Critical Thinking - Assignment 1

[John Uliano]

Pre-Assessment Score: 23/30

I define critical thinking as utilizing reason, knowledge, and questions, in the absence of my own biases, to identify an effective solution.  Critical thinking requires me to embrace my own ignorance regarding a situation in an attempt to evaluate it objectively and with logic in order to come to a conclusion.  I feel that through asking questions I can sift through some of my own biases, although feel that I could best do so in collaboration with others.  Is there a term for group critical thinking?  Something more robust than "problem solving"?  Or maybe problem solving is just a means to a critical thinking end? 

Critical thinking is important because it is a fluid process in which I am always trying to identify the most effective solution to a process.  It requires ongoing evaluation, as new information becomes available, and a consistent evolution to a solution.  I think from a business perspective, it fuels innovation.  Regardless of setting though, it often forces a challenge to the status quo and embracing a sense of uncomfortableness, with the intention of moving an individual, family, company, etc. forward. 

Galileo is my pick for famous critical thinker.  Galileo, based on his studies and use of logic/reason, refused to believe that the Earth was the center of the universe.  He annoyed the Church so much that his book was prohibited, was "convicted" of heresy, and placed under house arrest.  Talk about upsetting the status quo!

[paulwickson]

Hi John,

Thanks for this post. I like your summary of critical thinking particularly around using reason, knowledge and asking plenty of questions! You've introduced the concept of bias which I think is important in critical thinking and you reference 'in the absence of my own biases'. Do you feel all of our biases are unhelpful when trying to make good judgements? Can we still use our experience, knowledge of situations and some of our biases that come with that, to help the decision making process.

[John Uliano]

Hi Paul - thank you for taking the time to read my post and offer your feedback. You make a great point regarding bias. I think bias definitely has value in the decision making process, and especially critical thinking, since it would seem to feed the process, meaning it's through the evaluation of my own bias when coming to a decision that will force me to consider multiple solutions. I hope that makes sense. Also, if we have previously come to an effective solution through applying our own bias, I think it would only be natural to try that "bias-based" solution when tackling a similar situation. We want to develop our practice wisdom in a sense. So maybe bias can be more of a roadblock in a way when addressing a challenge that we do not have direct experience with and are only basing a solution on our assumptions.

Also, I think we hold some biases that are based on facts. In a case like that though, would we still consider it a "bias"? For example, I feel that an effective solution to homelessness is supportive housing, as I have experience in the field and have seen it's benefits first hand. Additionally, it's been proven to be cost effective, especially when compared to the money spent on shelters, hospitalizations, incarceration, etc. Often times though, individuals will rail against the cost of housing and the idea of providing those without a home, an actual home. Despite supportive housing reducing homelessness and being cost effective, would my belief still be considered a "bias"? That's an actual question, as I'm not sure when bias becomes something else.

[gdidona]

Hi John, I agree with Paul - Wonderful response! You have brought up several points that I believe we are going to expand upon during the next month of classes. If we don't touch on one or more of them, please don't hesitate to raise them as questions (particularly your last question regarding the definition/boundaries of bias).

[Michael Bernier]

Wonderful perspective. A bias can be based on facts. A statistical bias generally has factual foundation. Let us say you want to collect data on equities in the clothing retailer market, but for reasons you cannot seem to explain, all the data you collected came from the annual reports of sporting retailers only, completely ignoring all other types of clothing retailers. As a result, your sample data does not represent the total market for clothing retailers because you only focused on a single specific niche within that market, rather than the market as a whole. In short, sampling bias results when the sample you collect is not representative of the population. Depending on how you present the data, you may be subject to a bias interpretation.

Feb 4, 2021 18:10:45 GMT John Uliano said:

Also, I think we hold some biases that are based on facts. In a case like that though, would we still consider it a "bias"? For example, I feel that an effective solution to homelessness is supportive housing, as I have experience in the field and have seen it's benefits first hand. Additionally, it's been proven to be cost effective, especially when compared to the money spent on shelters, hospitalizations, incarceration, etc. Often times though, individuals will rail against the cost of housing and the idea of providing those without a home, an actual home. Despite supportive housing reducing homelessness and being cost effective, would my belief still be considered a "bias"? That's an actual question, as I'm not sure when bias becomes something else.

[Lorna Beaton]

Nicely put. Key to remember is, best sifting through bias using collaboration. We can get there alone but will it be the best way?