Critical Thinking

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Analyzing information objectively and accurately, evaluating sources, and making informed decisions based on evidence.

Logic and reasoning: Understanding the principles behind critical thinking, including identifying and evaluating arguments, and understanding the difference between deductive, inductive and abductive reasoning.
Perception and Observation: Learning how individuals are biased by their sensory input, past experiences or their cultural backgrounds, how to overcome these biases, and how perception is used in critical thinking.
Scientific Method: Learning the basic principles of the scientific method, and how to use it in military intelligence analysis.
Pattern Recognition: Understanding how to identify and evaluate patterns in data, and how to determine the significance of such patterns.
Information Literacy: Learning how to evaluate sources, determine accuracy, and determine the reliability of information sources.
Data mining: Understanding how to mine data and use statistical analysis and machine learning to identify trends and insights in data.
Bias and Fallacies: Understanding various biases and fallacies that can negatively affect critical thinking, and how to avoid them.
Cognitive Processing: Learning how the human mind processes information and how cognitive biases can affect critical thinking.
Decision Making: Understanding the principles behind effective and efficient decision making, and how to apply them in military intelligence analysis.
Risk Assessment: Learning how to identify, evaluate, mitigate or manage the risks associated with different courses of action.
Problem-Solving: Understanding the principles behind problem-solving, and how to apply them in different military intelligence scenarios.
Creativity and Innovation: Understanding how to apply creativity and innovation in critical thinking, in order to generate new and unique ideas.
Communication Skills: Learning how to effectively communicate and convey ideas, both verbally and in writing, as well as how to critique and evaluate the communication of others.
Time Management: Understanding time constraints and how to manage them effectively in military intelligence analysis.
Situational Awareness: Learning how to maintain situational awareness, and how to identify potential threats and opportunities in various intelligence scenarios.
Analysis of Competing Hypotheses (ACH): A structured method for organizing and evaluating information to test multiple hypotheses and arrive at a conclusion that has the highest likelihood of being accurate.
Structured Analytic Techniques (SATs): A collection of methods used to analyze complex situations, including brainstorming, cause and effect charts, and red teaming.
Red Teaming: The process of identifying vulnerabilities in a plan, system or organization, often by simulating an attack.
Alternative Futures Analysis: Examining multiple possible outcomes for a situation and assessing how each may impact the situation.
Key Assumptions Check: Testing assumptions made during an analysis to ensure they are accurate and not biased.
Bayesian Analysis: Applying probabilistic reasoning to evaluate the likelihood of a hypothesis being true based on new data.
Decision Analysis: Using structured methods to make decisions, taking into account both subjective and objective factors.
Game Theory: Analyzing situations where multiple parties have conflicting interests to predict outcomes and develop strategies.
Historical Analysis: Examining past events to inform analysis of current or future situations.
Inductive Reasoning: Deriving general principles from specific observations.
Deductive Reasoning: Drawing specific conclusions from general principles.
Abductive Reasoning: Using incomplete information to make educated guesses and form hypotheses.
Systems Thinking: Recognizing and analyzing the interrelationships between individual components of a larger system.
Counterfactual Analysis: Examining what may have happened if different decisions had been made in the past.
Scenario Planning: Creating detailed hypothetical narratives to explore possible futures for a situation.
"Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments in order to form a judgement by the application of rational, skeptical, and unbiased analyses and evaluation."
"The application of critical thinking includes self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective habits of the mind."
"A critical thinker is a person who practices the skills of critical thinking or has been trained and educated in its disciplines."
"The mind of a critical thinker engages the person's intellectual abilities and personality traits."
"Critical thinking presupposes assent to rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use in effective communication and problem solving."
"The analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments."
"A commitment to overcome egocentrism and sociocentrism."
"The purpose of critical thinking is to form a judgement by the application of rational, skeptical, and unbiased analyses and evaluation."
"Self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective habits of the mind."
"A critical thinker practices the skills of critical thinking or has been trained and educated in its disciplines."
"Rigorous standards of excellence in effective communication and problem solving."
"The analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments."
"The application of critical thinking includes self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective habits of the mind."
"A commitment to overcome egocentrism and sociocentrism."
"Richard W. Paul said that the mind of a critical thinker engages the person's intellectual abilities and personality traits."
"A commitment to overcome egocentrism and sociocentrism and mindful command of rigorous standards of excellence in effective communication."
"Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments in order to form a judgement."
"Critical thinking aims to form a judgement by the application of rational, skeptical, and unbiased analyses and evaluation."
"Self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective habits of the mind."
"A critical thinker is a person who practices the skills of critical thinking or has been trained and educated in its disciplines."