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I have this habit of making inferences about what I have observe and what I have read. I do that all the time because that is part of critical thinking. Here I do not mean critical just in the negative sense. I draw conclusions as best as I can. Most of the time, in life, you cannot wait for someone to appear and tell you what events mean. Of course, my conclusions can be wrong but then again just tell me why. That is fine with me.
What in my view is sadder, is that people do not want to or are reluctant to infer. Worse, some don’t seem able to make inferences. Someone, once told me how she had gathered a group of parents to teach them about reading to their children. She told me she held one of those “big books” and sat in front of the parents and asked them what they thought the book was about. All of them said they didn’t know and one explained that they wouldn’t know because both she and the parents had not read the book. She pointed out to me that the book that she was holding had a beautiful cover illustration and of course the title. She was amazed that the parents could not make any inference about the story by looking at the cover and the title.
This little anecdote illustrates a few things. Oops! I nearly told you what they are. Perhaps, you will like to make your inferences about what they are?
| Filed Under: Thinking skills Tagged with critical thinking, inference, reading, Thinking skills |
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Amran,
Just read your post “Schools kill curiosity” and this post. I enjoyed reading both and will read more when I have a moment.
Regarding the latter post (admittedly with reference to the former), is increasing population density adding to the problems you raise? More control, less time, more black and white thinking?
Look forward to reading more…
Hi Lisa
Thanks for dropping by my blog.
As to your point about the impact of rising population density, I am not too sure about its impact. But I would like to think that with the increased congestion that comes from living in very dense environments, a greater demand on flexibility in thinking and less black and white thinking is called for.
I would also think that in densely populated areas the need for creative solutions to overcome the problems linked to increased population density requires more creative thinking and the accompanying curiosity, instead of less.
As I have indicated the inattention to thinking skills is probably due to the school systems that has been globalized today with their emphasis on passing high stakes examinations and rigid hierarchical structures that works best when people just conform and follow. The work place has seen changes where even in the factory floors, workers are no longer mere digits but who have to problem solve and so on. However, the schools have not changed very much in this respect.
Again, thanks, Lisa, for dropping by here and also for the comments. Look forward to hearing more from you.