- By Bahram Maskanian - August 18, 1992

We, the humankind learn and accumulate our knowledge base, logic and wisdom in our life span, through the interpretation of our observations. - Through the interpretation of our observations, we therefore built and form our perceptions, we make use of our perceptions to conduct deductive reasoning, followed by rational thinking, to rationalize in order to make well thought out decisions.

Perception is a sophisticated self-organizing information system. - Perception is the recognition and interpretation of our sensory stimuli, based chiefly on our ability to remember the perceived subjects. - Perception is the neurological processes by which our recognition, observation and interpretation are affected and made possible.

Fact is that 95% of our judgment errors and of our thinking and decision-making errors are due to the errors of our perceptions. - But culturally, we have always blamed the logic, not the means of deceptive presentation, which brought us the wrong logic. - For example; if we were to observe a subject, without having sufficient prior background knowledge of that subject, chances are we are going to take the given information without any examination. And if the information given is misleading and deceptive, we therefore will end up forming our perceptions based on lies and deceit.

Rational thinking is an exciting discovery process in an infinite space of possibilities. We are able to think rationally to find and reach the optimum solution for any given problem, or hypothesis in a reasonable space of time. - The process of deductive reasoning, or good guessing should not be mistaken as rational thinking.

Hypothesis is a tentative explanation that accounts for a set of facts, which can be tested by further examination, a theory of something taken to be true for the purposes of deductive reasoning, assumption and investigation. - Hypothesis is the precursor of a conditional statement. - Must be noted here that many advanced cultures have been ruined, due to the lack of creative possibilities, or Hypothesis.

A healthy rational thinking requires; an adequate attention span, patience and the ability to focus, to observe, interpret, perceive and consequently develop logic.

The General Definition of Thinking:
To think is to analyze, examine and sort out information and form in the mind ideas or opinions, to perform any mental operation, to reason, to bring to mind or recollect, to determine, resolve and to work things out.

Thinking is to conceive thoughts and ideas by reasoning, to form an opinion, to judge, to consider, to employ and to bring one's intellectual faculties to work, to concentrate one's thoughts on any given subject.

Thinking is the act of reasoning from factual knowledge and or evidence. Thinking is to use the mind for processing imagination and information, to arrive at logical conclusions, from premises known and or assumed to be true for making imaginative decisions.

To think is to reason about or reflect on, to ponder. Think how complex is our Milky Way Galaxy. Think the matter through creatively. To decide by reasoning, reflection or pondering, thinking what to believe, what to say or what to do.

To think is to judge or regard, look upon. To think is to learn of, or from, by analyzing what one could learn by thinking about the newly acquired knowledge, thought, suggestion and or idea, in order to learn and accept as truth.

Thinking is to call to mind, to remember, to visualize and recall the images of what was once known to the mind. To think is to have creative thoughts, to bring a thought to mind by imagination or invention to devise or evolve to invent by imaginative thinking.

Thinking is to bring one's mind into a given condition by mental preoccupation, to exercise the power of one's mind by reasoning and by conceiving ideas, drawing inferences, and using or arriving to a judgment.

Common sense should be the guide, based on which one could lead a fruitful, thoughtful and exciting life journey. One should never make decisions nor implement one's decisions under extreme euphoria, sadness, resentment or anger. The best condition conducive for rational thinking is a calm relaxing environment.

Definition of Critical Thinking:
Critical Thinking is characterized by a watchful, exact and repeat evaluation and judgment, to conduct a serious search, to read and contemplate before making a decision, or forming an opinion. - Critical Thinking means to judge severely, coupled with careful consideration, to investigate and look to find fault, before forming a judgment, or an estimation. - Critical Thinking is to consider very, very carefully, at length and evaluate all the angles, before reaching the crucial and decisive point of decision-making. - Critical Thinking is to lineup all of the essential critical elements of the subject matter in question, and cautiously analyze them one, by one, over, and over again, before deliberating and rendering a decision.

The Use of Critical Thinking:
Obviously not all of our daily thought process requires the lengthy and careful means of Critical Thinking. Only a few decisions that we need to make through out our lifetime do require Critical Thinking. - Decisions such as whether or not, one should go to war and kill people to gain profit and territory. - Decisions such as whether or not, one should believe in any of the horrifying religions, tainted by barbarism and blood of millions, killed to preserve them. - Decisions such as whether or not, one could perhaps look to find a harmonious all-inclusive alternative, a spiritual philosophy based on common sense, instead of the mad-men-made, morally corrupt and divisive Abrahamic religions; Judaism, Christianity and Islam. - Decisions such as whether or not, we should destroy our one, and only home, Planet Earth for profit?

To think is to care and have consideration. What do you think?

Also Read: Bullshit Detection System