Critical Thinking | The Runway

Definition: 'Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.' From: The Foundation for Critical Thinking Defining Critical Thinking

However, very important to note that knowledge is an essential component of Critical Thinking:

You cannot think critically about things you know nothing about.

Note the following:

'Learning critical thinking skills can only take a student so far. Critical thinking depends on knowing relevant content very well and thinking about it, repeatedly.' From: Critical Thinking: Why Is It So Hard to Teach? | Reading Rockets

Worth noting the following references:

RAAF RUNWAY: RATIONALE, GUIDELINES, LEARNING OUTCOMES, ETC | The Runway (airforce.gov.au)

Military Management

11 Characteristics of a Critical Thinker

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TED TALK…This tool will help improve your critical thinking

Socrates encouraged others to examine their beliefs through a method of verbal questioning, which is now known as the ‘Socratic Method’.

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Becoming a More Critical Consumer of Information

This article outlines three critical-thinking skills the author says are vital to helping us better navigate this content-driven, online age.

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Don’t Go Down the Rabbit Hole ------------ Critical thinking, as we’re taught to do it, isn’t helping in the fight against misinformation

When seeking information from the internet, always check who is behind a site by looking at what other web pages have to say about that site.

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3 Activities to Enhance Your Analysis in Critical Thinking

The author offers three simple activities to help people enhance their ability to think critically.

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5 Critical Thinking Skills to Use at Work (And How to Improve Them)

This article identifies five important areas regarding thinking critically: Observation, Analysis, Inference, Communication, and Problem-solving.

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The Three Critical Skills You Must Develop For The Future Of Work

In the future, our ability to think deeply about a topic will differentiate us from machines, but the current workplace has too many distractions making it difficult to practice deep thinking.

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8 Science-Based Strategies For Critical Thinking

Lee Carroll and Terry Heick have developed eight science based critical thinking strategies.

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What Makes a True Skeptic?

This article explains what it takes to be a real skeptic.

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The Skeptics Dictionary (a pro-science view of the world).

The Skeptic Dictionary takes a pro-science view on claims, strange beliefs, deceptions and dangerous delusions.

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13 Easy Steps To Improve Your Critical Thinking Skills

Critical thinking revolves around an open, honest, objective, inquisitive mind that analyses issues based on hard evidence rather than personal opinions.

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It’s important to consider ideas and writings that disturb us (opinion)

This article argues that too many people in the modern world are fearful of new ideas and criticism of existing ideas—everybody should learn to embrace critical thinking as it is a vital component of democracy.

Communication & Cognition

Researchers found the most effective way to stop misinformation online and it's pretty simple

Misinformation has had a significant influence on elections, public health etc.; however, there are critical thinking skills that can help you recognize misinformation when you come across it.

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10 Top Critical Thinking Skills (And How to Improve Them)

In this article, the Indeed editorial team explain what critical thinking is, why it’s important and how you can improve your critical thinking skills.

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Why is it so hard to understand what a theory is?

The word theory means different things to different people. Unfortunately, this difference can allow people with specific agendas to manipulate established scientific knowledge to confuse people.

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Reducing Polarization Through Critical Thinking and Common Ground

Too often, genuine ‘news’—in the form of substantiated facts and information—is forced to compete with catchy Tweets and opinions that might be based on false or fake news stories.

Enter, the Contemporary Australian Warrant Officer

This article by two senior RAAF Warrant Officers—Ken Robertson and Tina Hill—puts forward a fascinating argument about the future role(s) of contemporary Warrant Officers.

Communication & Cognition

Why is it so hard to understand what a theory is?

The word theory means different things to different people. Unfortunately, this difference can allow people with specific agendas to manipulate established scientific knowledge to confuse people.

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10 rules to determine if a conspiracy theory is true or false

The pervasiveness of the internet and social media means that conspiracy theories spread faster and further than ever before—but how can we tell the difference between a genuine and a false conspiracy theory?

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The good reasons scientists are so hostile to new ideas

Scientists are usually sceptical about new ideas or theories, especially as there is now so much evidence to support existing scientific theories.

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Reducing Polarization Through Critical Thinking and Common Ground

Too often, genuine ‘news’—in the form of substantiated facts and information—is forced to compete with catchy Tweets and opinions that might be based on false or fake news stories.

The wellness industry is selling you the myth that a healthy life is expensive

Margaret McCartney—a medical doctor—argues that you do not need to spend a lot of money to enjoy real wellbeing.

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Chakras, crystals and conspiracy theories: how the wellness industry turned its back on Covid science

Thanks to the general lack of control over social media platforms, social media is being used to spread misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.

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Health, Wellness, and the “Quick-Fix Fallacy”

Baseless claims and pseudoscience are pervasive in the current health and wellness industry; it sometimes seems we’ve made little progress since the days of snake-oil promoters—-even though the internet now makes it very easy to check up on wellness industry claims.

The wellbeing 'pandemic' – how the global drive for wellness might be making us sick

This article explores how the pursuit of wellness has become a global trend, yet paradoxically may lead to negative consequences such as anxiety and stress. The article questions the efficacy and sustainability of the wellness industry and argues for a more holistic approach to wellbeing.