing run I was inspired to draw this little cartoon in homage to a master:
Of course, this highlights the problem with critical thinking, the emphasis is on discovering what is wrong with what someone is presenting, rather than on how to move forward from what they have presented right or wrong.
Still, if you are going to do critical thinking, and it is needed, you should learn to do it well. One helpful thing is to have a field guide to help you identify logical fallacies. Several books have covered this and several websites. My favourite book on the subject is "Humbug!" by Jef and Theo Clark. They now have a very comprehensive web site, www.skepticsfieldguide.net, based around the book. I recommend it for learning to polish critical thinking skills.
At RichardDawkins.net forums there is someone who goes by the name Calilasseia. Calilasseia is a type of blue butterfly which is Cali's avatar. Anyway, Cali is renowned for replying to posts by members that are, shall we say, ill thought out. Not immediately. Cali lets them go on for a few posts before deciding that they have had long enough to come good. After a particularly good critical thinking bombing run I was inspired to draw this little cartoon in homage to a master:
Of course, this highlights the problem with critical thinking, the emphasis is on discovering what is wrong with what someone is presenting, rather than on how to move forward from what they have presented right or wrong.Still, if you are going to do critical thinking, and it is needed, you should learn to do it well. One helpful thing is to have a field guide to help you identify logical fallacies. Several books have covered this and several websites. My favourite book on the subject is "Humbug!" by Jef and Theo Clark. They now have a very comprehensive web site, www.skepticsfieldguide.net, based around the book. I recommend it for learning to polish critical thinking skills.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
About Me and Thinking
I learnt critical thinking skills during high school and thought I was the bees knees. In 1986, although I didn't know it at the time, I started to learn that critical thinking skills are useful but nowhere near sufficient to claim to be an excellent thinker.
Why? Critical thinking is about creating valid and correct assertions and spotting errors in the assertions of others. Its part of what is known as formal argument (thesis + antithesis = synthesis). A major component is missing from your thinking if this is all you know how to do, well actually several components are missing. The biggest missing thing is idea or concept generation. The second biggest missing skill is explorative thinking.
Explorative thinking includes well known techniques such as analysis, but also the six thinking hats that encourage scanning a concept space in a comprehensive way, or the simpler attention directing tools that you can use to direct your focus instead of following the easiest attention flow.
Generative thinking really needs a robust technique like Lateral Thinking. It is a very difficult form of thinking but with formal tools, such as provocation and alternative scan, can be something you become very skilled in.
More on these in detail in future blogs.
Why? Critical thinking is about creating valid and correct assertions and spotting errors in the assertions of others. Its part of what is known as formal argument (thesis + antithesis = synthesis). A major component is missing from your thinking if this is all you know how to do, well actually several components are missing. The biggest missing thing is idea or concept generation. The second biggest missing skill is explorative thinking.
Explorative thinking includes well known techniques such as analysis, but also the six thinking hats that encourage scanning a concept space in a comprehensive way, or the simpler attention directing tools that you can use to direct your focus instead of following the easiest attention flow.
Generative thinking really needs a robust technique like Lateral Thinking. It is a very difficult form of thinking but with formal tools, such as provocation and alternative scan, can be something you become very skilled in.More on these in detail in future blogs.
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