What Is Critical Thinking?

Critical thinking is really just about staying curious and the ability to change our mind.

When it comes to critical thinking, the problematic part is not knowing what it means; it’s the ability to identify critical thinking in ourselves, if and when we are demonstrating critical thinking. It’s more one of those terms that require self-experimentation, reflection and being truly honest with ourselves.

So let’s see if looking at different information will help us get a better understanding of what to look for within and identify what it means for us.

So what are we waiting for?

A good place to start is by opening a good old-fashioned dictionary.

The Definition of Critical Thinking

We opened up Cambridge Dictionary, and it defines critical thinking as “the process of thinking carefully about a subject or idea, without allowing feelings or opinions to affect you.”

The emphasis here is on examining the subject carefully, rather than letting how we feel about it or what we already believe determine our conclusion.

I guess the definition was focusing on the curiosity part :)

How Different Fields Approach Critical Thinking

Okay, curiosity?! But what else can we find?

Let’s see if looking at research done by different fields will illuminate something new.

So we made a table with different fields and where they thought they could find common ground where critical thinking is applied.

We start with curiosity and changing our minds. Yet, if we look at the different research fields, we find something interesting: they were trying to investigate thoughts themselves and our relationship with information, which is what fuels thoughts to begin with.

Does this make critical thinking really metacognition?

Which means they are not looking for a process but at our ability to review it?

Mm… interesting.

Is Critical Thinking the Same as Metacognition?

An interesting idea, I have to say. But metacognition is “thinking about what you are thinking about”, and critical thinking is the way we reach decisions and how much we are really aware of how we reached them.

The real difference between critical thinking and metacognition is the relationship to information.

When it comes to critical thinking, the focus is on how we are affected by information.

Do we tend to accept it or reject it? And what criteria do we have for accepting or rejecting it?

When we talk about critical thinking, we focus on how we weigh information itself. One of the things that is confusing is that we are looking for one process. But as humans, things are more nuanced. We probably have several ways that we group together rather than one process, as we encounter different things and relate to them differently based on how much we trust ourselves, how we experience them and the source that provided the information.

For example, I don’t think any of us would dismiss the information we found when we opened up Cambridge Dictionary. Simply because of who they are, what they do and how good we believe they are at defining words.

That is a pretty good example that helps us see that critical thinking, based on our relationship with information, is not a one-size-fits-all approach for us, but rather a case-by-case approach. And definitely not metacognition, which is the way we relate to our thoughts.

Can AI think?

Does AI Have Critical Thinking?

Yes, it does. Think about it: AI is a technology that aims at mimicking human cognitive abilities, and it needs a way to evaluate information before it provides an output.

The technology is designed to reason, learn and solve problems. It would not be able to do any of that without information and a relationship with it: a predefined approach to evaluating the impact that information has on the desired output it is asked to produce.

How?

Every vendor has its own approach, but in most cases, it’s about patterns and authority.

Its base on a formula for defining what is important at any given answer / out put what you find in data (=patterns) or where you find it (=the source).

Let’s see if we can use an example to provide more clarity about what it means.

An LLM is a large language model that is designed to predict the next word. Simple, right? :) And it’s really confusing to see why it needs critical thinking .

An LLM is not simply looking for the next word. It learns from relationships, context and intent, and it needs to try not to hallucinate. As you can see, it has a lot on its plate in order to predict the next word and provide an answer. Every word it need to predicts is based on information it need to search. It has nothing else to work with.

So how does it do that?

It has a formula for how to prioritise all the components, and when it goes through the process, the answer reveals itself. For example, it has a list of verified sources, the ones it will regard more highly than others. It will also favour Cambridge Dictionary over other sources, just like us and for the same reason.

It will also prioritise what it knows about us as it works with us. So anything it has learned about our preferences and dislikes will define what information it will credit and what it will disregard. all of that will define what the next work will be. and all of that decistion is based relationsip wiht informaitn crtical thinking.

Bottom Line: Relationship with Information

it all come down to relationship with information. It sounds funny, but we have a relationship with everything that takes part in our lives, and information is one of the things we use from the moment we open our eyes every morning. And yes, we approach it differently, and therefore it’s a relationship.

Critical thinking is defining that relationship: how open are we to playing with information itself?

Through my years of doing this, helping people find and use something that happens inside, I found a trick that helps people identify their approach to information.

And the game is simple:

When you receive any information, check how long you can entertain it before you make a judgment: “This is ridiculous” or “This is stupid.”

Yes, mostly focus on the negative reactions you have to information, as the positive ones don’t really call for critical thinking because we don’t tend to challenge ourselves if we don’t need to. We are human, after all :) We like habits and routines. They take less energy, and we are biological, after all.

And that time spent before our window closes and the verdict comes in that is your process for critical thinking.

And I know all the questions running through your mind: “But I know what I know!” and “But that really is stupid information!”

The thing you are missing here, and this is the important part I want you to get from this, is that it is never, never a conversation about the answer, a right or a wrong one. It was always about the way. And do you know how you got there?

That is the point: focus on the way you relate to information. We can come out with the same answer, the same conclusion, but in a quieter, more confident way, knowing that it reflects who we are.

AI Thinking and Where We Can Help

AI is the represent the age of information. But what to do with it is the key, and really where we can make the most impact. We step in for humans and AI and help with what this information becomes.

We help shape prompts, which are really about the formula of questions and instructions, and design the output we will get from information. We invest in creating context, which is really about what information is needed at what time, and a world wide view, which is about providing the right information to understand the big picture.

Information is everything. It all comes down to information: the information we bring and how we help you shape yours.

Want to see what we can help you with? Let’s talk.

Personal Note

Critical thinking is the way we reach decisions. AI represents the age of information, and critical thinking represents our relationship with it.

Every time we use AI, it requires us to make decisions about information. The side effect of that is burnout. If we don’t nurture our relationship with information, we can find ourselves exhausted by overthinking, second-guessing and investing more energy than needed every time.

We mostly don’t notice that using AI is really making decisions about information. This is why I am sending this message to whoever needs to hear it.

You are not imagining being exhausted, and you are not crazy for thinking: “Why is everyone saying AI takes hours of work off their hands and helps them get things done faster, but I spend hours researching, second-guessing and asking for proof?”

It’s revealing to you that you need to invest in your critical thinking, making yourself aware of how you approach information and how open you are to playing with a new source of data.

Yes, that is what we miss. AI is here to reflect our own internal processes back to us. That is its true gift to humanity.

A good place to start is by reading my book.

And whenever you are ready, come talk to me. It’s the best gift you can give yourself and your team in the new age of information.

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