Critical Thinking Application

Critical Thinking Application

Describe Critical Thinking

Thinking is the purpose of the mind. If such a thing as thinking has no existence, what then is the purpose of the mind? To make decisions, it is first important that one knows how to think. Otherwise a person who makes decisions without thinking will not have effective results at all or in some cases lives may be at stake or in danger if thinking is not applied. Thinking is a critical aspect of life and it is most essential to think in order to know. For instance, a person who is to cross a street but does not know where or when to cross may be run over by moving vehicles. A person has to know how to think in order to know the rules of the road otherwise his or her life will be in danger. Sometimes, we may hear or even say, "I can't think because of the noise." But really, thinking is easy that it is even done unconsciously. A person who says he or she is not able to think because of other distractions (the noise, in this case) does not actually realize that he or she just had the thought that he or she is not able to think because of the noise. Pondering over previous happenings, wondering over what will happen or simply remembering are also ways of thinking. The mind's eye visualizes events because thinking is applied. Even at childhood, when fairytales of prince and princesses are introduced, children create their own scenarios of being a prince or a princess in a magical land and this happens because thinking is applied. Thinking might even have started way before this stage or the moment an infant's eyes opened or when children start to recognize that some playing activities require thinking. Thinking then becomes the normal routine of daily life as we respond to certain situations. However, when approached by situations that are more difficult, or problems more complicated, more thinking is needed because of the situation's unfamiliarity which may be a challenge. Critical thinking may be applied in this case. Critical thinking is "the ability to think clearly and rationally. It includes the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking" (Lau, 2012). When faced with a problem that is difficult, it is necessary to think critically in order to come up with not only effective but also proper solutions. Carefully examining a problem in order to come up with a good solution is critical thinking. Critical thinking requires 'knowing how' or a kind of learning. For instance in a retail business where customer service is a crucial priority, an employee must learn the steps of how to treat and solve a customer's complaint when the customer's satisfaction is not being met. The employee must have the skills and the knowledge to be able to solve the customer's problem as soon as possible. The first step in analyzing the problem may be to find out