Critical Thinking Framework

Tags: Essays On Why I Want To Become A Social Worker9/11 Conspiracy Theories Research PaperToulmin Essay TopicsDissenting English Essay Literature Politics TeachingCreative Writing DefineResearch Paper Footnotes

It is similar to Swarm Intelligence, where we use simple rules to allow the collective intelligence to emerge.

The simple rules are Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act.

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.

By simply understanding how you interpret and perceive information differently than everyone else is a great first step.

To truly upgrade your critical thinking skills, you must examine how thoughts arise in your mind and how they got there.John Boyd identified orientation as our way to survive and grow within a complex and ever changing world.This could also be identified as Converge or Understand.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 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…It is our ability to orient our mental models to view reality through an emotionless lens seeking the truth by questioning our own assumptions and deconstructing arguments logically.It is our ability to identify gaps and uncover what is missing to improve our quality of decisions.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.But when our mental models fail to match reality, we simply ignore reality and operate throughout the day on implicit assumptions. 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. We must first take time to reflect on our critical thinking skills.