Critical Thinking Blog #1

Part One How do you define critical thinking? Describe a situation in which you thought through something critically. Describe a situation in which you did not think through something critically.

I would define critical thinking as a process of thinking using reasoning, scientific facts, common sense, analysis, observation and evaluation to form a concrete judgement or opinion. Critical thinking is using all of one's senses to form an idea regarding something tangible or intangible. A situation in which I had to use critical thinking was when I decided what college to transfer to. I had to consider what kind of environment I wanted be surrounded by, both people and the scenery. I then had to research what the qualifications to being accepted would be. I also had to research what schools offered the best programs for my subject of concentration. I then had to consider the price of schooling, books, rent, and other various living costs. I considered weather patterns and driving conditions. Most importantly, I had to consider where I would be most comfortable in order to thrive and succeed. In the end I chose University of Reno, Nevada and received a full scholarship for the first year. A situation in which I did not use critical thinking, although there have been many, was when I chose my major. I chose nursing as my major when I was in sophomore in high school when I first started taking classes at a community college. I just knew that the human body was of high interest to me and that is purely how the decision was formed. Although I have stuck to it, I never had a clue as to how difficult schooling would be. I am still very interested and highly motivated to become a nurse but, many of times, I wish I had an easier major.

Part Two"We often long for surefire, step-by-step procedures [to help us solve problems] and the more personally threatening a situation is, the more we want foolproof rules. But there are no rules that guarantee our thinking will be correct . . . The only way we can decide whether to follow certain rules is if we use our best reasoning to determine that those rules are reasonable, that they lead to reasonable results when followed." – Gerald Nosich, Learning to Think Things Through

Describe what you think of when you think of “intellectualism”. Does this word have positive connotations or negative connotations for you? Why? Describe what you think of when you think of “logic” and “reason.” Do these have positive connotations or negative connotations? Why?

When I think of "intellectualism", I think ideas formed from people, not necessarily highly educated but, rather highly informed of both sides of issues and ideas. Intellectualism, in my eyes, is not having all the facts and something concrete but, a continuous learning and sharing process. The word has positive connotations for me but, I see intellectuals as siding more with the pessimistic view. It has positive connotations for me because constantly challenging things and learning can never be a bad thing. I would never want to be ignorant and the idea of intellectualism would bring constant change and transformation in a good way. When I think of "logic" and "reason", two words come to mind, deductive and inductive. Logic and reason are ways of thinking by gathering information and coming to conclusions. Logic and reason are not like knowing that the sky is blue but, rather knowing why and how the sky is blue. These words have positive connotations because I simply would not want to hear, learn, or read anything that is not based on logic or reason. Using logic and reason, one is able to more clearly define the difference between some true and something that is bogus. Without logic and reason everyone would be running around like a chicken with their head cut off.