5 Tips For Thinking More Critically

Critical thinking can be most useful — and most difficult — when you’re confronted with an unfamiliar problem. In these situations, it’s often best to slow down rather than looking for shortcuts or going with your gut. Instead, take a step back, gather whatever information you do have, and reorganize it to see how it all fits together — or doesn’t. 

For example, suppose you find a wallet on the sidewalk with some cash, a few coupons, and some photographs, but nothing that would clearly indicate who it belongs to like a credit card or driver’s licence. Break your big question ,“whose wallet is this?”, down into smaller, more specific questions:

• Is all the cash in the same currency? 
• Are the coupons all for a similar kind of product, or valid at the same store? 
• Do you recognize anyone or anything in the photos? Are they faded and aged, or glossy prints?

Use these new ledes to reassess your main question. If the cash included both Canadian dollars and Russian roubles, most of the coupons from a local deli known for its Eastern European specialities, and the photos were all of the same cat, a Russian Blue, then your first call should probably be to the elderly Russian couple that lives in your neighbourhood.

Everyone knows that you shouldn’t take advertisements at face value. While it’s easy to see through a pop-up ad for “Five Logic Hacks THEY Don’t Want You To Know”, it can be trickier to know when to doubt claims made in a nonfiction book, news article, government press release, or other important sources of information. 

Anyone making a claim publicly is trying to persuade their audience. Sometimes that’s obvious: advertisements are trying to get you to buy something. To identify the motive behind a particular claim, start by asking yourself what the author has to gain by persuading their audience that it’s true. For example, an opinion article written by an oil company CEO about how wind turbines are actually overpriced, bird-killing eyesores is probably motivated more by their profit interests than because they’re an avid birdwatcher. 

Most conflicts of interest or sources of bias aren’t that straightforward. So next time you read something that sounds exaggerated, far-fetched, or a little too convenient, see what you can find out about the author and their publisher (like a newspaper or parent company), and follow the money why they might be bending the facts to influence your beliefs.

Whether we’re dismissing a well-supported argument because it’d be inconvenient, or believing a rumour because it confirms a long-held position, sometimes it’s our own biases that lead us astray. Challenging our own views can be tough because nobody wants to admit that they’re wrong. 

Rather than waiting for someone else to find the flaw in your certainty, stay one step ahead by critically reflecting on your beliefs. One trick is to just switch sides and pretend you believe the exact opposite. Try to come up with any logical justification of your new position, no matter how roundabout it is.

Everyone’s beliefs change throughout their lives, usually gradually and in subtle ways. But even when a sudden revelation makes you change something you’d long thought indisputable, the shock tends to wear off pretty quickly. Keep track of these changes by writing your ideas down in a dated journal. 

Making predictions or noting disagreements you’re having with friends family are good ways to log your beliefs and see what’s influenced them. We often unconsciously ‘correct’ our beliefs after the fact, like who we thought was going to win an election or whether a team would make it to the playoffs. Doing this consistently can help uncover recurring biases and other habits of thought.

For example, we’re often better at assessing multiple options when an event is further away in the future. When a high-stress event like an election is just around the corner, we’re more likely to fall back into habits of thought amid the flood of constantly changing and updated information. For each entry, make a note of:

• The date
• Your prediction/view on a topic
• Your level of confidence in it (e.g. on a scale from 1-10)
• A short explanation for your position

You can’t fact-check everything you read. So think socially by asking a friend or three for their opinion. That way you can help check each other’s biases and cover each other’s blind spots. 

While even just an informal chat could crack the case, trying a more structured approach can keep your group on-topic and even become part of your game nights. All of the other four tips are even more effective in a group setting:

• ‘Switch sides’ by getting everyone to write a few of their strong beliefs statements they agree with on scrap paper, placing them in a bowl, and taking turns picking one and defending it. If you pick one of your own or something you already agree with, defend the exact opposite position.
• ‘Keep a journal’ with a group predictions pool. Get everyone to write up a couple predictions for the next year, five years, and ten years, put them all on a list, and have everyone in your group write down their opinion on each. For example, you could have everyone answer agree or disagree along with a percentage representing their confidence in this prediction.