The past few weeks have certainly been enlightening for me, as I’ve discovered that my mind has become a bit rusty in the past few years. Much like my flabby mid-section, it’s been surviving with minimal exercise and whipping it back into shape is a challenge that I have to take on. This blog is one means of doing this, my literary treadmill.
To elaborate, I’m not saying that I haven’t used my brain at all for the past couple of years, far from it. I’ve read plenty of novels, faced challenges in work, and completed plenty of puzzles/brain teasers etc. That has all been exercise of sorts, but all too similar. Novels (and other, geekier, past times that I enjoy) provide escapism and stimulate imagination. Work challenges and puzzles use my problem solving skills. In these areas my mind is capable of a reasonably quick 100 metres sprint, though not world class I hasten to add. But think about it, a 100 metre sprinter can barely contemplate running a marathon as they are not equipped with the necessary tools. Sprinting reflects the way my mind has gone, heavily trained in few disciplines while neglectful of others.
The other ‘thinking’ discipline to which I refer is ‘critical thinking’. This is something to which I have to re-train my mind. Some of the acts outlined above can be completed passively; we engage and think, but don’t necessarily challenge. It is thoughts that challenge what is perceived to be fact that, in my view, are vitally important in all walks of life. A return to academia has prompted these thoughts in my mind, and working off the flab in these faculties is my current challenge. Rather than read an article or book and accept its authority as fact, I ask questions. What evidence is there for this argument? Is the evidence used correctly and is the author questioning the evidence? One line of thought leads to another, and another, and when all evidence is gathered the critical mind assesses, organises, and structures in a new line of thought.
Critical thought is difficult, because it challenges us to not only understand and engage with the world, but to ask why the world is the way it is and whether it can be changed for the better.
Critical thought isn’t just needed in scholars, it’s needed in everyone. The world is facing challenging times and it is important that we rise to the challenge. We can do this in many ways: if you disagree with a newspaper article’s argument, write to the editor; if you object to actions in government, write to your MP.
This applies significantly to writing; it is a powerful tool for critical thinking, a means of re-assessing world truths as well as our own. Whether writing a blog, essay, short story, poem, novel or academic book, critical thinking allows us to get the best of our writing. The critical mind and the written word are powerful tools; let’s use them.
Until next time,
Thomas
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