Blog 3

Something I find a bit problematic is having to think of the issue in depth and not just being able to make an on the spot decision on your point of view. It is very important to actually think of your decision, widen your perspective, and do a decent amount of research on the subject before coming to a solid conclusion. The skills were somewhat difficult to use while doing research topics and even class discussions. Sometimes students stray from the actual topic a bit, and many assumptions tend to be made, and it is usually do to lack of evidence. Doing some more research before class discussions is a good way to overcome the weakness.

Blog 2

In class, we have talked about a few aspects that could impact the way we thing critically. I believe, what has the biggest impact on the way I think critically is confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is a type of cognitive bias that involves favoring information that confirms previously existing beliefs or biases. While everyone would like to imagine that our own beliefs are always rational and logical, the fact is that our ideas are often based on paying attention to the information that upholds our ideas and ignoring the information that challenges our beliefs. Everyone is susceptible to it and it happens all the time. I know that I cannot look at a situation with one perspective, I have to look at the situation from a completely unbiased point of view. Its is very important to look at all the information, not just the information I agree with. Since everyone is susceptible to confirmation bias that means my thinking hero is too. Nelson Mandela, one of the great moral and political leaders of our time, was also a victim of confirmation bias. It most likely influenced Nelson Mandela's ideals and beliefs in a great way but I still consider him to be my thinking hero.

Thinking Hero

My thinking hero is Nelson Mandela. After his release from prison, Mandela led his party in the negotiations that led to multi-racial democracy in 1994. As president, he frequently gave priority to reconciliation. He also received the nobel peace prize in 1993. As president, Nelson Mandela's main goal was to unify Africa. He made sure that everyone clearly understood his goal of equality and he took all the steps possible in order to reach that goal. He said "It is in the character of growth that we should learn from both pleasant and unpleasant experiences." He learned a lot from his past experiences, the good and bad, and was able take action and reach his goals.  I think the Nelson Mandela thinks lots into our definition of critical thinking. He was very focused on obtaining his goal of equality and every decision he made was focused on that.