CRITICAL THINKING

Thinking out of the Box

WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING? Wade (1995) identifies 8 characteristics

of critical thinking. Critical thinking involves:

asking questions, defining a problem, examining evidence, analyzing assumptions and biases, avoiding emotional reasoning, avoiding oversimplification, considering other interpretations, and tolerating ambiguity.

THINKING CREATIVELYTo think creatively, we need to step outside the framework of

what we see or hear. We have to observe, ask questions

and analyze so that we can open up

new thoughts and ideas on old matters or commonly-

accepted arguments.

Some fool once said, “The earth is round!” People shot down

that conclusion without even looking at the supporting

premises. “Of course it isn’t,” they shouted back. “That

makes no sense!” Others tried to refute the claims. “The

Earth can’t be round,” they put forth. “The ground is flat.

See?”

THE WORLD IS FLAT?But the believer pointed out that there was a slight curve to the

horizon. The world wasn’t flat. He set aside his biases and opened

his mind to analyzing what he’d been told all his life. Why should

he believe it? What made it true? What made it false?

He asked questions and demanded proof. He examined the

arguments of authorities who made sweeping statements and

claims that didn’t hold water. This round-world believer didn’t just

refute what others said. He brought up premises to support his

own ideas.

He was thinking creatively, and then he took world-changing

action after critically evaluating his innovative idea.

HOW DO YOU THINK CRITICALLY?

Critical thinking and creative thinking go

hand in hand. Creative thinking means

generating ideas and processes; critical

thinking evaluates those thoughts,

allowing for rational decision.

So how do you think critically to think

more creatively? Here are a few quick

tips:

LITTLE DETAILS MATTER

Pay attention to words like ‘may’, ‘can’,

and ‘will’. There’s a huge difference

between something that will [insert

marvelous benefit here] and something

that might do the same. Never accept

anything at face value.

QUESTION THE AUTHORITY

If a piece of content quotes an expert to

help support the argument or

conclusion, ask questions. What

qualifies the individual to give advice?

What credentials does the person have

to make claims? Why is he or she an

authority on the subject?

SWEEPING AWAY STATEMENTS

Over-generalization usually discredits an

argument’s validity from the get-go.

Knock down sentences that use words like

‘all’ and ‘everyone’. Not all people do,

and not everyone knows.

More careful wording such as ‘most’ and

‘some’ pass muster more easily.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU FAIL

Whenever we attempt to do something

and fail, we end up doing something

else. As simplistic as this statement may

seem, it is the first principle of creative

accident. We may ask ourselves why we

have failed to do what we intended, and

this is the reasonable, expected thing to

do.

THE CREATIVE ACCIDENT

But the creative accident provokes a different

question: What have we done? Answering

that question in a novel, unexpected way is

the essential creative act. It is not luck, but

rather creative insight of the highest order.

Even when people set out to act purposefully

and rationally to do something, they wind up

doing things they did not intend.

HANG IN THERE! John Wesley Hyatt, an Albany printer and

mechanic, worked long and hard trying to find a

substitute for billiard-ball ivory, then coming into

short supply. He invented, instead, celluloid— the

first commercially successful plastic.

B.F. Skinner advised people that when you are

working on something and find something

interesting, drop everything else and study it. In

fact, he emphasized this as a first principle of

scientific methodology.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED!

In principle, the unexpected event that gives rise to a

creative invention is not all that different from the

unexpected automobile breakdown that forces us to

spend a night in a new and interesting town, the book

sent to us in error that excites our imagination, or the

closed restaurant that forces us to explore a different

cuisine.

But when looking for ideas or creative solutions, many of

us ignore the unexpected and, consequently, lose the

opportunity to turn chance into a creative opportunity.

THE CREATIVITY BARRIER

By limiting your creativity, it needs to

stretch beyond its comfort zone to find a

solution. It goes through a warm-up

process while your brain neurons start

firing. Then you’ll get the burst of an

idea that suddenly sparks a fire.

For example, on the next slide is a mental

challenge to break the creativity barrier:

MENTAL CHALLENGE EXERCISE Choose three random words. It doesn’t matter what they are.

They could be sheep, lilac and dragon, for example.

Write a three-paragraph blog post on copywriting, with each

of your chosen words the focus of one paragraph.

Devote all your resources. Unleash your creativity inside the

restrictions to wander loose. Find ways to relate the words to

the subject. Use metaphors. Use examples. Use history. Tell a

story.

Impossible? Not at all.

Demanding? Sure.

Worth it? Oh yeah.

STRETCH BEYOND THE FAMILIAR! By limiting your creativity, it needs to stretch beyond

its comfort zone to find a solution. It goes through a

warm-up process while your brain neurons start firing.

Then you’ll get the burst of an idea that suddenly

sparks a fire.

You’ll write. You’ll feel the rush.

And then you’ll enjoy the satisfying cool-down as you

polish off you’re your post – lilacs, dragons and all.

You’d be amazed at what your creativity can come up

with. Are you up for the challenge?

GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE

Remember, when you are completing an assignment,

use your creative and critical thinking skills.

Think differently about what you’re asked to write.

Don’t just write the same old tired ideas. See

something in a new way!

Analyze, problem-solve!

When you’re writing about common concepts that

anyone can find in a textbook or a resource, you

aren’t being original.

USE WHAT YOU KNOW CREATIVELY

Use what you know and apply it in a whole

new way.

You’ll be surprised at how exciting it is to

come up with something new and fresh--

something that only you could have

thought of.

Go get ‘em!

RESOURCES

http://www.copyblogger.com/fresh-conten

t/

http://www.copyblogger.com/creative-acci

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