[bailaviborita]

Maybe we should define what we're all talking about- just so that we aren't talking about two different things.

I would imagine nurses are very competent at what they do. Unfortunately, I'm not sure competence is the same as thinking critically. I am immediately reminded of the very smart nurse who I watched the movie "JFK" with. When it was over she said, "I believe it."

Now, I would say that she wasn't a critical thinker. She had no desire to look beyond the movie, investigate the historical record, and see if the movie's theories had some merit. She loved JFK and hated Vietnam, and that the military would have killed JFK made total sense to her. That, to me, is not a critical thinker. Critical thinkers approach all subjects- ESPECIALLY those they don't know much about with an open mind and an almost obsession with tracing causality.

From criticalthinking.org:

Definition: Critical thinking is the art of analyzing and evaluating thinking with a view to improving it.

The result: a person who:

- raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely
- gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively
- comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards
- thinks openmindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences
- communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems

I would submit the thought that complex problems are those on such a higher level than most work- that critical thinking is not needed for most people, most of the time. Voting would be one time that I could think that ALL people should be able to think critically. You don't, however, need to critically think to master complicated problems- those that are multi-faceted, but not bordering on the impossible.

I was a little tongue-in-cheek when talking about how to structure a system that rewards those who want to think critically and allows a minimal existence for all others. I think most monetary rewards should be tied to the market- whatever jobs are needed the most and provide the most to increased productivity should get paid the most IMO.

But, I also agree with the above statement that education is not always a panacea. Critical thinking can be done by those with little education- but I'd submit that it is much rarer. I don't think it comes naturally. Most people I know don't naturally try to look at things from all sides. That usually takes some form of systems thinking training and/or education.