Reflective and
independent thinking can be tough these days. With media and internet becoming
the source of mostly biased and opinion-based information, one has to isolate
his mind for some time to introspect and understand his own opinion about
things. Social media on one side is the fastest means to spread a news but it
also often propagates highly judgmental views. So, how to discover our own
thoughts, not the ones derived from the pre-existing and spoon-fed opinions
around us.
It takes a critical
approach to be original and not a mere paraphrased version of the peripheral
world. Thinking "out-of-the-box" requires challenging the consensus,
not taking the usual route but trying less-popular approaches. I have observed
that since childhood, my critical thinking ability has reduced. May be it
happens with everyone, you start accepting the general flow and start flowing
in the same direction. I was very critical of the world around me. After
watching "Terminator", for some time I was sure that everyone around
me was a robot and Skynet knew everything about me. All the people I knew were
either the ones protecting me or the those who came to destroy the only left
human on the planet. Among the destroyers were my school teachers and siblings.
Well, this was obviously an exaggerated critical approach to human existence
but yes, children have that ability to deny what everyone believes or asks them
to believe. They just reject you boldly.
While reading around, I
came across "Prospero's Precepts"- 11 rules for critical thinking.
These rules are contributions from great minds from history. They have immense
depth, and they can serve as guidelines for thinking differently in any matters
of doubt.
1. All
beliefs in whatever realm are theories at some level.
2. Do
not condemn the judgment of another because it differs from your own. You may
both be wrong.
(Dandemis)
3. Read
not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find
talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider.
4. Never
fall in love with your hypothesis.
5. It
is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to
twist facts to suit theories instead of theories to suit facts.
6. A
theory should not attempt to explain all the facts, because some of the facts
are wrong.
7. The
thing that doesn’t fit is the thing that is most interesting.
8. To
kill an error is as good a service as, and sometimes even better than, the
establishing of a new truth or fact.
9. It
ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for
sure that just ain’t so.
10. Ignorance
is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes
nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
11. All
truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second, it is
violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident.
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