20140410040624_Topic 6 Critical and Creative Thinking

8/10/2019 20140410040624_Topic 6 Critical and Creative Thinking

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INTRODUCTION

There are two basic thinking skills (Figure 6.1).

Figure 6 1

: Two basic thinking skills

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Critical andCreativeThinking

LEARNING OUTCOMESBy the end of this topic, you should be able to:

1. Define critical thinking, creative thinking and lateral thinking;

2. Explain the characteristics of critical and creative thinking;

3. Give examples of critical and creative thinking respectively;

4. Describe the barriers of critical thinking;

5. Identify the application of creative thinking in problem solving;

6. Describe the six techniques of lateral thinking; and

7. Describe right and left brain crossover.


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TOPIC 6 CRITICAL AND CREATIVE THINKING 115

The first skill emphasises on analytical ability: how to logically follow anargument, how to compare, classify and sequence, and how to use deductive andinductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion. This thinking skill is called critical

thinking.

The second skill focuses on exploring ideas, generating new possibilities, lookingfor flexibility in answers and developing leads worthy of elaboration. Thisthinking skill is called creative thinking.

Both critical and creative thinking skills are essential for solving problems andacquiring knowledge.

In this topic, we will explore both thinking skills, examine their characteristicsand see how they are applied in solving problems in the real world.

CRITICAL THINKING

Whenever the word critical is used, it often has a negative connotation.Critical is often taken to mean the tendency to find and call attention to errorsand flaws, such as when a person is critical of what we do or say.

However, critical also means involving or exercising skilled judgement orobservation. It is in this sense that the word critical in critical thinking isused. Thus, when we say critical thinking, we mean thinking clearly and

intellectually. Critical thinking encompasses a wide range of cognitive skills andintellectual characteristics needed to effectively identify, analyse and assessarguments or truth of claims. To think critically means to discover and overcomepersonal prejudices and biases, to prepare and come up with convincing reasonsin support of conclusions and to make rational, smart decisions about what tobelieve and what to do.

In other words, critical thinking can be defined as, disciplined thinkingregulated by clear intellectual standards. The most important intellectual

6.1

In Topic 5, we learned about the functions of the right and lefthemispheres of the human brain. Given the brief descriptions ofcritical and creative thinking in the Introduction above, how do youthink these two thinking skills fit in the model of the right-brain, left-brain functionalities?

ACTIVITY 6.1


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TOPIC 6 CRITICAL AND CREATIVE THINKING116

standards identified are clarity, accuracy, relevance, consistency, logicalcorrectness and fairness (Bassham, 2000, p.7).

We will briefly look at each of these important intellectual standards in order tounderstand them better.

6.1.1 Eight Characteristics of Critical Thinking

Now, let us look into eight characteristics of critical thinking.

(a) ClarityThe first step involved before assessing an argument or claim of a person isto understand clearly what he or she is saying. However, many a time this

can be rather challenging because people often fail to express themselvesclearly and articulately. This may be due to several reasons which caninclude laziness, carelessness or lack of assertive skill. There are alsoinstances where this may be due to a misguided effort to appear smart,intelligent or profound. Thus, by paying close attention to language, we cansave ourselves from unnecessary miscommunications anddisappointments. Wittgenstein (2001) once remarked, Everything that canbe said can be said clearly.

Besides searching for clarity of language, critical thinkers also look for

maximum clearness of thought. As motivational writers constantly remindus to accomplish our personal goals in life, we require a clear conception ofour goals and priorities, a realistic grip of our abilities and a clearunderstanding of the problems and opportunities we encounter. However,such self-understanding can only be accomplished if we value and practiseclarity of thought. Charles Larmore (The National Post, July 29, 2000) onceexpressed that clarity is not mere embellishment of the intellect; it is thevery heart of intellectual virtue.

(b) PrecisionSome of the best examples of critical thinking are seen in detective storiessuch as those of Sherlock Holmes, the immortal creation of British writer SirArthur Conan Doyle. An important element of these stories is precision:through careful observation, Holmes is able to find clues that areoverlooked by others. A process of logical inference follows, by which he isable to use the available clues to solve the mystery.

Precision is required in various specialised fields such as medicine,mathematics, architecture and engineering. Critical thinkers are aware ofthe importance of precise thinking in everyday life where in order to dissectthe confusions and uncertainties that surround many everyday problems


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and issues. It is a must to obtain precise answers to precise questions.According to Peirce (as cited in Bassham et al., 2011), Really valuable ideascan only be had at the price of close attention.

(c) AccuracyA well-known tagline on input-output systems states, Garbage in, garbageout. The human mind works on the same concept. A person can beconsidered very intelligent but if he or she makes a decision based on falseinformation, it is very likely that the decision would be a bad one. Criticalthinkers not only value truth but also have an obsession for accurate andtimely information. They try hard to make decisions that are as informed aspossible.

To quote Socrates (as cited in Bassham et al., 2011): An unexamined life isnot worth living if an individual stops learning, growing and inquiring.

(d) Relevance

The moment we find ourselves in a situation where the environment andpeople are boring, we begin to appreciate the importance of stayingfocused on relevant ideas and information. Many a debater has successfullyused the technique of raising irrelevant issues to distract the attention of hisor her audience and opponents. The famous Abraham Lincoln, when hewas a lawyer, used jokes and stories to gain the favour of the jury and hisopposing counsel often complained to the judge that Lincoln's stories wereirrelevant and distracting to the jury.

As Plato (as cited in Bassham et al., 2011) once said, No tedious and

irrelevant discussion can be allowed; what is said should be pertinent.This clearly indicates that relevance is indeed an important factor in criticalthinking.

(e) ConsistencyLogic tells us that if a person holds inconsistent beliefs, then at least one ofthose beliefs must be untrue. Critical thinkers value truth, thus, they arealways on the lookout for inconsistencies, both in their own thoughts and inthe arguments and assertions of others.

In scientific measurements, the difference between precision andaccuracy is well articulated. How would you differentiate betweenthese two terms in regard of critical thinking?

SELF-CHECK 6.1


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Logical inconsistency, which involves saying or believing inconsistentthings, is the first type of inconsistency that we should avoid. The secondtype is practical inconsistency, which involves mentioning one thing but

doing another.

Many a time people realise that when their words conflict with theiractions, they are labelled as hypocrites. However, such examples are notespecially interesting from the critical thinking point of view. Moreinteresting are situations in which people do not realise that their wordsconflict with their deeds. What is important in such situations is thathuman beings often exhibit a remarkable capacity for self-deception. As thesaying of Morpheus goes, There is a difference between knowing the pathand walking the path (as cited in Bassham et al., 2011)."

Critical thinking helps us from being caught in the trap of logical andpractical inconsistencies. Practical inconsistency may be unconscious but itis borne out through our actions and critical thinking helps us realise that.As for logical inconsistency, Socrates had already recognised thatunconscious logical inconsistency is far more frequent than mostindividuals suspect. With critical thinking, this can be identified andavoided altogether.

(f) Logical CorrectnessTo think logically is to reason correctly; in other words, it means to draw

well-founded conclusions from the beliefs we hold. In order to thinkcritically, we not only require accurate and well-supported beliefs but wealso need to be able to use them to come up with logical conclusions. TheTalmud says, Intelligence means a person who can see implications andarrive at conclusions (as cited in Bassham et al., 2011).

(g) CompletenessMost of the time, we opt for shallow and superficial thinking rather thandeep and complete thinking. We are often embroiled in superficialdiscussions: condemning slipshod criminal investigations, hasty jury

deliberations, superficial news stories, unclear driving directions andincorrect medical diagnoses. Thinking is better when it is in depth ratherthan shallow, and thorough rather than superficial. Hsun Tzu (as cited inBassham et al., 2011) once stated, It is only when there is completeness andexhaustiveness that there is scholarship.

(h) FairnessThe final characteristic of critical thinking is fairness which includes beingopen-minded, impartial and free of bias and preconceptions. However, thisis rather difficult to accomplish. According to H.G. Wells, It is not much


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good thinking of a thing unless you think it out (as cited in Bassham et al.,2011).

Study these two examples of situations where critical thinking is used.

(a) Critical Thinking in the ClassroomWhen students enrol in a college, they are taken aback to find out that theirprofessors are less interested in how they got their beliefs than they are inwhether those beliefs can survive critical inspection. In general, the focus ison higher-order thinking, the active, intelligent evaluation of ideas andinformation. Thus, critical thinking plays an important role in the collegecurriculum.

In a critical thinking course, among the skills learned by students that cangreatly increase their classroom abilities are:

Understanding the arguments and beliefs of others;

Assessing those arguments and beliefs critically; and

Developing and defending their own well-supported arguments andbeliefs.

John J. Mearsheimer once said, We don't want you to just accept theconventional wisdom on a particular subject. Indeed, your first instinctshould be to question it (as cited in Bassham et al., 2011).

(b) Critical Thinking in the WorkplaceNowadays, employers are not only looking for skilful employees with highacademic qualifications but also individuals with an excellent ability tothink and communicate effectively in the workplace. They seek fast learnerswho can solve problems, think creatively, gather and analyse information,come up with appropriate conclusions from data and communicate theirideas clearly and effectively. As stated by the Foundation for CriticalThinking, There is nothing more practical than sound thinking.

6.1.2 Classification Games in Teaching Critical Thinking

It is believed that classification plays a vital role in the growth of logical thinkingand abstract concepts right from early childhood to adulthood. Gerhard (1975)stated that the classification skill is vital to vocabulary-concept development andthus, to reading and preservation of information. According to Furth and Wachs(1974), all classification tasks require the identification of features and separationinto categories according to some rules.


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There are a number of commercial materials with verbal analogies, figural andsymbolic problem solving, logic puzzles and feature games. Nevertheless,application of a wide variety of environmental objects must follow. Incorporation

of classification activities into content areas is also important to determine theirusefulness. Currently, its applications to mathematics and science, in particularthe investigating approach to science, are indeed obvious.

According to the theory of Schema, information that needs to be stored must begrouped with something already present in memory (Tonjes & Zintz, 1987).Techniques involving brainstorming that help in the understanding process areproposed to help students retrieve their past knowledge on a particular topic tobe read, and then categorise and save the new information in their memory.

Devine (1986) stated that it might be necessary to reorganise students' schematawhen past experience that was limited to a different perspective intervened withthe understanding of a new concept. He used the example of students who facedproblems understanding relationships between the concepts of social class andcaste system. In a word-related exercise, the students were required to listeverything they knew about each term individually. Then, they were asked tofind resemblance, for example, while categorising facts and events, identifyingthe common traits among them and labelling them, hence developing newconcepts or schemata.

6.1.3 Barriers to Critical ThinkingAlthough critical thinking is important, many highly educated and intelligentpeople find it rather a challenge to practise. Below are some common barriers tocritical thinking:

Lack of relevant backgroundinformation

Poor reading skills

Bias

Prejudice Superstition

Self-centred thinking

Group-centred thinking

Peer pressure

Conformism

Provincialism

Relativistic thinking

Stereotyping

Unwarranted assumptions

Scapegoating

Rationalisation

Denial

Wishful thinking

Short-term thinking

Selective perception

Selective memory

Overpowering emotions


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Narrow-mindedness

Close-mindedness

Distrust in reason

Self-deception

Face-saving

Fear of change

6.1.4 Importance of Critical Thinking

Firstly, critical thinking prevents us from making foolish personal decisions byteaching us to think about important life decisions more carefully, clearly andlogically. Secondly, it plays a crucial role in promoting democratic processes.Albert Einstein (www.leadershipnow.com/probsolvingquotes.html) once statedthat the significant problems we face cannot be solved at the level of thinkingwe were when we created them. Thirdly, critical thinking is believed to bringpersonal enrichment to our lives.

Critical thinking can free mankind from the unexamined postulations and biasesof our upbringing and society.

Howard Kahane (as cited in Bassham et al., 2011) once remarked that citizenswho think for themselves, rather than uncritically ingesting what their leaderstell them, are the absolutely necessary ingredient of a society that is to remaintruly free.

CREATIVE THINKING

It was found that before the mid-1950s, not much attention was given tocreativity. A researcher who examined more than 121,000 listings of articles inPsychological Abstracts in the past 23 years found that only 186 articles, whichtranslated to less than two-tenths of 1% of the total, had any essence of creativity.

6.2

SELF-CHECK 6.2

Elaborate on any five of the barriers stated above.

ACTIVITY 6.2

In groups of three or four, define the following critical thinking traits:intellectual honesty, open-mindedness, fair-mindedness, intellectual

courage and intellectual perseverance.


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From that point onwards, attention towards creativity increased tremendouslyand many books were written on the subject. Researchers have thoroughlyinvestigated the lives of creative achievers, explored the creative process and

tested creative performance in every conceivable situation and at every age level.

Their efforts helped to improve our understanding of creativity and solved themany misconceptions that for so long went unchallenged. Replacing those falseimpressions with facts is a vital step in developing one's creative potential. Thefacts that follow are among the most important ones:

Doing your own thing is not necessarily a mark of creativity

Creativity does not require special intellectual talent or high IQ

The use of drugs hinders creativity

Creativity is an expression of mental health

Creative thinking can be defined as being in an optimal state of mind wherenew ideas can be generated (www.brainstorming.co.uk). In other words,creative thinking is a purposeful thinking that improves the chances of newthoughts transpiring. Some authors believe that creative thinking is thinking outof the box where one comes about with original, diverse and elaborate ideas(Figure 6.2).

Figure 6 2: Creative thinking involves thinking outside of the box which can be difficult

at times


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6.2.1 Five Characteristics of Creative Thinking

Now, let us read further about the five characteristics of creative thinking.

(a) DynamismIn its simplest sense, dynamism implies the notion of change change inresponse to, and possibly ahead of, circumstances or information. It impliesan active interaction, as opposed to passive acquiescence.

The mind of a critical thinker is never allowed to be passive, unquestioningand accepting. On the other hand, a creative thinker always manages tokeep his or her curiosity burning, or at least rekindles it from time to time.Playfulness is said to be an important element of this dynamism. Creative

people can be regarded as little children who love to rearrange theirbuilding blocks in various combinations, viewing them from differentperspectives.

Isaac Newton (as cited in Ruggiero, 2009 p.6) once wrote, I do not knowwhat I may appear to the world; but to myself, I seem to have been onlylike a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and thenfinding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary whilst thegreat ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.

Einstein (as cited in Ruggiero, 2009 p. 6) speculated one step further: he saw

such playfulness as the essential feature in productive thought. One ofthe most important contributions of playfulness among creative people isthat it provides these individuals with a richer and more varied collectionof ideas than an average person enjoys.

(b) DaringnessThinking is an adventure for creative people. This is because they are freefrom preconceived ideas and prejudiced views. Furthermore, creativeindividuals are less prone to accepting existing views, wider in theirperspectives and less likely to agree with those around them. Creative

people can come up with bold ideas. They are willing to try out ideas thatare not accepted by others and also experiment with possibilities that aredisliked by others. This trait was shared by Galileo, Columbus, Edison andthe Wright brothers. These individuals were more willing to embrace newcreative ideas than their contemporaries.

Daringness is a virtue because it makes individuals who possess this traitless susceptible to face-saving than others. Daring individuals accept badexperiences, apply their curiosity and learn from those experiences. Thus,they are less likely than others to repeat the same failures.


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(c) ResourcefulnessResourcefulness can be defined as the ability to act effectively andconceptualise the approach that solves the problem. In addition, being

resourceful also means being able to solve a problem that perplexes otherswhen the resources at hand are insufficient.

Although this ability is not measured by IQ tests, it is one of the mostimportant aspects of practical intelligence. The best example that explainsthis trait is one that was published in Scientific American more than 50years ago. In this article, a prisoner in a western state prison escaped butwas recaptured after a few weeks. The prison officers grilled him for daysand repeatedly questioned him on where he obtained the saw to cutthrough the bars. Finally, he answered that he had gathered bits of twine inthe machine shops, dipped them in glue and then in emery, and smuggledthem back to his cell. Every night for three months, he had sawed the oneinch-thick steel bars. The officers were satisfied with his explanation, lockedhim up and ensured that he never visited the machine shop again.

However, after three and a half years, the prisoner escaped again duringthe night. The prison officers found the bars cut in exactly the same manneras in the previous escape. However, he was never recaptured, and the wayhe escaped remained an unsolved puzzle.

In fact, he had lied about using material from the machine shop the first

time. He had been much more resourceful than that. He had used woollenstrings from his socks, moistened them with spit, and rubbed them in dirton his cell floor.

(d) DiligenceWilliam Gordon (as cited in Ruggiero, 2009 p. 7) once said, All problemspresent themselves to the mind as threats of failure. Only individuals whoare not frightened by the prospects of failure and have an unwaveringdesire to succeed no matter what the effort required, have the opportunityto succeed.

Creative individuals are ready to make the required commitment. ThomasEdison (as cited in Ruggiero, 2009 p. 7) had commitment in mind when hesaid, Genius is 99 percent perspiration and 1 percent inspiration. Anothergreat personality, George Bernard Shaw (as cited in Ruggiero, 2009 p. 7),once stated: When I was a young man, I observed that nine out of tenthings I did were failures. I did not want to be a failure, so I did ten timesmore work.


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One important trait present in creative people is their ability to bethoroughly engrossed in a problem and give it their full attention. Inaddition, creative people, due to their competitiveness, pay more attention

to their ideas rather than to other people. One good example is LesterPfister, who conceived the idea of inbreeding stalks and worked by hand,season after season. After five years, he had only four stalks left and he waspoor. Less determined souls would probably have given up in frustrationand disappointment under such circumstances but Pfister was unwilling toaccept defeat. He persevered and was finally rewarded with an improvedstrain.

(e) IndependenceEvery time we think of a new idea, we separate ourselves from otherpeople. The mere expression of the idea increases this separation ten-fold.

For most people, especially those who obtain their power fromcommunicating with others and those who depend on others for theiridentity, such separation is frightening. Sad to say, such people do not feelcomfortable entertaining and expressing new ideas. This is due to their fearof rejection.

Creative individuals are different. Although they accept friendship andsupport from others, they are not entirely dependent on them. They lookwithin themselves for strength and are thus more self-confident, more

independent in the way they speak and act and less afraid of appearingstrange or out of place (Figure 6.3).

Figure 6 3: Creative individuals are said to be more independent comparatively

Source: http://www.h2euro.org/latest-news/eu-policy-news/fch-ju-independent-

as-of-november-15th-2010

Understanding and knowing these five characteristics can help you buildup your creative abilities if you are willing to make the effort to developthem. However, if you already have them, it will help you to improve and


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strengthen them. This is a difficult but possible task as the saying goes,Old habits die hard. Nevertheless, even modest progress will bring achange in the quality of your thinking.

6.2.2 Applying Creativity to Problems and Issues

Two extensive applications of creativity that are of special interest to mostindividuals are solving problems and resolving controversial issues. Both refer tounpleasant situations that challenge our intelligence, or situations that have noavailable or suitable solutions. Such situations tend to divide people intoopposing groups, each with the notion that they are right and the other party iswrong.

The most important methods to apply creativity to problems and issues include:

Taking an innovative and new approach;

Devising or changing a process or system; Coming up with a new product or service;

Searching for new uses for existing things;

Improvising on existing things; and

Discovering or redefining a concept.

Now, let us read about each of the methods together with their example to fullyunderstand them.

(a) Taking an Innovative and New ApproachHumane Society inspectors who came across two dogs in a closed car inbrutal 92C heat used a new approach to punish the dogs owners. Theyoffered the owners an alternative to being charged with cruelty to animals:spend an hour inside the closed car themselves at the same temperaturethat the dogs were exposed to while the dogs spend the hour in the air-conditioned Humane Society building [Couple Learns Golden Rule..,Oneonta Star, 29 August 1981].

SELF-CHECK 6.3

List five important traits of creative individuals and explain each oneof them in your own words.


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Another good example of taking an innovative approach is the story of D.B.Kaplan, who was given the task of coming up with new ways of writingmenus for restaurants. He took up the challenge with a tongue-in-cheek

approach. Items that he came up with included Tongue Fu, the ItalianScallion, Chive Turkey, Ike and Tina Tuna, Dr. Pepperoni, the BreadlessHorseman, Annette Spinachello, and Quiche and Tell. The ingredients wereas creative as the names.

(b) Devising or Changing a Process or SystemThe Dewey decimal system and the Library of Congress system are twotechniques that were created for classifying books.

Other brilliant examples are the procedures devised in the past one or twodecades to investigate the health of a foetus. Procedures such asamniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling involve the extraction ofamniotic fluid, while ultrasound imaging involves the bouncing of soundwaves off the foetus to form an image.

DNA fingerprinting is another example of creativity. This technique isbased on the fact that every individual who ever lived has his own uniquegenetic makeup. A strand of hair or a spot of urine, saliva or semen foundat a crime scene can be compared with a DNA sample of a suspect and be asignificant factor in finding out the identity of the guilty individual orcriminal.

(c) Coming Up With a New Product or ServiceIn 1845, a man needed money to pay a debt. He was thinking of what hecould invent in order to pay off his debt. Three hours later, he came up withthe safety pin, an idea which he sold for $400.

Other surprising examples are Graffiti Gobbler, a chemical compound thatcan remove ink or paint from wood, brick or steel, and the Moto-Stand, athree-wheeled, upholstered, motorised truck invented by a man paralysedfrom chest down. This vehicle allowed him to manoeuvre around the house

in standing position [Crippled Inventor is Standing Proud, Oneonta Star, 30November 1981].

(d) Searching for New Uses for Existing ThingsAgricultural crops have long been used for unusual purposes. For example,cotton lint is used to manufacture explosives while ground-up tobacco isused to make insecticide.

Scientists found new ways to use the largest surplus crop in the UnitedStates, which was corn. For example, corn was used in making de-icing


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materials, adhesives, disposable bottles and biodegradable garbage bags.[New inventions from the Cornfield, New York Times, 10 January 1988].

(e) Improvising on Existing ThingsSome good examples of existing things that have been improvised are therecent developments in the telephone, such as call block, call trace, prioritycall, return call, repeat call and caller ID. Each of these features was devisedin response to a particular need that was not fulfilled by the existing deviceor equipment.

(f) Discovering or Redefining a ConceptMost of us have this notion that the many concepts that help us think anddeal with reality are permanent and last forever. However, this may not betrue. Just as products and services are invented, so are concepts. Theconcepts of taxation and punishing criminals, for example, may be very old,but they were once upon a time new.

LATERAL THINKING

Edward de Bono (www.generations.gs/TQ11/Creativity/sites/vs.html)(a leading authority in the field of creative thinking) defined lateral thinking asexploring multiple possibilities and approaches instead of pursuing a singleapproach. Besides teaching you to think in a creative manner, lateral thinkinghas the ability of transforming problems into opportunity, search for alternativesolutions and significantly increase your number of original and practical ideasemploying unusual thinking techniques that are normally not within the abilityof our normal methods of thinking.

6.3

1. The more formal education a person has, the more he is able toanalyse, but the less he is able to improvise.

Discuss this statement in the context of critical and creative thinking.

2.

Being creative does not only mean possessing certaincharacteristics but also behaving creatively; approaching thechallenges we face with imagination and originality. In short, itmeans exhibiting skill in applying the creative process. Do anInternet search to determine the stages involved in the creativeprocess. Elaborate on each stage.

ACTIVITY 6.3


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Lateral thinking is usually employed by individuals who are given theresponsibility of coming up with new strategies in the R & D sector.Nevertheless, any individual who is in a lookout for innovativeness, idea

generation, concept development, creative problem solving or a strategy tochallenge the present situation can gain from lateral thinking. Generally, in themodern world, individuals who are facing fast-changing trends, intensecompetition and who are required to come up with extraordinary results couldbenefit from lateral thinking.

Table 6.1 summarises the six different lateral thinking techniques.

Table 6 1

: Six Techniques in Lateral Thinking

Technique Description

1.

Alternatives/ConceptExtraction

Employing concepts to come up with new ideas.

2. Focus Changing or sharpening on your focus to improve yourcreative effort.

3.

Challenge Thinking beyond the accepted ways of operating.

4. Random entry Employing unrelated input to widen the horizon ofthinking.

5. Harvesting Choosing of the most suitable early ideas and moulding

them into usable approaches.6.

Treatment of ideas Expanding ideas in order to incorporate them into anyparticular situations or organisations.

Lateral thinking may be useful when applied in the following:

(a) Challenging of a present situation in a positive manner to allow room fornew ideas.

(b) Search and build on the concept behind an idea in order to generate moreideas.

(c)

Resolve problems in methods that were not thought of initially.

(d) Utilise alternatives to produce and harness the creative energy of anorganisation.

(e) Transform problems into opportunities.

(f) Choose the optimum alternate ideas and put them into operation.


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RIGHT AND LEFT BRAIN CROSSOVER

In general, an individual uses both sides of the brain when making a decision.This is due to the fact that when you use only one side of your brain, you arebasically denying yourself the opportunity to use your full power in the decisionmaking process.

The crossover of right and left brain crossover produces a sound, rational andlogical decision that gives you satisfaction. The right hemisphere of the brain isresponsible for intuitive, subjective and holistic thinking. Thus an individual whouses only the right brain may end up making a decision that lacks the logical andobjective reasoning. On the other hand, the left brain is in charge of logical,analytical, rational and objective reasoning. Hence, a left brain user who workswith facts, data and logic without the feeling component in making decisionsusually fail to notice the importance of using their emotions. These individualsbelieve that facts, data and logic are not only superior than emotions whenmaking a particular decision but also always produce better decisions. Feelingsare an important component of the human existence. It is essential that youembrace and accept feelings during a decision making process in order to ensurethat you will feel satisfied with the final decision that you have made.

Alan Bean [Figure 6.4(a)] and Florence Nightingale [Figure 6.4(b)] are among theindividuals who have achieved a lot in their lives with a strong right and leftbrain crossover. Alan Bean was a Navy test pilot, and the fourth man to set hisfoot on the moon. His job required strong left brain to utilise logical, analytical,rational and objective reasoning. Upon his resignation from NASA, Alan Bean

6.4

1. The following questions are designed to test your ability to

practise lateral thinking.

(a) What can you hold in your right hand, but not in your left?

(b) A man and his son were in a car crash. The father was killedand the son was taken to hospital with serious injuries. Theexamining doctor exclaims: But, this is my son!.

How can this be?

(c) Name three consecutive days in English without using thewords Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday.

2. Describe the six lateral thinking techniques.

SELF-CHECK 6.4


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became a full time artist who painted Apollos human adventure that is bothvisionary and historic; a task that requires a strong right brain to employintuitive, subjective and holistic thinking. Florence Nightingale, a nurse by

profession, exhibited the use of both her right and left brain. She proved theimportance of sanitary conditions in healing the sick and wounded patients. Sheemployed her left brain for this while her nurturing qualities demonstrated thepowers of her right brain.

(a) (b)

Figure 6 4

: Alan Bean (a) and Florence Nightingale (b) both demonstrated strong right

and left brain crossover attributes.

Sources: http://www.talentbookingusa.com/speakers/alan-bean.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Nightingale

1. The choices of which brain is in control of which situationsiswhat forges our personalities and determines our character.Discuss the above statement.

2. In your opinion, does our current education system place higherimportance on the right or left brain? Suggest ways and steps that

can be taken to improve this situation.

SELF-CHECK 6.5


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Critical thinking is a general term given to a wide range of cognitive skills and

intellectual characters required to effectively identify, analyse and evaluatearguments and truth claims; to uncover and overcome personal prejudices andbiases; to devise and present convincing reasons in support of conclusions; andto come up with reasonable, intelligent decisions about what to believe and whatto do. It is disciplined thinking controlled by clear intellectual benchmarks thathave proven their values over the course of human history.

The important characteristics of critical thinking are: clarity; precision;accuracy; relevance; consistency; logical; correctness; completeness; andfairness.

Creative thinking is important in today's competitive world. Creative peopleshare a number of important characteristics, among which are: dynamism;daringness; resourcefulness; diligence; and independence.

The most important ways to apply creativity to problems and issues are:taking an innovative approach; formulating a process or system; devising anew product or service; finding new uses for existing things; improvising onexisting things; and inventing or redefining a concept.

Lateral thinking employs the utilisation of inspiration and imagination to

solve problems by looking at them from unexpected perspectives; it alsoinvolves discarding the obvious, leaving behind traditional modes ofthought, and throwing away preconceptions.

The crossover of right and left brain produces a sound, rational and logicaldecision as both hemispheres of the brain are responsible for differentfunctions and approaches in a decision making process.

Acquilescence

Brain Crossover

Completeness

Creative Thinking

Critical Thinking

Daringness

Diligence

Dynamism

Fairness

Lateral Thinking

Logical Correctness

Resourcefulness


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Bassham, G. (2000). Critical thinking: A student introduction. Chapter 1:Introduction to Critical Thinking, pp 7. East Tennessee State University-ETSU. (2006). Seven Step Decision-Making Model. Retrieved from:http://www.etsu.edu/acadvantage/acadv/decision.htm

Bassham, G., Irwin, W., Nardone, H. & Wallace, J. M. (2011). Critical thinking Astudents introduction (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill InternationalEdition.

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