LOGIC & CRITICAL THINKING

ASSIGNMENT

SUBMITED TO: PROF.KHAWAJA

SAEED

NAME: AHMED ALI

ROLL NO: MC17-290
CLASS: M.COM (3.5YRS)
SEMESTER: 3RD
SECTION: B

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Sr No. PG NO.
TOPIC
1. INTRODUCTION 3

2. DEFINITION 3-4

3. LOGICAL REASONING 5

4. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LOGIC AND 6-8

CRITICAL THINKING
5. IMPORTANCE IN COMMERCE 8
EDUCATION
6. IMPORTANCE IN DAILY LIFE 8-10

7. IMPORTANCE IN BUSINESS 10-11

8. Why Does Critical Thinking Matter In 11-15

Commerce
9. IMPROVING ABILITIES IN CRITICAL 15-16
THINKING
10. 7 ways to improve critical thinking skills 16-24

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INTRODUCTION:

"CRITICAL THINKING IS a desire to seek, patience to doubt, fondness to

meditate, slowness to assert, readiness to consider, carefulness to dispose and
set in order; and hatred for every kind of imposture." - Francis Bacon (1605)
As parents, we are tasked with instilling a plethora of different values into our
children. While some parents in the world choose to instill a lack of values in
their kids, those of us that don't want our children growing up to be criminals
and various misfits try a bit harder. Values and morality are one piece of the
pie. These are important things to mold into a child's mind, but there are also
other items in life to focus on as well. It starts with looking both ways to cross
the street and either progress from there, or stops.
If you stopped explaining the world to your children after they learned to cross
the street, then perhaps you should stop reading and go back to surfing for
funny pictures of cats. I may use some larger words that you might not
understand, making you angry and causing you to leave troll-like comments full
of bad grammar and moronic thought processes. However, if you looked at the
crossing the street issue as I did – as a logical problem with cause and effect
and a probable solution – then carries on. You are my target audience.
Or perhaps the opposite is true, as the former are the people that could
benefit from letting some critical thinking into their lives. The rationality of the
world is what is at risk. Too many people are taken advantage of because of their
lack of critical thinking, logic and deductive reasoning. These same people are
raising children without these same skills, creating a whole new generation of
clueless people.

DEFINITION:

LOGIC

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“A science that deals with the principles and criteria of validity of inference and
demonstration: the science of the formal principles of reasoning”

Critical Thinking
“Disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by
evidence”

EXPLAINATION:
Combining the two definitions, we can say that both logic and critical thinking
requires validity, truth of points in order to arrive at a proper conclusion. Logic
and Critical Thinking will allow a person to analyze situations, words, and
arguments and react accordingly to them without expressing any invalid
reasoning or actions. With the utilization of logic and critical thinking, he/she
can be seen as someone who. . .

 raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and

precisely;
 gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to
interpret it effectively comes to well-reasoned conclusions and
solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards;
 thinks open-mindedly within alternative systems of thought,
recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications,
and practical consequences; and
 Communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to
complex problems.

The importance of these two things lies in their alignment with each other in
an individual. Utilization of these things will allow an individual to be a better
person overall. It will produce awareness to oneself and others around.
Although cultivation of the knowledge in order to know the truth from the
erroneous points takes some time it will be nevertheless beneficial to the
person.

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LOGICAL REASONING:

Logical reasoning employs a formulaic process, which results in discernable

equations that can be tested and verified. Or to put it more simply – it allows
you to formulate coherent theories which you can develop or discard, in light
of your experiences.

Critical thinking rules out any superfluous or unsubstantiated claims, by

logically analyzing all relevant data against your current understandings, in
order to deduce the most sound reasons.

Thus, by formulating on concepts logically – critical thinking enables us to

arrive at the most reasonable conclusions.

EXAMPLE:

Since this is a logical deduction, I am only going to consider what we know and
say “B betrayed A” because:

1. A jumped before B (A gets the marks).

2. A had a parachute, but we don’t know if B did too! (No marks to
either).
3. A was cautious, realized B didn’t jump after 8 seconds, opened the
parachute. Considering B didn’t jump, this act can’t be betrayal! (again
A gets the marks).
Now, some scenarios -

1. Did B know A was going to betray, so decided not to jump?

2. Did A suspected B may or may not jump, so delayed the decision
(dynamic thinking) until he/she was sure?
Either way, A stayed committed to the task a little longer than B or hence B
betrayed A.

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RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LOGIC AND
CRITICAL THINKING:
Logic is one of the standards by which we measure the quality of thinking. the
central standards of critical thinking are:

Logic

Clarity

Precision

Accuracy

Relevance

Depth

Breadth

Fairness

These standards can be used for both careful analysis of written thought, or for
incidental evaluation of a mental thought. The easiest way is to see them each
as measuring sticks on a continuum between their opposites:

Logic —— Illogicalness

Clarity —— Vagueness

Precision —— Imprecision

Accuracy —— Inaccuracy (In this case the difference between Precision and
accuracy is defined as accuracy being whether something is factually correct
while precision is about whether a number has many decimals, or if the
amount of details in your thinking is appropriately large or small. )

Relevance ——Irrelevance

Depth —— Superficalness

Breadth——Narrow-mindedness

Fairness —— Unfairness

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By using these measuring sticks it’s easier to identify why ones thinking is
flawed, by categorizing the flaw.

Logic is an important part of critical thinking, because it allows us to judge

whether our thinking is coherent or not. It’s however not always the most
important standard. For instance a company slogan might have great
marketing importance but be simple enough that it’s logic isn’t hard. Clarity
however might be vital as a vague company slogan can be a big problem.

Thinking can be divided into several parts, that relate differently to logic as a
standard:

Purpose, or goal, of a line of thinking

Question at issue, problem

Information

Inferences

Concepts

Assumptions

Implications

Point of view

Significance

Whatever your particular line of thinking is, these elements are universal and it
will have all of them and no more. Even with trivial thinking like shopping there
is information, concepts etc.

Logic becomes relevant as a standard when the goal of your thinking is

important enough to justify the effort of thinking critically.

Logic is harder to deal with in the inference, assumptions and implications

parts while in the purpose or question parts the key standards to measure
their quality is clarity for instance and relevance. As you can see we focus on
different standards, though all parts can be measured by all the standards. It’s
simply more common to have a vague goal than to have an illogical goal. Goals
are usually simple and flaws in logic therefore easy to spot. Inferences on the
other hand can’t be properly handled without a good handle on logic.

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For more information about the subject I’d suggest reading. There are books
about critical thinking on amazon, but I’d also suggest you google the critical
thinking pages of hong kong university as they are well-designed.

IMPORTANCE IN COMMERCE
EDUCATION:

Logic concerns the rules of thought, that is, how thought proceeds “correctly”
from formulated propositions to necessary conclusions. It is the science of
reason, or right thinking, which guides philosophical and scientific investigation
and research. Critical thinking, on the other hand, weighs reality and human
experience objectively so as to weed out unsubstantiated subjective
conclusions about life and the world at large.

Subjectivity is a necessary good of personal existence, but it must not be

allowed to contradict the objective reality of things, the world, and life’s
situations for the sake of one’s own subjective view. Subjectivity must go hand-
in-hand with objectivity and be informed by it. Otherwise, one will have a false,
self-centered, and solipsistic view of the world. Critical thinking guides us in
allowing the objectivity of the world to stand before us and to correctly inform
our subjective thinking about the world.

IMPORTANCE IN DAILY LIFE:

It is so important, because we face many logical fallacies in argumentations of

people.

If someone (it happens often) says that the Earth is flat, as a result of the
corresponding article in Wikipedia, he is stupid and cannot get the authority
appealing as a part of his reasoning.

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The Earth is flat, so it is calculated both empirically and mathematically. And
anyone has to be able to do the simple observation to be sure it is real life, but
not someones dreams.

I recommend you to visit the site of my friends from Kiev, who created the
place of different logical fallacies and cognitive illusions.

I am pretty confident it will help you to expand the extent of your thinking
more or lesser. Anyway you will get something useful to be aware of.

Critical thinking is important in daily life so that you don’t do evil. Basically,
vast majority of people wants to be good, or at least look good with minimum
amount of effort. Evil people want the same, but they absolutely can’t qualify
for the benefits that good people enjoy and never will, and they know it. So the
first thing evil people do, is they lie, they portray evil as good.

Evil that people know is evil never lasts long. But evil that people believe is
good, will be done over and over, almost forever. That was the case with
slavery, Democrats came up with the idea that slavery is good for the slaves, it
civilizes them, it raises them up from the barbaric africanness. Child-abusers
came up with the idea that children need to be beaten, it’s like a dentist or
vaccination, necessary and good thing, even though unpleasant. In fact the
more is something unpleasant for children, the healthier it must be.

So, here’s why you need critical thinking, evil people want to control you with
your own desire to do good. They call themselves “anti-illiteracy” and if you
don’t want the evil people to be in charge in education, they accuse you of
being anti-education. They call themselves “anti-racism” and if you oppose
them, they call you a racist. You can hear it in media now all the time.

In a world where most people living in it are narrow-minded and ignorant, who
cannot understand and are more willing to ignore others and arbitrary matters,
this is where critical thinking enters and should be upheld.

Here are the importances of critical thinking:

1. When people start to think logically or critically, there’ll be fast

responses to problems that we are encountering or we’re about to
encounter. They would think of logical solutions and alternatives to
their primary solutions. Chances would become high that this world
may become a better and productive place.
2. -Isms would be eradicated. What are these? Sexism, Racism, Realism,
Pessimism, Optimism, Feminism, etc. This would make this world
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 equal. There would be no one vying for their rights because everyone
would be respected, having their rights acknowledged.
3. It would remove wishful thinking, meaning the kind of thinking that
hinders people from going beyond their beliefs and philosophies in
life. This would initiate others to be productive, bettering the society.
4. There would no more be stupid arguments. (e.g. a person stated his
opinion on the burial of a dictator in the Heroes’ cemetery and then
someone butts in and tells him to shut up because he didn’t live
during the time of the dictator’s ruling.). If there are no more stupid
arguments, every person would seek to understand each other’s ideas,
leading to a better and productive society.

IMPORTANCE IN BUSINESS:

Critical thinking is just deliberately and systematically processing

information so that you can make better decisions and generally understand
things better. The above definition includes so many words because critical
thinking requires you to apply diverse intellectual tools to diverse information.

Ways to critically think about information include:

 Conceptualizing
 Analyzing
 Synthesizing
 Evaluating

That information can come from sources such as:

 Observation
 Experience
 Reflection
 Reasoning
 Communication

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And all this is meant to guide:

 Beliefs
 Action

You can also define it this way:

Moment to moment, most thinking happens automatically. When you think

critically, you deliberately employ any of the above intellectual tools to reach
more accurate conclusions than your brain automatically would (more on this
in a bit).

Why Does Critical Thinking Matter In

Commerce:

Most of our everyday thinking is uncritical.

If you think about it, this makes sense. If we had to think deliberately about
every single action (such as breathing, for instance), we wouldn’t have any
cognitive energy left for the important stuff like D&D. It’s good that much of
our thinking is automatic.

We can run into problems, though, when we let our automatic mental
processes govern important decisions. Without critical thinking, it’s easy for
people to manipulate us and for all sorts of catastrophes to result. Anywhere
that some form of fundamentalism led to tragedy (the Holocaust is a textbook
example), critical thinking was sorely lacking.

Even day to day, it’s easy to get caught in pointless arguments or say stupid
things just because you failed to stop and think deliberately.

But you’re reading College Info Geek, so I’m sure you’re interested to know
why critical thinking matters in college.

Critical thinking matters in college because students often adopt the wrong
attitude to thinking about difficult questions. These attitudes include:

 Ignorant certainty. Ignorant certainty is the belief that there are

definite, correct answers to all questions–all you have to do is find the

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 right source (102). It’s understandable that a lot of students come into
college thinking this way–it’s enough to get you through most of your
high school coursework. In college and in life, however, the answers
to most meaningful questions are rarely straightforward. To get
anywhere in college classes (especially upper-level ones), you have to
think critically about the material.
 Naive relativism. Naive relativism is the belief that there is no truth
and all arguments are equal (102-103). According to Roberts, this is
often a view that students adopt once they learn the error of ignorant
certainty. While it’s certainly a more “critical” approach than ignorant
certainty, naive relativism is still inadequate since it misses the whole
point of critical thinking: arriving at a more complete,

Critical thinking also matters in college because:

 It allows you to form your own opinions and engage with material
beyond a superficial level. This is essential to essay and having an
intelligent discussion with your professors or
classmates. Regurgitating what the textbook says won’t get you far.
 It allows you to craft worthy arguments and back them up. If you plan
to go on to graduate school or pursue a PhD., original, critical thought
is crucial
 It helps you evaluate your own work. This leads to better grades (who
doesn’t want those?) and better habits of mind.
Doing college level work without critical is a lot like walking blindfolded: you’ll
get somewhere, but it’s unlikely to be the place you desire.

The value of critical thinking doesn’t stop with college, however. Once you get
out into the real world, critical thinking matters even more. This is because:

 It allows you to continue to develop intellectually after you

graduate. Progress–you should keep learning as much as you can.
When you encounter new information, knowing how to think critically
will help you evaluate and use it.
 It helps you make hard decisions. I’ve written before about
how defining your values helps you make better decisions. Equally
important in the decision-making process is the ability to think
critically. Critical thinking allows you compare the pros and cons of
your available options, showing that you have more options than you
might imagine.

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  People can and will manipulate you. At least, they will if you take
everything at face value and allow others to think for you. Just look at
ads for the latest fad diet or “miracle” drug–these rely on ignorance
and false hope to get people to buy something that is at best useless
and at worst harmful. When you evaluate information critically
(especially information meant to sell something), you can avoid falling
prey to unethical companies and people.
 It makes you more employable (and better paid). The best employees
not only know how to solve existing problems–they also know how to
come up with solutions to problems no one ever imagined. To get a
great job after graduating, you need to be one of those employees,
and critical thinking is the key ingredient to solving difficult, novel
problems.

EXAMPLE:

A mere four words that will eat up most intellectual egos,

"Who is Number Two?"

This pertains specifically when you or someone else are tempted to throw
around superlatives in describing someone/something.

Claims like -

"X is the most qualified presidential candidate in all of history."

"Y is the greatest strategic genius in the annals of military records."

"Z is the worst business decision ever made."

The cold question I ask in a discussion/debate when someone seriously makes

such a tall claim is -

"So then who/what is second on that list?"

In virtually all cases, there is no answer.

Nothing.

A list of just one.

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But this isn't mere rhetoric or a "gotcha" kind of question.

It is a deadly serious probe into gauging whether the claimant has truly
weighed up several candidates before making a reasonable assessment and
isn't just using the term "best" when s/he merely means "very good" or
"worst" in place of "really bad".

Now this isn't something to use to start checkmating people when they talk
about something obviously casual as "the best pizza in New York" but all too
often we tend to throw around these superlatives in a serious discussion, very
casually just for hyperbolic/dramatic effect.

In fact we'll do it ourselves even when we're thinking.

But hold it at such times.

Every time I am tempted to use a superlative to describe a certain

phenomenon or person, I ask myself

"Who/what are next on that list?"

If I have no answer to that, I merely say

"X is really good/bad".

But if someone can then actually give you those other ones on his/her list, you
know that you are dealing with a person who has seriously taken the time to
analyze a number of candidates. Not someone who is throwing around
superlatives for effect. That person likely knows his/her stuff.

Lastly, it is meant first and foremost to be a powerful check most of all on your
own tendencies to throw in big words.

When one starts quietly asking that one simple question before the temptation
to throw in words like "most/least/best/worst", it is a very humbling lesson on
the limits of one's own knowledge and expertise.

Personally speaking, in the vast majority of cases I struggle to make it past No.
3/4, if even that.

Now a true expert would have a list of a dozen or more.

It's not very comforting. But then again, the purpose of critical analysis is not
to merely feel good.

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And few questions expose the limits of one’s knowledge in such quick and plain
a fashion as those four simple words -

"Who is Number Two?"

IMPROVING ABILITIES IN CRITICAL

THINKING:

The best way to improve thinking is to consider all of life's mysteries from a
skeptical perspective.

I've begun to view modern life as a large complex experiment, involving

numerous difficult yet exciting problems. Solving these problems in a way that
leads to the richest human experience is made more probable by embracing
curiosity and doubt. Don't believe me? Good, you're on the right track already.

"Skepticism rather than credulity is the highest principle the human intellect
can use to ennoble our existence." Lawrence Krauss

I love that quote by Krauss because it reminds me that how we think is more
important than what we think.

If like many people you assume that rationality, objectivity and logic are
intuitive products of an applied mind - you're distinctly less likely to actually be
rational, objective or logical. Which is to say that thinking in and of itself is
useful only insofar as it's 'good' thinking.

Humans have always been able to grapple with ideas and confront
preconceptions - but never before have we been able to do so with the
probability of meaningful discovery so stacked in our favour.

The ease at which we're able to access a surging snowball of online

information has enormous implications for humanity. With the click of a

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button we can learn more than even the most ambitiously optimistic minds
could have predicted.

Despite this, we should be mindful that the value of information is

proportional to our ability to interpret it.
If you recoil at the thought of nine hours of audio lectures then find a book
that speaks to you, mine the internet or simply read chapter twelve of Carl
Sagan's brilliant work: The Demon-Haunted World.

You may find, as I have, that even a slight improvement in reasoning ability
transforms the lens through which one views the world.

From existential ponderings to reflecting on the universe, scepticism connects

our beliefs with reality and fuels ongoing enquiry.

Putting aside intellectual curiosity and philosophical introspection, there are

simple, practical benefits to critical thinking that help us navigate minefields of
everyday decisions in a deeply irrational world.

Much of how we think is a reflection of our values. If you value understanding

the state of things as they actually exist, then in pursuing that goal one must
acknowledge methods of thinking that are better than others.

If you desire to inhabit a rational and reasonable society then honing the blade
of critical thought is never time wasted.

On the other hand, if you believe there is no relationship between facts and
truth, or if you value "alternate means of knowing" - those not founded on
evidence and reason, then perhaps it's time to ask yourself.
Which is precisely why critical thought is every bit as important today as it's
ever been

7 ways to improve critical thinking skills:

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As humans, we typically operate on cognitive autopilot. We rarely stop and
reflect on how we interpret information and create mental models which
replicate our perception of reality.

But when our mental models fail to match reality, we simply ignore reality and
operate throughout the day on implicit assumptions. These are not conscious
choices. Our mental models allow us a simple way to cope with reality, yet we
fail to confront reality when it is different than our mental model. Essentially,
we have unknowingly created a ready-made default mechanism.

1. Improve your Knowledge Base

It will be hard to think critically if you don’t have a lot of knowledge to

draw upon. Knowledge is the fuel of critical thinking.

The more knowledgeable you are, the better your brain will be at
solving complex problems using critical thinking.

So if you’re like me, you’re reading books, listening to podcasts,

watching education videos, reading Quora answers, taking webinars,
and attending seminars.

You’re doing anything that makes you a little more knowledgeable

each day.

2. Tackle Hard Problems

A really good way to improve your critical thinking ability is to expose

your brain to tough problems.

Often, our mind rises to the challenge of whatever problem we give it.

If we give our mind easy problems, it will come up with solutions fairly
easily. If we give our mind hard problems, it forces our mind to enter
“critical thinking mode” since the solution is not so obvious.

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 Think of it like weightlifting. If you give your muscles easy weights to
life, they won’t grow. Same thing with your brain and easy problems.

3. Sleep

In my experience, critical thinking is almost impossible if you don’t get

enough sleep.

According to a 2015 study on the effects of poor sleep on critical

thinking and memory:

“The actual ability to store information is not completely hindered

when a person is suffering from total sleep deprivation; however,
when a person is suffering from a lack of sleep, they may tend to lose
the ability to filter information; therefore, storing more irrelevant
information into their working memory, leaving less room for that
which is relevant, making it appear that the memory itself is being
hindered.”

So basically, when you don’t sleep for 7–8 hours each night, your
working memory becomes clogged with a bunch of irrelevant
information.

That makes it much harder to think critically, so you must sleep

enough hours when possible.

4. Become a Multipotentialite

What is a multipotentialite?

According to Puttylike.com:

“A multipotentialite is someone with many interests and creative

pursuits.

Multipotentialites thrive on learning, exploring, and mastering new

skills. We are excellent at bringing disparate ideas together in creative
ways. This makes us incredible innovators and problem solvers.

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 When it comes to new interests that emerge, our insatiable curiosity
leads us to absorb everything we can get our hands on. As a result, we
pick up new skills fast and tend to be a wealth of information.”

I am an example of a multipotentialite. I enjoy software engineering,

technology, self development, business, marketing, teaching,
motivating, investing, writing, and speaking.

Getting your brain involved in multiple interests improves your critical

thinking because you have a broader range of perspectives and skills.

Critical thinking is all about thinking divergently, so you can see why
becoming a multipotentialite has obvious benefits in that regard.

5. Question Everything

Don’t accept things as they are in the world, blindly.

Question everything, even the seemingly unquestionable.

That is a scary but very real way to improve your critical thinking
ability.

Constantly ask yourself, “is there a better way?”

6. Give Your Subconscious Mind Commands

When I am stuck on a problem that requires massive amounts of

critical thinking (which is common in both software engineering and
creative writing), sometimes I just walk away.

I tell my subconscious mind to solve the problem while I take a break

or do something else. Sounds crazy right?

Actually, giving yourself psychological space may be just what you

need to solve your tough problem.

The brain does not perform well at critical thinking when you ask it to
focus on coming up with ideas and innovative solutions.
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 Often when I come back to the problem after a short break, I’ve found
that subconscious mind has come up with new solutions in the
background.

Pretty cool, huh?

7. Become an Idea Machine

This is one I learned from James Altucher. It’s simple but surprisingly
brilliant.

Just come up with 10 ideas per day. It could be 10 ideas to improve

your business, 10 ideas to improve your productivity, 10 ideas to
improve the relationship with your wife/husband, 10 ideas to have
more fun with your kids, whatever.

This habit improves your critical thinking because you are literally
training your brain to become an idea machine. Over time, your ideas
will become higher and higher quality.

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The OODA Loop is a high-speed decision making and feedback process in four
stages: Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act.

The OODA Loop is a continuous feedback loop where the objective is to go

through the loop faster than your opponent.

I use simple rules provided within the OODA Loop to assist me in speeding up
my critical and creative thinking abilities. However, do not confuse the word
“simple” with “simplistic” as the OODA Loop uses simple rules within a
complex system (which is exactly what the OODA Loop is).

The key to the loop is feedback. The OODA Loop is similar to Double-Loop
Learning, where the goal is to modify decision-making in light of new
experience.

Double-Loop Learning is the first loop uses goals or decision-making rules, the
second loop enables their modification… hence, double-loop.

The overarching guide for my use of the OODA Loop is as follows:

Scout Mindset

I will talk about this more in the How-To Guide: Tools to Apply the Critical
Thinker’s OODA Loop section below.

Objectivity

It’s about seeking the truth. Here we should seek to follow a concept
introduced by Immanuel Kant as a way of evaluating motivations for actions –
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called the Categorical Imperative. Kant defines a categorical imperative as an
absolute or an unconditional requirement that must be obeyed in all
circumstances and is justified as an end in itself. For example, “Act only
according to the maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should
become a universal law.” For more information, visit the Categorical
Imperative.

Avoid emotion

Imagine you can physically remove yourself from your body and objectively
view how you make decisions. It’s like pulling your mind from your body.

Reasoning backward

This is essentially solving problems by working backward. A simple example of

this method is working backward to solve a math problem.

For example, solve the following problem: “I think of a number and add three
to it, multiply the result by 2, subtract 4 and divide by 7. The number I end up
with is 2. What was the number I first thought of?” To solve, read the problem
backward. You start with: 2 x 7 = 14. Then take 14 + 4 = 18. From there take 18
/ 2 = 9. Then take 9 – 3 = 6. Finally, the number you first thought of was 6.

Moreover, Reasoning Backwards can be viewed through the lens of deduction.

I prefer deduction over induction and here is why:

An example of Inductive Reasoning is: this raven is black, that raven is

black, all ravens are black.

Deductive Reasoning is: All ravens are black, that raven is black, therefore it is
black.

We make deductions from laws to see what should happen and then
experiment to see if our prediction was right. Think about it this way… to test
whether a burner is hot, we must touch the burner first using Inductive
Reasoning; however, if we were to use Deductive Reasoning, we would first
predict the burner to be hot and would realize there is no need to touch it.

One last benefit of Reasoning Backwards is that it forces our linear and logical
mind to catch things we wouldn’t normally catch. For example, read the
following sentence:

After reading this sentence, you will realize that the brain doesn’t recognize a
second ‘the’.
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Now read the sentence again, this time read it backward. Did you notice that
you missed the second ‘the’?

Think-Write-Share

The UFMCS uses this as the single most important idea to enable critical
thinking. For example, prior to taking on an issue, we should
first think independently and reflectively, then write down our thoughts
(which assists us in shaping and refining them), then share them in a
disciplined manner. This takes us from divergence to convergence.

Dialectical method

Boyd described a thought experiment in a presentation called Strategic Game

of ? and ?. Through the process of Destructive Deduction (analyze and pull
apart mental concepts into discrete parts) and Creative Induction (using these
elements to form new mental concepts) we can create a new mental model
that more closely aligns with reality.

Part 1 of his question:

“Imagine that you are on a ski slope with other skiers…that you are in Florida
riding in an outboard motorboat, maybe even towing water-skiers. Imagine
that you are riding a bicycle on a nice spring day. Imagine that you are a parent
taking your son to a department store and that you notice he is fascinated by
the toy tractors or tanks with rubber caterpillar treads.”

Part 2:

“Now imagine that you pull the skis off but you are still on the ski slope.
Imagine also that you remove the outboard motor from the motorboat, and
you are no longer in Florida. And from the bicycle, you remove the handle-bar
and discard the rest of the bike. Finally, you take off the rubber treads from the
toy tractor or tanks. This leaves only the following separate pieces: skis,
outboard motor, handlebars, and rubber treads.”

What do you imagine could be created using the remaining parts? A

Snowmobile

Let’s now turn our attention to the four simple rules within the OODA Loop.

The critical thinker’s OODA Loop: Simple rules to guide you

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Observe

Think of how we use sensors and gather information. In an ant colony, this is
where ants shoot pheromones to signal others when they have found food.

Here we are detecting events within our environment and identifying change
(or lack thereof). This could also be identified as Locate or Perceive (think
swarming tactics or artificial intelligence).

Steps:

 Find out what is really there.

 Observe first and gather data.
 Identify the uncommon and common things
 Begin with a blank and open mind.
 Remember that there is nothing more deceptive than an obvious
fact.
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