University of Life Writing Center

Perhaps
the best
thing that
critical
thinking gives you is
the power of choice.
A critical thinker
doesn’t have to excuse
her actions with the
trite phrase “That’s
just the way I am,”
because she knows
that her own decisions
ultimately determine
her fate. She refuses
to be Pavlov’s dog.
She deliberately takes
control of her attitudes
and actions. She knows
she can eventually find
an answer to every
question and a solution
to every problem.
Point
of View
Some
people are
afraid of
thinking
too much. They’re
afraid of overanalyzing
everything
and becoming a geek.
Since when does stupid
equal cool? Rather than
becoming a geek, they
played the fool.
Point
of View
11: Critical Thinking 163
You heard about the guy wearing a black tux and carrying a violin case,
running down a Manhattan street? He stopped and breathlessly asked a passer
by, “How do I get to Madison Square Garden?”
The smart-aleck answer: “Practice.”
The same holds true for becoming a critical thinker. Practice. Think, analyze,
listen, read, consider, weigh alternatives, discuss. Here is a pair of exercises to
tone that muscle inside your skull.
Mental Wanderlust
As a child of the television generation, you’ve likely been handicapped
by the continual bombardment of colorful images and quick-fix sitcoms
where all problems get solved in half-hour episodes minus 7 minutes of
commercials. You may inwardly believe that the world has an obligation
to continually entertain you, which partially explains your irritation with
various aspects of your education, employment, and family and other
relationships. As soon as something stops entertaining you, you lose
interests and your mind wanders until the next flashy image engages it
again.
With such limited abilities (or habits) of focusing, it’s no wonder if you
haven’t already learned everything you want to know, created the life you
want around you, or attained the GPA you know you’re really capable of.
Don’t worry, this handicap need not be permanent. A first step
in reconquering your life is to take control of that processing center
upstairs. Rather than letting it wander like a stray dog, harness it! Put it
to work! Bend it to your will and begin to discover the miracles it can create for
you!
First, get acquainted with your concentration skills. Pick a topic to think about -
a problem, goal, opportunity, whatever. Next, decide what you’d like to figure out
about it. Finally, with a pen and paper at hand, time yourself for five minutes and
start thinking. Every time you catch your mind wandering off the subject, make a
mark on the paper.
Once you’re familiar with your concentration habits, strive to improve them.
Choose topics to think about frequently. Try it while walking between classes,
riding the bus (concentrate on the road if driving!), eating, or listening
to your gfriend talk about her latest shoe purchase or perm.
Will a little effort and improvement, you will soon discover that you
can solve problems in days that would have taken months to work
themselves out! You will begin reach goals more quickly and effortlessly,
find life ever so much more interesting, become a more interesting
person yourself, and enjoy the fruits of the examined life.
Cutting Quotes
Do you know the busiest part of a person? In some cases, you might
guess the mouth, and in many of those cases, the mouth often appears
a lot more active than the brain. Practice dissecting and evaluating
statements by doing so with any old quote. Read it through, then begin
Making
the
investment
to become
a more
critical thinker is like
paying a dollar for a
lottery ticket that has
already been drawn as
the winner.
Point
of View
On TV, any
problem can
be resolved
in half an
hour. If it takes longer
than that, we simply
change the channel. But
while our culture has
changed, the world has
not. Solving problems
and gathering wisdom
still take time and effort.
Point
of View
164 The Art & Craft of Writing asking questions about it, a piece at a time. “Is this part true? What do
they mean by this word? Do I have any pertinent experience? How does
and doesn’t this apply to me or other instances?”
Examples:
“Life is an exciting adventure, or it is nothing.”–Hellen Keller
Example Questions:
1. What parts of life do you consider an exciting adventure, and which
parts do you not?
2. Can you change this and make life more or less exciting? How?
3. Do you know people who think almost all of their life is an exciting
adventure, or people who think none of it is? Are they right or wrong?
4. What difference does/would this attitude make in your life? Would it
most affect you or people around you?
5. What does Keller mean when she says the unexciting-adventurous life is
nothing?
“Far better is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs,
even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with
those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much,
because they live in the grey twilight that knows not victory
nor defeat.” –Theodore Rosevelt
1. Are you afraid of failure? How does fear of failure affect your decisions
and risks?
2. Are you afraid of success? Can you explain why some people are or give
examples?
3. Do you know any examples of great successes that took lots of failure to
get there?
4. What do you want to do that may require many failures before you
succeed?
5. Is it ever best to give up on something you want? How do you know
when to quit and when to not?
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent
will not, nothing is more common that unsuccessful men with
talent. Genius will not, unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not, the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” - Calvin
Coolidge
1. What are you persistent at? What are you not?
2. Why? What makes the difference? (Desire, confidence?)
3. What have you accomplished through persistence?
4. What do you want to accomplish that will take persistence?
11: Critical Thinking 165
5. Are you afraid of persistence? Do you want everything to be easy? How
does your way of thinking affect your life?
“Families and schools differ tremendously in the degree
to which they reinforce risk taking or conformity behavior in
women.” - Mary Belenky et al. (79)
1. How is risk taking reinforced?
2. How is conformity reinforced?
3. What are the benefits of being encouraged to risk? What are the
dangers and costs?
4. What are the benefits, dangers and costs of being encouraged to
conform?
5. How much responsibility, “credit” or “fault” for women’s propensity to
risk or conform falls on families and schools?
6. What can women (or others) do to counteract such influences in
society?
7. Is the situation different for men? If so, how?
8. At what age does the supposed influence by schools begin? Does it
take different forms over time?
Now practice cutting the following quotes and/or gather your own:
Three Rules for Success:
1. Start Now.
2. Do it Flamboyantly.
3. No Exceptions.
- William James (paraphrased)
War is always an excuse for impatience, inability, selfishness
or greed. - nobody in particular