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Why Critical Thinking is Hard Work!
The human brain is actually NOT very good at critical thinking. The process is slow, energy intensive, and unreliable. Even though we are naturally curious, unless the conditions are just right we will avoid critical thinking.
Henry Ford is quoted as saying, "Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason why so few people engage in it."
Significant portions of our brain are involved in vision and coordination of movement. Our brain instantly takes in complex visual information and interprets it without thinking. We don't have to try to see, it just happens. When we decide to walk from one place to another we just go, without thinking about every body motion along the way.
Critical thinking takes concentration. Critical thinking is uncertain. If we decide to invest energy in solving a problem, our thinking process might not even get us close to a solution!
If we can get away with it, we don't think − we rely on MEMORY. Most of the day-to-day problems we face are ones we have solved before, so we just do what we've successfully done in the past − its called EXPERIENCE.
When teachers change one little thing in a problem students are working on, they find it can throw students completely. This is an indication that students are not actually thinking about the problem! They are "remembering" how similar problems were done and trying to do the new problem the same way.
The fact that many students "scan", instead of read carefully, is also involved. By not reading the problem "carefully" students are likely to miss the slight change!
Critical thinking processes, like reasoning and problem solving, require factual knowledge stored in long-term memory.
Just because a student has the knowledge to think critically about one concept does not mean that student can think critically about another concept.
Critical thinking is not a specific "skill" − it is a "process" tied to what we KNOW. more....
The 3 proofs of being "educated" today are:
- What do you know?
- What can you do with what you know?
- What are you willing to unlearn, then relearn in order to solve new problems and accomplish new goals?
Despite the fact that we are not that good at it, we actually LIKE to solve problems. However, because critical thinking is so hard, the conditions have to be right for curiosity to thrive. If the conditions are not just right, we quit thinking.
- Solving problems brings pleasure...
- Working on a problem without making progress is frustrating...
- There is no great pleasure in being told the solution to a problem...
- It is our own solving of a problem that brings pleasure.
Working on problems that are at the RIGHT LEVEL of difficulty is rewarding, but working on problems that are too easy or too hard is NOT rewarding. Curiosity prompts us to explore new problems. However, as we begin, we quickly evaluate how much mental effort it will take to solve the problem. If it's too much or too little, we tend to lose interest in the problem.
Brain-Based Education external link....
To experience how the critical thinking process feels, solve this problem:
In an empty room are a small candle, some matches, and a box of tacks. The goal is to have the lit candle about five feet off the ground (without holding it). You've tried melting some wax on the bottom of the candle and sticking it to the wall, but that didn't work. How can you get the lit candle five feet off the ground without your having to hold it?
Critical thinking is slow. Critical thinking takes concentration. Critical thinking is uncertain.
- Did you solve the problem? How long did it take?
- Had you heard the problem before and remember the solution?
- Did you work on the problem but stop before it was solved. How long did you work?
- Did you even try to solve the problem?
- If not, what kept you from investing the effort to solve the problem?
- Did you see the problem as so easy that you were bored with it?
- Did you see the problem as so hard that you might invest time working, and still fail to solve it?
- If you honestly examine your feelings during this process, you may begin to understand your students' feelings when you give them a problem!
Try working this math problem in your head: 18 x 7 + 5 = ?
Your long-term memory contains factual information, such as the "math fact" value for 8 x 7, as well as procedural knowledge, which is your knowledge of the mental procedures necessary to execute the task.
If thinking is combining information in working memory, then procedural knowledge is a list of what to combine and when − like a recipe to get a particular type of thought accomplished.
For critical thinking to occur, there must be sufficient space in working memory. Critical thinking becomes increasingly difficult as working memory gets crowded. A math problem requiring several steps is hard to solve in your head because the steps occupy so much space in working memory that it is difficult to keep the steps organized.
A computer analogy:
- A computer's working memory is its RAM (Random Access Memory).
- When RAM is overloaded, the computer takes a long time to "process" information back and forth between temporary storage and permanent storage.
- Add more RAM (it's expensive) and the computer gets really fast.
- The human brain has a limited amount of RAM (working memory), so its processing (thinking) is always slow, requiring lots of effort.
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