Amidst the turbulent political events of this past week or so, I am conscious of the value of one thing in particular – the ability to think critically. People who know me may know I’m a big fan of the movie: Idiocracy (If you have never watched it, you need to!), which contemplates a world devoid of the ability to think critically (or at all, for that matter). It’s both satirical and frightening.
‘Critical thinking’ is defined as disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence.
A culture without critical thinking skills is vulnerable to ‘groupthink’ and ‘altfacts’ (BIMwash, anyone?). Social media right now is awash with people’s opinions (of varying persuasions) but few people these days will toil to get to the real facts. I’m guilty of this myself, with dozens of web browser tabs open at any one time, and an increasingly shorter attention span. Too often, amidst other distractions, I will form a view on something that may be…