#8--Gerald Nosich

Controversy & Clarity

In this episode, we discuss:

*What is critical thinking and isn’t

*Some of the most common misconceptions of critical thinking

*The relationship between critical and creative thinking

*How critical thinking relates to divergent and convergent thinking

*The relationship between critical thinking, logic, and problem solving

*Gerald’s take on the Dunning-Kruger Effect and whether critical thinking can serve as an antidote to it

*Whether some people seem more predisposed to thinking critically than others

*If there are ways we can predispose young men and women to think critically

*Gerald’s thoughts on the relationship between critical thinking and Socratic questioning

*His first encounter with the concept of critical thinking

*How to support people interested in thinking critically but are not yet ready to adopt it fully

*How Gerald’s conception of critical thinking has changed over the years

*The Paul-Elder model of critical thinking and why Gerald thinks it's useful

*Why all the elements of reasoning are equal

*The differences between assumptions and inferences (conclusions) and examples of each

*Concepts

*Some potential neglected areas of the Paul-Elder model

*The SEE-I method

*Gerald’s preferred methods for introducing adult students and educators to critical thinking

*How critical thinking applies to military matters

*What critical thinking looks like in action—especially in high stakes situations

*Some of the unique challenges to thinking critically in the military

*The role of time in critical thinking

*The tension between the questioning and investigative nature of critical thinking and the military’s desire for its members to show "instant and willing obedience to orders”

*The idea that critical thinking is inherently subversive in an organization like the military

*Situations where critical thinking may not be preferable or desirable

*How we can apply critical thinking to understanding America's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan

*Gerald’s thoughts on the use of chess to promote critical thinking

*What he tells people who are turned off by the major time commitment and effort it takes to become skilled in critical thinking

*How we can measure critical thinking

*What fundamental and powerful concepts (FPCs) are and how they apply to military schooling and training

*How one goes about determining what the FPCs of a domain or discipline are

*How one might measure a student’s grasp or application of a course’s FPCs

*Gerald’s personal practices of addressing blind spots, knowledge gaps, and biases (cognitive or otherwise)

*His thoughts on Daniel Kahneman’s System 1 and System 2 thinking

*How critical thinking applies to highly technical fields

*The thorny topic of role models for critical thinking

*Gerald’s wish to see a guide on thinking critically in a military context

*The role of emotion in critical thinking

*Gerald’s new book

Links

The Foundation for Critical Thinking: www.criticalthinking.org

The Standards and Elements of Critical Thinking: https://www.criticalthinking.org/ctmodel/logic-model.php

Learning to Think Things Through: A Guide to Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum by Gerald Nosich

Critical Writing: A Guide to Writing a Paper Using the Concepts and Processes of Critical Thinking by Gerald Nosich

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