As a child, I was told that I shouldn't say bad things about my government or others, or I might be prosecuted by the police. Well, I do know that it's quite similar of the type of 'lie' like 'if you don't finish your rice, your wife may have pimples around her face/you might be struck by lightning ...', which the ultimate aim is just to 'trick' me (as a kid in the past) to adhere to my parents/whoever-elder-than-me. I understand my parents for that because I know they wanted me to grow up in a safer, buzz-free environment where you don't actually need to face the society directly in my face. (That's why whenever I see children seemingly aged no more than 6 using electronic gadgets, a mild sense of guilt and curiosity poked straight into me, asking silently 'Why........')
I remembered when I was 8 or 9 (I think somewhere that age) I started picking up the habit of reading newspapers everyday, starting with Chinese newspapers. I would glance through it, and sometimes even cut some articles or news regarding big disasters/big events of the time (the one I remembered the most: the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami), and paste then into my notebooks. Although I have stopped doing it, but my newspaper-reading habit hadn't stopped till today.
I was also a fan of the Evening Edition during that age. (It's still on air daily at 2230 on Astro AEC, seemingly remained unchanged from the day the show started) I was intrigued by the 2 presenters of the show, whom were really young and linguistically talented, that had presented the news in a relaxed but thought-provoking way. (There were numerous presenters actually, but any 2 will appear every day) Although they always started with the headlines of the Chinese newspapers, but I was more interested in the stories from all around the world. Although I hadn't watched the show every day like what I did previously, I do respect the show for being on air for years and had survived from criticisms from the adults whom had claimed it 'misleading' ...
So many years had passed and now I'm a post-teen and a young adult (try figuring what age group do I belong), and it's probably the first year of my life that I've been fully exposed to the idea of critical thinking. In the past, I did saw some exercises in my book have a small logo under the number of the question, labelling CCTS or Critical and Creative Thinking Skills, but I did not understand what is 'critical thinking' nor 'creative thinking'. Anyway, I loved the idea of critical thinking, which requires the person to actually determine that whether an information is REALLY true, based on the sources given. Since then, I've been trying to apply it into the news and information distributed by the media, whether it's from the newspapers, TV programmes or the Internet. Issues like the efficiency of the government being the administrator of my country and the meaning of education are in my scope.
I understand that it requires hard work to verify the source. I'm unsure about others but I do know that if I were to think of it as a mission to explore the unknown or to get to the bottom of a case (i.e. playing a detective), it would release more endorphins and adrenaline (and considering physical requirements, testosterone perhaps?) than of cortisol. No wonder some just read the title or description of the story and then assuming that what they see is what they get, thus causing them to throw up comments (most probably hatred or misleading ones) spontaneously and attracting more loathe than love, and then convincing the aliens (if there were) that we're one of the worst species in the Universe. (did I just drifted away?)
Applying critical thinking to my everyday life is somehow good for my brain. It does made me think of the contents of my studies, and made me attempting to relate new materials to what I've learnt in the past. In short, I've somehow activated my brain to learn and study consciously. I've learnt how to make sense with the new material and try to associate it with other materials. (Heck, I should have learnt that in my secondary school ... Maybe I would fare better in my studies ...) Also, I've started reading longer passages found in the Internet, despite I don't actually like reading long passages from a screen. Although I have not fully utilise the skill, but I'm still improving.
However, sometimes critical thinking does destroy the Utopia (in my head) for being a myth buster. For instance, I wished the fact that humans don't actually pass away that fast, but it just won't agree with me. I've heard studies said that we were programmed to pass away, but it depends on our genetics and our lifestyles (I'm not sure of the source, but here's the video below). A cold, hard fact but yeah, at least humans can still do something to elongate it for a certain period, right? ... (there are more examples, though I just can't think of a more suitable one other than this)
It's still a very new idea to me, because I hadn't been exposed to it before, but I guess I'll keep going and discovering ideas I've never thought of. I do have some advice on critical thinking though: Please do ensure that you are able to cope and handle with the effects/side-effects of getting a possibly radical view of what you have believed for a long time. For instance, things involving religions, cultures and even self-discovery. Balance the thirst of seeking the truth with the feelings and relationship with your kins/next-of-kins/friends/others. Give your brain adequate breaks to ensure your brain would be performing in a tip-top condition. Lastly, do remember to think moderately (i.e. do not be a cynic for everything, you'll just make your brain look like a messy worktable, with red markers scribbled on it).
Remember there are many things in the world or outer space that you can think of. We haven't actually know are there really unicorns, mermaids or even aliens in this world, do we?
I remembered when I was 8 or 9 (I think somewhere that age) I started picking up the habit of reading newspapers everyday, starting with Chinese newspapers. I would glance through it, and sometimes even cut some articles or news regarding big disasters/big events of the time (the one I remembered the most: the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami), and paste then into my notebooks. Although I have stopped doing it, but my newspaper-reading habit hadn't stopped till today.
I was also a fan of the Evening Edition during that age. (It's still on air daily at 2230 on Astro AEC, seemingly remained unchanged from the day the show started) I was intrigued by the 2 presenters of the show, whom were really young and linguistically talented, that had presented the news in a relaxed but thought-provoking way. (There were numerous presenters actually, but any 2 will appear every day) Although they always started with the headlines of the Chinese newspapers, but I was more interested in the stories from all around the world. Although I hadn't watched the show every day like what I did previously, I do respect the show for being on air for years and had survived from criticisms from the adults whom had claimed it 'misleading' ...
So many years had passed and now I'm a post-teen and a young adult (try figuring what age group do I belong), and it's probably the first year of my life that I've been fully exposed to the idea of critical thinking. In the past, I did saw some exercises in my book have a small logo under the number of the question, labelling CCTS or Critical and Creative Thinking Skills, but I did not understand what is 'critical thinking' nor 'creative thinking'. Anyway, I loved the idea of critical thinking, which requires the person to actually determine that whether an information is REALLY true, based on the sources given. Since then, I've been trying to apply it into the news and information distributed by the media, whether it's from the newspapers, TV programmes or the Internet. Issues like the efficiency of the government being the administrator of my country and the meaning of education are in my scope.
I understand that it requires hard work to verify the source. I'm unsure about others but I do know that if I were to think of it as a mission to explore the unknown or to get to the bottom of a case (i.e. playing a detective), it would release more endorphins and adrenaline (and considering physical requirements, testosterone perhaps?) than of cortisol. No wonder some just read the title or description of the story and then assuming that what they see is what they get, thus causing them to throw up comments (most probably hatred or misleading ones) spontaneously and attracting more loathe than love, and then convincing the aliens (if there were) that we're one of the worst species in the Universe. (did I just drifted away?)
Applying critical thinking to my everyday life is somehow good for my brain. It does made me think of the contents of my studies, and made me attempting to relate new materials to what I've learnt in the past. In short, I've somehow activated my brain to learn and study consciously. I've learnt how to make sense with the new material and try to associate it with other materials. (Heck, I should have learnt that in my secondary school ... Maybe I would fare better in my studies ...) Also, I've started reading longer passages found in the Internet, despite I don't actually like reading long passages from a screen. Although I have not fully utilise the skill, but I'm still improving.
It's still a very new idea to me, because I hadn't been exposed to it before, but I guess I'll keep going and discovering ideas I've never thought of. I do have some advice on critical thinking though: Please do ensure that you are able to cope and handle with the effects/side-effects of getting a possibly radical view of what you have believed for a long time. For instance, things involving religions, cultures and even self-discovery. Balance the thirst of seeking the truth with the feelings and relationship with your kins/next-of-kins/friends/others. Give your brain adequate breaks to ensure your brain would be performing in a tip-top condition. Lastly, do remember to think moderately (i.e. do not be a cynic for everything, you'll just make your brain look like a messy worktable, with red markers scribbled on it).
Remember there are many things in the world or outer space that you can think of. We haven't actually know are there really unicorns, mermaids or even aliens in this world, do we?
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