I'm teaching a Bachelors-level course this quarter called Written Analysis. The whole purpose of the class is to get students thinking "on paper." To think through a complex and complicated issue, with no clear or easy solutions, but to write out the thinking process. (Even if you're an internal processor, this is far from easy. Getting lost in your own thoughts is common and difficult to get out of. Trying to prevent that linguistically can be a nightmare.)
At any rate, here's the thing: the more I study and, dare I say, "think" about this class, and the deeper into the quarter we go, I find myself becoming fascinated with the critical thinking process specifically and obsessed with thinking in general. For about three hours each week, a group of about 30 of us hold up in a room and do nothing but think. We think about complicated issues, issues that some of the smartest people in the world are thinking about and then we propose our best-guess solutions to these problems and try to think about whta the ramifications of what we've proposed might be.
Here's what I've learned about thinking so far:
1. It's hard work.
2. The value lies in the progressive sophistication of the thoughts.
3. I am not the sharpest tool in the shed. (Okay, I really already knew this, but still, it's good to be reminded.)
4. It takes time.
5. Concentrated focus on thinking in this class, helps me think quicker and better throughout the other days.
