Wanted: Critical Thinkers

In this so-called Information Age there is a plethora information readily at hand. The internet has added to the millions of words written and spoken daily through the print, video and audio media. With the touch of a button we can see news from around the world, click on the search engine on our computer to find an essay or tune the radio to listen to news or talk shows. You can even pick up a newspaper or turn to the internet version of the paper. Perhaps even read a book to find the answer to a nagging question.

I have one nagging question: Are we getting the right information and do we understand that information? With all of the information available one would think there would be no problem in quickly getting the desired information and making a decision. In our fast-paced world, time is critical and we tend to grasp the condensed version of what we want to know and run with that. If things do not work out, we can go back and fix it, moving ahead with little thought of any collateral damage caused by our initial reaction.

That is when the critics appear. Even if things do work out, there will be critics. The outcry at the Canadian response to the disaster in Asia was a prime example. Why didn’t we immediately send our Rapid Response Unit from Petawawa? It was perfect example of why the military designed this unit! Defence Minister Bill Graham tried to explain what they were doing, but everyone seemed to think that he was just stalling.

Well, it turns out that he was right. The Unit is anything but Rapid, being designed for a long-term disaster response and we couldn’t get it there immediately in any case – even if we did know where it was needed. The DART most likely would have been better used in Darfur, but those suffering thousands had not caught the media’s eye. That we did finally find a place in Sri Lanka for the DART emphasizes the need to think things through, although I suspect if one listened to General Romeo Dallaire, the decision was still not the right one.

The critics moved on to the sad state of our military, decrying everything from British submarines that can not submerge to Sea King helicopters that can not fly. That we seem to be waffling around on what our military ought to be used for, other than standing by for Toronto’s next big snow storm, our politicians ought to spend a little time thinking.

The problem with many armchair critics is that they do not apply any critical thinking before engaging their mouth and becoming a critic. There is a vast difference between thinking critically and being critical without the necessary background study and thought.

In a well-educated society, such as ours, one would expect that our public education system would foster the development of critically and independent thinking students. Exposure to our history, literature, science, social and economic ideas should produce citizens who are able and willing to think critically about our daily issues. After a dozen or more years of exposure to our education system we ought to be able to think critically.

Perhaps it is the bombardment of advertising that has dulled our scepticism and turned off our critical thinking. We see an advertisement of a truck pulling a tree or uprooting a water tower a kilometre away and never stop to see how totally stupid and impossible the ads are. We just accept that this is the most powerful truck in its class! Heaven forefend that we should go out and purchase one of these machines based on that totally blatant misinformation. A little critical thinking would tell us that these folks think us fools and we might be well-advised to stay well away from them if their products are anything like their ads.

But do we have the general science knowledge to even think critically about the above example? Have we lost much of the wonder of science and exploration by slipping into the make-believe world of video games? Have we lulled our critical thinking by watching movies and TV shows that insult our intelligence, passing it off as only ‘entertainment’?

Are we satisfied to sit through a two hour movie that offers nothing but explosions, shootings and sex scenes that will melt the chocolate bar in your hand? Did we learn anything from the story, perhaps a re-enforcement of human values or a display of our peccadilloes? Did the actors convince you of their characterization? Was the cinematography smooth and well-edited, the score appropriate for the mood? Or did we waste two precious hours of this short life?

Do we pass off the blunders of our politicians because they are only ‘politicians’ when a little critical thinking might have found a better idea and result? Are the questions in question period or at city council asked to get more and better information or are they simply to embarrass another politician? Is an issue subjected to some critical thinking or simply passed because a twenty-second sound byte made it appear to be appealing for the immediate without consideration to future implications?

Where would the Tourist Information centre best serve the tourist? The Chamber of Commerce serves mostly business people who will go to get lengths to find that office, but will a tourist who may be passing by the city follow the signs through the maze of streets to get to Memorial Drive? Does the Dionne Home even belong in North Bay, let alone at the waterfront? Like the Elgin Marbles, would it better serve history by being back in its original location?

Perhaps our focus has shifted to the search for entertaining lifestyle events and away from logic and theories of math and science. We focus on job skills instead of life skills. We become critics instead of critical thinkers. We hold a general BA in disdain because it does not get us a job, even though somewhere along the line a professor might have taught us to think critically about literature, art or philosophy, a skill that could do much to add to our enjoyment and fulfillment in life.

Of course, critical thinking can also turn one into a curmudgeon, a recluse, a rebel, a nerd or even a poet. Too much critical thinking can lead some to disparaging of the human race, leading them to solace in good scotch whiskey. They can become ‘wet blankets’ at parties or pariahs at social gatherings, shunned because they are never politically correct. Critical thinkers can be caught up in causes to save the world or people and various critters that are at risk from the onrush of materialism.

But without them, without the critical thinkers, where would be? Where would we be without those who questioned whether the world was flat and the sun moved around the earth? Where would we be without those who questioned why we behave the way we do, what drives us to wars or brings us together for security? Without the critical eye of the artist or critical ear of the composer, how uninteresting would our lives be? What kind of a world would we have without the questioning critical mind of a Newton, a Pasteur, a Darwin or our own Suzuki?

Critical thinking is not criticizing everything at a glance or a reflexive rejection of everything new. That can be the sign of a lazy or immature mind. Critical thinking is a lifelong endeavour for personal growth and civic responsibility. It is not easy but it can be rewarding. Wanted: more critical thinkers.