Introduction to Critical Thinking
...ills [1]. This is not an easy task since people tend to get blind and just focus on the problem and not the origin on the fact. For instance when a programmer finds out that the program he or she have developed does not work properly, they will automatically try to analyze the code and forget what the origin of problem would lie. For instance program malfunctioning could be caused by requirements or bad system architecture. So, it is of a great importance to verify the problem and the analysis for conferring with a peer or someone else. Relate This stage is more or less a way to put a face on the problem. The visualization of the problem can be done in many ways. Try to map against a theory, model or concept, which describes the problem in more detail? This is not easy because of possible deviations, but if it succeeds it will be of a great advantage, and the later work will much easy. This is due to fact that the scientific theory tends to give us more detail information. Another advantages of theoretical literatures are, they have been proven and thought though and have hopefully been applied before. So, when we use this resource the confident factor is high and also it is easier to convey information to other people ouside the process. It also makes it easier to decide which solution or action to take or possibly a more calculated risk to solve the problem. In my opinion it is not always the theoretical literature is the only approach we can take to identify or relate to a problem. We can also recognize the problem through life or work experiences. These are a very valuable resource, which can be extremely useful in some situations. Most relevant usage of these kinds of resources is where the target is a group of people, or different cultures are on the focus. I think in a daily life, people tends to use life, work or other related experiences to deal with the problem. The theoretical literature probably is the most useful ones but probably not always the most practical one. Reflect Reflect is by definition, to identify the intended and actual inferential relationships among statements, facts, models, concepts, descriptions, or other forms of representation intended to express experiences, reasons, information, or an actual problem. Now we have past the phases, where we have just gathered information and been able to put a face to the problem, either using theoretical literature or just life earned experiences. It is time to deal with the problem. ‘Reflect’ can be divided into several phase or stages where we aim to deal with the problem. But before we start we should at this point take a step back and try to figure out how and why we ended up here. This may not be helping solving the problem right now, but it will definitely help us not to repeat the mistakes we made and avoid pitfalls. So what needs to be done is to brainstorm, with all concerned parties, as many options as can be suggested for solving the problem. Look to generate many possible solutions. The rules for brainstorming include: quantity over quality; no criticizing, judging or evaluating at this time; combining ideas is acceptable; there are no bad ideas (a questionable idea might generate your best possible solution later). Solutions must relate to step two above. They should ans...