"Critical thinking has to include assessing one’s own thinking.”

Andrew Revkin has an important observation on critical thinking on a New York Times blog: “Critical thinking has to include assessing one’s own thinking.”  This is an important lesson for us to teach our students.   If our students can develop this ability, they are truly independent thinkers. 

This observation is in an article concerning The National Academy of Sciences conference, The Science of Science Communication, held earlier this week.  The article includes a video of a talk by Daniel Kanheman entitled "Thinking that We Know."  Revkin summarizes the talk:

"The talk is extraordinary for the clarity (and humor) with which he repeatedly illustrates the powerful ways in which the mind filters and shapes what we call information. He discusses how this relates to the challenge of communicating science in a way that might stick."

(Scott Fruehwald)