How to#nbsp;adapt to#nbsp;an#nbsp;increasingly complex world and accelerating change? Experts recommend developing a#nbsp;critical thinking: we#nbsp;tell you how not to#nbsp;fall for the deception and manipulation of#nbsp;your own brain and other people.
Embracing a#nbsp;growth mindset allows you to#nbsp;adapt to#nbsp;new challenges and seize opportunities. Seeking diverse perspectives, engaging in#nbsp;open-minded discussions, and staying curious can broaden your understanding and help you make more informed decisions.
What’s happening
There are two main trends of#nbsp;the future are increasing complexity and accelerating change. World economies havereached a#nbsp;level where it#nbsp;is#nbsp;impossible to#nbsp;make a#nbsp;progress without introducing new technologies. According to#nbsp;a#nbsp;Tech ProResearch survey, 70% of#nbsp;large companies are developing or#nbsp;already have a#nbsp;digitalization strategy.
Oxford University researchers believe that a#nbsp;half of#nbsp;routine tasks will be#nbsp;automated in#nbsp;15 to#nbsp;20 years. PwC’s GlobalTechnology, Jobs and Skills Survey confirms this prediction. More than 53% of#nbsp;specialists are sure that their work will become obsolete or#nbsp;change a#nbsp;lot over the next ten years, 77% of#nbsp;workers will have to#nbsp;retrain or#nbsp;change their profession. Ifit is#nbsp;more profitable to#nbsp;replace people with artificial intelligence, this will definitely be#nbsp;done.
According to#nbsp;a#nbsp;2018 Fujitsu report, 68% of#nbsp;entrepreneurs around the world see the future of#nbsp;business as#nbsp;human-robotcollaboration. In#nbsp;this work, a#nbsp;person will remain intellectual tasks#nbsp;— the work of#nbsp;the mind, reasoning and analytics. Criticalthinking helps to#nbsp;cope with such work and adapt to#nbsp;an#nbsp;uncertain future.
Scientists opinion:
"Critical thinking can work at#nbsp;the awareness level, at#nbsp;the analytical skill level, and at#nbsp;the professional level. Consistentdevelopment of#nbsp;these levels helps to#nbsp;rationalize perception, makes the surrounding reality not better, but a#nbsp;little clearer, and predictability is#nbsp;the key to#nbsp;psychological comfort. Critical thinking will not help you avoid risks, but it#nbsp;will help youidentify them."
What is#nbsp;critical thinking
Critical thinking is#nbsp;the ability to#nbsp;doubt incoming information and one’s beliefs, to#nbsp;think clearly and rationally, tolook for a#nbsp;logical connection between facts, and to#nbsp;formulate strong arguments. The basis of#nbsp;critical thinking is#nbsp;theability to#nbsp;reason. Critical thinkers ask questions, question ideas and statements, rather than accepting them as#nbsp;truth.
Test your critical thinking by#nbsp;solving the problem:
Some people think that applicants should attach a#nbsp;photo to#nbsp;their resume. This approach has been criticised for allegedly making it#nbsp;easier for more attractive people to#nbsp;get jobs. One study showed that this is#nbsp;not the case#nbsp;— employers, on#nbsp;thecontrary, consider beautiful women to#nbsp;be#nbsp;dumber. The author of#nbsp;the study believes that this attitude is#nbsp;due to#nbsp;the "stupidblonde hypothesis" and recommends that companies apply the Belgian public sector approach of#nbsp;checking resumeswithout a#nbsp;name, gender and photo. So#nbsp;you can choose the right candidate based on#nbsp;his experience and skills.
Is#nbsp;it#nbsp;true that the anonymous screening approach helped eliminate discrimination in#nbsp;the Belgian public sector?
Truth. Rather true. Need more information. Rather a#nbsp;lie. Lie. The correct answer is#nbsp;at#nbsp;the end of#nbsp;the post.
The modern information flow is#nbsp;an#nbsp;endless feed of#nbsp;messages that mixes news, advertising, useful content, andpropaganda. If#nbsp;you believe everything that is#nbsp;written and said, you can be#nbsp;deceived. For example, in#nbsp;the news they writethat, according to#nbsp;an#nbsp;anonymous source, the shares of#nbsp;such and such a#nbsp;company will soon fall in#nbsp;price. If#nbsp;the news turnsout to#nbsp;be#nbsp;unreliable, and you sell shares, you will lose money. All information may not be#nbsp;true. Critical thinking helps torecognize lies, separate facts and opinions.
Technology complicates things. Algorithms and content personalization put us#nbsp;in#nbsp;information bubbles. This is#nbsp;a#nbsp;state inwhich the user sees only the content that he#nbsp;likes.
Algorithms of#nbsp;social networks, search engines and applications analyze preferences, search history, location and otheruser data. A#nbsp;bubble of#nbsp;content appears around us#nbsp;that does not contradict our point of#nbsp;view. This is#nbsp;how we#nbsp;get intointellectual isolation.
So, journalists from the Canadian newspaper Toronto Star in#nbsp;the summer of#nbsp;2018 checked 1.3 million words publiclyspoken and written by#nbsp;Donald Trump in#nbsp;the first year and a#nbsp;half of#nbsp;his presidency. The newspaper staff found1,972 false statements and 68,928 untruthful words. In#nbsp;2017, Donald Trump made an#nbsp;average of#nbsp;three false claims perday. Such statements help politicians to#nbsp;get votes, but the choice of#nbsp;the people will be#nbsp;unconscious and unreasonable. Ifvoters are not satisfied with something, they will have to#nbsp;deal with the consequences of#nbsp;the choice themselves.
How to#nbsp;develop critical thinking
Learning critical thinking is#nbsp;not easy. It’s like learning a#nbsp;foreign language#nbsp;— at#nbsp;first everything seems complicated andincomprehensible, but when you understand the logic, it#nbsp;becomes easier.
Scientist opinion:
"In order to#nbsp;learn a#nbsp;foreign language, we#nbsp;are immersed in#nbsp;the language environment as#nbsp;much as#nbsp;possible. For example, with games, learning a#nbsp;language seems like an#nbsp;exciting adventure rather than hard work. With critical thinking techniques, the situation is#nbsp;more advantageous#nbsp;— we#nbsp;are already immersed in#nbsp;an#nbsp;environment in#nbsp;which it#nbsp;is#nbsp;extremely important toapply them. It#nbsp;remains to#nbsp;take the second step#nbsp;— to#nbsp;come up#nbsp;with your own algorithm for developing critical thinkingskills. It#nbsp;can be#nbsp;micro-studies looking for primary sources or#nbsp;games to#nbsp;find more euphemisms in#nbsp;political texts and jargonin#nbsp;TV news. Your task is#nbsp;to#nbsp;take one aspect or#nbsp;technique of#nbsp;critical thinking and work with it#nbsp;in#nbsp;different contexts, tryingto understand all its possibilities.
To#nbsp;develop critical thinking, practice the skill on#nbsp;specific cases. Question the abstracts and arguments of#nbsp;this article, check references to#nbsp;studies or#nbsp;the competence of#nbsp;experts.
Then learn how to#nbsp;work with critical thinking tools:
use information verification techniques;
take into account cognitive distortions;
do#nbsp;not fall for errors of#nbsp;argumentation;
get out of#nbsp;information bubbles.
An#nbsp;expert in#nbsp;the development of#nbsp;critical thinking:
"When working with information, crawl through the text on#nbsp;your stomach#nbsp;— read carefully, listen carefully, look forlogical inconsistencies, learn to#nbsp;recognize manipulations."
Critical Thinking Checklist
To#nbsp;distinguish the truthful and important from "white noise", information must be#nbsp;approached critically. "5W+H" is#nbsp;thebasic technique for checking new data. This is#nbsp;a#nbsp;system of#nbsp;questions with which you should check all incominginformation. The answers will help you understand how much you can trust the source and what decisions should be#nbsp;madebased on#nbsp;this data.
Who
will benefit? suffer? makes a#nbsp;key decision? will be#nbsp;affected the most? have you thought about it#nbsp;too? can give advice? isone of#nbsp;the key players? deserves recognition?
What are
The advantages and disadvantages? other points of#nbsp;view? alternatives? counterarguments? best/worst possible scenarios? most important/minor options? opportunities for positive change? obstacles to#nbsp;our actions?
Where
can you experience this in#nbsp;real life? Do#nbsp;you encounter similar concepts and situations? is#nbsp;it#nbsp;most needed? could this be#nbsp;aproblem? find more information? get help? will this work? are there areas for improvement?
When
is#nbsp;this acceptable/unacceptable? will it#nbsp;benefit society? will this cause problems? the best time to#nbsp;act? will the result bevisible? did it#nbsp;play a#nbsp;role in#nbsp;the story? expect changes? should I#nbsp;ask for help?
How
does it#nbsp;correlate with similar data? can this affect? did we#nbsp;get this information? find a#nbsp;safe approach? does it#nbsp;helpus/others? does it#nbsp;harm us/others? it#nbsp;might look like in#nbsp;the future? use it#nbsp;to#nbsp;our advantage?
Why
This is#nbsp;problem? is#nbsp;it#nbsp;important to#nbsp;me/others? is#nbsp;this the best/worst case scenario? does it#nbsp;affect people? should peopleknow about it? has it#nbsp;been unchanged for so#nbsp;long? did we#nbsp;let it#nbsp;happen?
According to#nbsp;the World Economic Forum, critical thinking is#nbsp;one of#nbsp;the ten most important and in-demand skills by2025. To#nbsp;solve complex ethical, economic and environmental problems in#nbsp;the future, you need to#nbsp;learn how to#nbsp;work with information and your own thinking now. Reasons to#nbsp;use complete and correct data.
"Checking the information is#nbsp;important in#nbsp;order not to#nbsp;be#nbsp;misled and spread it#nbsp;further. Delusions can do#nbsp;real harm: sowpanic, undermine trust, provoke unrest. Of#nbsp;course, no#nbsp;one can force a#nbsp;person who consciously accepts a#nbsp;delusion to#nbsp;checkthe information. This is#nbsp;everyone’s personal choice. It#nbsp;is#nbsp;important to#nbsp;understand that you can become a#nbsp;source of#nbsp;fakesand manipulations. To#nbsp;live in#nbsp;error is#nbsp;one responsibility, but to#nbsp;become a#nbsp;source of#nbsp;them is#nbsp;another."
However, critical thinking is#nbsp;not a#nbsp;panacea. Not a#nbsp;one-stop shop against fake news, disinformation, and fallacies ofreasoning. Critical thinking creates a#nbsp;framework for reflection that will help you deal with uncertainty in#nbsp;thefuture.
The correct answer to#nbsp;the puzzle is: there is#nbsp;no#nbsp;information in#nbsp;the text about the effectiveness of#nbsp;the Belgian approach, sowe cannot say for sure. We#nbsp;need more information to#nbsp;draw a#nbsp;conclusion.