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Showing posts with the label critical thinking

Strategic Decision: The Difference between Data and Good Judgment

Strategic decision making can encourage you to stronger better paths to achieve important goals. When decisions are well thought out they can help you get closer to where you want to be while using much less effort. Understanding the difference between data and the interpretation of that data helps in seeing and then figuring out the choices that lead down varying paths. A few tips may help you think through options and make more accurate choices that help you improving business and career outcomes. Understanding the data and thinking through the options affords an opportunity to create critical thinking. Critical thinking can be defined as the objective analysis of information and options that leads to a decisive conclusion. To do this well requires that ability to see the possibilities and pick the ones that are not only most likely but also help you achieve your goals.   Step 1: Define Your Goals: Knowing your goals and what you want to accomplish might be the hardest pa

Does Data and Our Personalities Impact How We Invest?

Data is used to understand the environment and make investment decisions about new products and services that directly impact the stock market. Recently, the Institute of Supply Management made an accidental miscalculation on the May Purchasing Manufacturers' Index by published 53.2 and then revising that estimate to 56 after the error was discovered ( Strumpf, 2014 ). Due to the importance of that economic indicator stocks bounced downward and then leaped upwards 26 points after the revision.  The change made sense with investors who saw a tough winter and potential spring rebound.  Stocks can be finicky on new data. The information provided from credible sources, often released from large institutions, are given more weight than smaller publishers. This doesn’t change the fact that they are still a single reference point that when taken in isolation can lead to inaccurate perception. A single switch of a number, miscalculation, or ignored measurement can change the r

Teaching Critical Thinking through Aristotle's Conception of Friendship

The difference between critical thinking and creative thinking can be profound but they often merge together to create something new and practical. In the process of finding solutions creativity can build new ideas while critical thinking can test the viability of those options. Creativity builds something unique while critical thinking seeks to analyze information into something that can be understood, interpreted and evaluated. Dr. David White discusses how to use Aristotle to foster critical thinking among students (2010).  Critical thinking of a story narrative requires recognition, analysis, evaluation, and alternatives. It is important for students to recognize the main issues, the main points, and be able to summarize. Analysis requires understanding the steps the author took, prioritization, and knowing the difference between premises and conclusion.     Evaluation includes understanding how the main points are derived, whether premises justify the conclusion, and the