"Make Better Judgments with Critical Thinking" – Learn to Think
It seems there are always a few exceptionally smart people around us—those who can get straight to the root and essence of any issue. How do they do it?
This isn’t just because their logic is crystal clear; it’s because they have a mental model for approaching problems. Some people develop this model naturally, while others must train themselves to do so.
This way of thinking is called critical thinking. But how do we develop it?
Today’s book, Learn to Think, is authored by the three co-founders of the “Plan C” initiative—an organization dedicated to critical thinking education. The book distills years of insights from critical thinking courses into its core essence. Regarding how to cultivate your own critical thinking, the book summarizes it into six steps:
These six steps interconnect to form a complete critical thinking process.
Critical Thinking
First, what exactly is critical thinking?
Think back to when you're scrolling through short videos. If you come across some infuriating gossip or news—say, animal abuse, celebrities abandoning their families, or scandals involving stars in the entertainment world—what do you usually do?
Most people might immediately vent their anger, and if that isn’t enough, they might even head over to the poster’s profile to unleash a tirade. Yet, you may have noticed that most viral scandals eventually reverse course—a cycle of online backlash often forms in this way.
Or consider a work meeting where everyone talks over one another, making it hard to reach a consensus. When arguing with someone, you might later think you didn’t express yourself well. All these seemingly small issues often stem from a lack of critical thinking. Faced with a flood of information, we tend to yield to our emotions, quickly jumping to conclusions and expressing them impulsively.
Then what is critical thinking?
The book explains:
- What to believe means that when receiving information—whether you’re listening, reading, or watching videos—you don’t simply follow your or the crowd’s emotional response, but independently decide: “Should I believe this?”
- What to do means that after receiving information, you can also independently determine what to say and what action to take.
These two tasks sound simple, but they are extraordinarily challenging in practice. Emotions and habitual thinking often make it hard to remain both rational and independent.
Daniel Kahneman once said in Thinking, Fast and Slow:
In other words, the force of emotion overwhelms reason. This means that people tend to rely on intuition and emotion when making judgments rather than exerting effort to analyze or verify. So, how do we overcome this?
The book breaks this challenge down into 12 questions, which collectively form the following six steps:
Define the Problem
Many people jump straight into discussing solutions as soon as an issue arises, but the most important step in solving a problem is first defining it clearly.
For example, imagine a scenario where one day a major client suddenly defects, and your boss summons you and several colleagues for a meeting:
- A: "They left—they’re just too difficult to serve."
- B: "Losing such a big account could be fatal for the company!"
- C: "Boss, are you sure they aren’t still in talks with us? We were communicating just yesterday."
- D: "Why don’t we try reaching out to them again?"
- Then A adds: "You have no idea how troublesome they are."
- And B continues: "I think we need to step back and figure out where the problem really lies." As the discussion goes on, everyone speaks over one another, each holding their own perspective.
In such situations, if one person can cut through the chaos with clear thinking and guide everyone in the same direction, that individual essentially becomes the most influential leader in the team. But how can one guide the discussion?
The book introduces a "Four-Step Method" that can be applied to most problems in life. The steps are:
Info
For the chaotic discussion above, you can break it down into four questions and address them one by one. If the discussion veers off course, you can bring it back:
- What is it: Has the client really signed with another company?
- How is it: If so, what impact will it have on the company?
- Why: Why did the client choose not to renew?
- What to do: What steps can be taken to remedy the loss?
Here’s what each step means:
What is it
- Provide the most basic factual information about the phenomenon under discussion.
How is it
- Evaluate the impact, consequences, and significance of the issue, and make a value judgment[1] on it.
Why
- If the evaluation is negative, ask: What caused this problem?
- If the evaluation is positive, ask: What factors contributed to its success or satisfaction?
What to do
- Based on the causes identified in the “Why” stage, propose specific solutions. Determine the next steps to resolve the problem or how to build upon the success.
More Steps
After defining the problem, the next step is to gather information, then refine the useful data, and finally apply it. Throughout this process, we face many challenges. For example, in an era of information overload with widely varying quality of online content, how do we learn to filter out the noise? Once we select a series of useful questions and information, how do we identify the underlying patterns? How do we navigate disagreements with those who have different values? And how can we express our views more clearly?
The book organizes a series of mental models to address these challenges—mastering even one of these models can significantly enhance the precision of our thinking. As we gradually learn these models, we become better equipped to handle the information explosion, complex decision-making, and interpersonal conflicts, thereby maintaining a higher quality of rational judgment in both thought and communication.
This book comes highly recommended by many, including the well-known Teacher Chen Xingjia and various leading figures in the education sector. If you’re intrigued by the prospect of honing your critical thinking, this book is well worth a read.
Finally, here is a quote from the book to conclude today’s reading:
— Learn to Think
Learn to Think
- Authors: Guo Zhaofan, Lan Fang, Ye Mingxin
- Publication Year: 2025.02
- Category: Cognitive Growth
— From @不略
Value judgment: an assessment of something as good or bad, right or wrong, based on one’s values ↩︎
