Author: GEDI S16 – My blog

I think therefore I am: critical thinking for mindful learning

Schools tend to follow traditional teaching routes: students show up to class, teachers lecture, students learn (hopefully) something they didn’t know prior to attending class and then they take a test on the subject they learned to ascertain the amount of knowledge that has sunk in.

Early on, we are taught to accept certain facts for their face value, such as maths, sciences and to question other “facts” such as history, philosophy, statistical analyses and such. This method is called critical thinking. Critical thinking is the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment. In other words, it is a lens you use to view and interact with the world. Rene Descartes famously said “I think, therefore I am” to insist on the power of thought.

Critical thinking automatically invites mindful learning. You seek knowledge because you want to form an objective evaluation of any situation. And you won’t stop learning until you are satisfied with the outcome.

When you get into the habit of forming your own opinions, every opportunity to learn becomes a teachable moment and every teachable moment is an opportunity to learn some more. It all starts with acknowledging your desire to rebel (sometimes) against what is in plain sight.

Why Blogging is Not for Everyone

Blogging has been a part of the digital world for as long as I can remember. However, I believe blogging is an art, the literal art of self-expression which clearly.

Statistically speaking, artists do not make up the largest part of our society, they are usually small in numbers but fierce when it comes to their self-expression. I mean, think about it, when you blog/perform, you really put yourself out there. You open yourself up to criticism, trolling and in extreme cases, ridicule. Let me tell you, not a lot of people can handle that much pressure.

However, blogging is actually performing behind your computer screen. Sure, anyone can type up a few paragraphs on word and make them public for all the world to see. It doesn’t feel like an invasion of privacy. But in fact, it is.

Some proponents of blogging will liken in to being out in society and trying to start a conversation with someone or giving your opinion on a subject in front of people you don’t know. They would have a point. However, just like everything in the digital world, the blog will never go away. It could come back to haunt you forever and ever, like a bad credit score. If you don’t like the conversation of someone you just me, you can just turn and walk away, move on to the next person. If you don’t like the opinion of someone when you are in a group, you can tune that someone out and not take notice of them. But with blogging, you have to be extremely careful. You have to be politically correct, you have to be an excellent writer and most of all, and you must have something interesting to tell other people. And come on, let’s be frank. No one can be interesting and novel all the time. So instead of blogging, and unless you are fighting for social equality or speaking up against abuse or such, I honestly don’t want to read about your day, EVERYDAY.