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Critical Thinking Quotes

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Governments don't want a population capable of critical thinking, they want obedient workers, people just smart enough to run the machines and just dumb enough to passively accept their situation.You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own, and control the corporations. They've long since bought, and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear.

Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.

Learn to use your brain power. Critical thinking is the key to creative problem solving in business.

Too often we... enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.

Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking, and naming for you; it means learning to respect and use your own brains and instincts; hence, grappling with hard work.

It is not enough to have a good mind. The main thing is to use it well.

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.

The capacity to innovate - the ability to solve problems creatively or bring new possibilities to life - and skills like critical thinking, communication and collaboration are far more important than academic knowledge.

A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.

The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks.

Critical thinking relies on content, because you can't navigate masses of information if you have nothing to navigate to.

Do not indoctrinate your children. Teach them how to think for themselves, how to evaluate evidence, and how to disagree with you.

Critical thinking is what leads to the next breakthroughs in any area.

The most fundamental attack on freedom is the attack on critical thinking skills.

To every complex question there is a simple answer and it is wrong.

The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

We are approaching a new age of synthesis. Knowledge cannot be merely a degree or a skill... it demands a broader vision, capabilities in critical thinking and logical deduction without which we cannot have constructive progress.

The purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one.

Governments don't want a population capable of critical thinking, they want obedient workers, people just smart enough to run the machines and just dumb enough to passively accept their situation.

It is especially important to encourage unorthodox thinking when the situation is critical

Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too.

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The Power of Critical Thinking: 56 Critical Thinking Quotes

Critical thinking is an invaluable skill that empowers individuals to assess information, challenge assumptions, and make reasoned judgments. It is a cognitive process that goes beyond memorization and regurgitation of facts, encouraging individuals to explore different perspectives, evaluate evidence, and arrive at independent conclusions.

In today’s fast-paced and information-rich world, the ability to think critically is essential for making informed decisions, solving complex problems, and navigating the complexities of modern society. This article explores the significance of critical thinking, its benefits, and practical strategies to cultivate this skill in our lives.

Read: What Critical Thinking Skills We Require To Win At Our Careers: 5 Major Ones

The Importance of Critical Thinking

Critical thinking serves as a compass for the mind, enabling individuals to discern between fact and fiction, identify biases, and evaluate the credibility of sources. In an era characterized by the proliferation of misinformation and the manipulation of public opinion, critical thinking provides a powerful tool to navigate through the noise and arrive at well-informed conclusions.

Moreover, critical thinking equips individuals with the ability to analyze complex problems systematically. It fosters creativity, enabling the exploration of innovative solutions by challenging conventional wisdom and exploring alternative perspectives. It also encourages open-mindedness and intellectual humility, as critical thinkers recognize the limits of their knowledge and remain receptive to new information and ideas.

Related: 10 Best Critical Thinking Movies With Interesting Endings

Benefits of Critical Thinking

Developing critical thinking skills has numerous advantages that extend beyond individual decision-making. In educational settings, critical thinking fosters a deep understanding of subjects, encourages active engagement, and prepares students for lifelong learning. It equips them with the ability to ask probing questions, engage in meaningful discussions, and evaluate information critically, rather than accepting it at face value.

In professional contexts, critical thinking is highly valued by employers. It enables employees to analyze complex situations, consider multiple variables, and make informed decisions. Critical thinkers are also more adept at problem-solving, as they approach challenges with a systematic and analytical mindset, breaking down problems into manageable components.

Furthermore, critical thinking plays a vital role in democratic societies. Citizens who think critically are more likely to question authority, hold leaders accountable, and actively participate in public discourse. They are better equipped to analyze political arguments, distinguish between valid reasoning and fallacies, and make informed choices during elections.

Recommended: Interview Questions For Critical Thinking No One Tells About

Critical Thinking Quotes

• “Critical thinking is the ability to think for yourself and independently evaluate information, rather than simply accepting what you hear or read.” – Diane Halpern
• “Critical thinking is a survival tool, not just for our species but for our planet.” – Carl Sagan
• “Critical thinking is thinking about your thinking while you’re thinking in order to make your thinking better.” – Richard W. Paul
• “The first rule of critical thinking is to ask questions. Be willing to wonder.” – Unknown
• “Critical thinking is seeing things as they are, not as you want them to be.” – Unknown
• “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
• “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance; it is the illusion of knowledge.” – Daniel J. Boorstin
• “The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” – Albert Einstein
• “Critical thinking is the ability to think independently and evaluate information objectively and accurately. It is an essential skill in a world filled with quick opinions, sound bites, and misinformation.” – Edwidge Danticat
• “I am not a teacher, but an awakener.” – Robert Frost
• “A problem well-stated is a problem half-solved.” – Charles Kettering
• “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust
• “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence.” – Albert Einstein
• “The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.” – Plutarch
• “Wisdom is not the product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” – Albert Einstein
• “Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally, understanding the logical connection between ideas.” – Peter A. Facione
• “The value of critical thinking is not only in the answers it produces, but also in the questions it uncovers.” – Unknown
• “To think critically is to embrace uncertainty and ambiguity, and to be comfortable with asking challenging questions.” – Unknown
• “A critical thinker is someone who thinks with reason and objectivity, not influenced solely by emotions or personal biases.” – Unknown
• “Critical thinking is the art of analyzing and evaluating information to reach informed conclusions.” – Unknown
• “The greatest skill a critical thinker can possess is the ability to change their mind in the face of new evidence and reasoning.” – Unknown
• “Critical thinking is not about being right; it’s about being open to new perspectives and adjusting our beliefs accordingly.” – Unknown
• “Critical thinking is a process of continuous learning and improvement, honing our intellectual abilities to make sound judgments.” – Unknown
• “Critical thinking is like a mental muscle that needs to be exercised regularly to stay strong and agile.” – Unknown
• “The path of critical thinking is paved with curiosity, skepticism, and a commitment to truth-seeking.” – Unknown
• “The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” – Plutarch
• “Critical thinking is the ability to think independently, solve problems creatively, and make rational decisions based on evidence and logic.” – Unknown
• “The mark of a well-educated mind is the ability to entertain a thought without accepting it.” – Aristotle
• “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” – Aristotle
• “The essence of critical thinking is suspended judgment; the essence of this suspense is inquiry to determine whether or not the judgment is well-founded.” – John Dewey
• “Critical thinking is not just thinking, but thinking which entails self-improvement.” – Unknown
• “Critical thinking is the ability to think independently, analyze information objectively, and make rational decisions.” – Unknown
• “The first rule of critical thinking is to question everything.” – Unknown
• “Critical thinking is a skill that enables you to analyze and evaluate information objectively and make reasoned judgments.” – Unknown
• “Critical thinking is the key to unlocking the doors of understanding and knowledge.” – Unknown
• “Critical thinking is a self-directed, self-monitored, and self-disciplined thinking that strives to be fair, clear, and accurate.” – Linda Elder
• “Critical thinking is the mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion.” – Unknown
• “The role of critical thinking is to break down problems into their component parts, analyze them, and develop creative solutions.” – Unknown
• “Critical thinking is like a compass that guides us through the maze of information and helps us make informed choices.” – Unknown
• “Critical thinking is the art of being able to evaluate and analyze information objectively, rather than accepting it at face value.” – Unknown
• “The hallmark of a critical thinker is intellectual humility – the willingness to accept that one’s beliefs may be incorrect.” – Unknown
• “Critical thinking is the ability to ask the right questions and challenge the status quo.” – Unknown
• “The essence of critical thinking is to suspend judgment, seek multiple perspectives, and examine the evidence before arriving at a conclusion.” – Unknown
• “Critical thinking is not a single skill, but a set of skills that work together to help us navigate the complexities of the world.” – Unknown
• “Critical thinking is not about being negative; it’s about being discerning and questioning what we are told.” – Unknown
• “Critical thinking is the ability to think independently and make reasoned judgments based on evidence and logical reasoning.” – Unknown
• “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge.” – Stephen Hawking
• “Critical thinking is the bridge between knowledge and wisdom.” – Unknown
• “Critical thinking is the intellectual discipline of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information.” – Unknown
• “The mind is like a parachute; it works best when it’s open.” – Unknown
• “Critical thinking is the foundation of rationality and the cornerstone of progress.” – Unknown
• “In a world of information overload, critical thinking is the key to sifting through the noise and finding the signal.” – Unknown
• “Critical thinking is not just about finding flaws in others’ arguments; it’s about critically examining our own beliefs and biases.” – Unknown
• “The purpose of critical thinking is to empower individuals to think for themselves, question authority, and arrive at their own informed conclusions.” – Unknown
• “Critical thinking is the art of asking the right questions, challenging assumptions, and seeking evidence to support or refute claims.” – Unknown
• “Critical thinking is not a destination; it’s a lifelong journey of intellectual growth and development.” – Unknown

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Famous Quotes Related to Critical Thinking

"Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts." - William Bruce Cameron (often falsely attributed to Albert Einstein)

"What we hope ever to do with ease, we must learn first to do with diligence." - Samuel Johnson

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." - Aristotle

"The school is the last expenditure upon which America should be willing to economize." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." - Derek Bok

"It is today we must create the world of the future." - Eleanor Roosevelt

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." - Albert Einstein

"The objective of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives." - Robert Maynard Hutchins

"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't." - Anatole France

"Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson "Education would be much more effective if its purpose was to ensure that by the time they leave school every boy and girl should know how much they do not know, and be imbued with a lifelong desire to know it." - William Haley, British Editor

"Do not confine your children to your own learning for they were born in another time." - Hebrew Proverb

"Too often we give children answers to remember rather than problems to solve." - Roger Lewin

"The school is the last expenditure upon which America should be willing to economize." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

"The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend." - Henri Bergson, French Philosopher and Educator "If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can't, you're right." - MARY KAY ASH, American businesswoman

"The man who can make hard things easy is the educator." - RALPH WALDO EMERSON, American writer and philosopher

"Children are apt to live up to what you believe of them." - LADY BIRD JOHNSON, Former First Lady of the United States

"The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend." - HENRI BERGSON, French Philosopher and Educator

"The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life." - PLATO, Greek Philosopher

"With a smile we should instruct our youth..." - JEAN BAPTISTE MOLIERE, French Playwright

"Children are not vessels to be filled but lamps to be lit." - SWAMI CHINMAYANANDA, Indian Spiritual Leader

"Genius without an education is like silver in the mine." - BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, American Diplomat, Scientist, and Writer

"Education must not simply teach work—it must teach life." - W.E.B. DU BOIS, American Civil Rights Leader and Writer

"Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to the error that counts." - NIKKI GIOVANNI, American poet

"Teaching is the greatest act of optimism." - COLLEEN WILCOX, American school administrator

"Those of us who are in this world to educate—to care for—young children have a special calling: a calling that has very little to do with the collection of expensive possessions but has a lot to do with worth inside of heads and hearts." - FRED M. ROGERS, Host of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood

"Each student is a unique person and a powerful learner capable of great achievements. I truly marvel at my students' capacity for learning, accomplishment, and growth." - MICHELLE FORMAN, American National Teacher of the Year 2001

"The one real goal of education is to leave a person asking questions." - MAX BEERHOHM, British Critic, Essayist, and Caricaturist "Too often we... enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." - JOHN F. KENNEDY

"Out of the questions of students come most of the creative ideas and discoveries." - Ellen Langer

"Invest a few moments in thinking. It will pay good interest." - Author Unknown

"He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever." - CHINESE PROVERB

"No problem can be solved by the same consciousness that created it. We need to see the world anew." - ALBERT EINSTEIN

"The important thing is not to stop questioning." - Albert Einstein

"Knowing a great deal is not the same as being smart; intelligence is not information alone but also judgment, the manner in which information is collected and used." - Carl Sagan

"There is nothing more uncommon than common sense." - FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

"Too often we give children answers to remember rather than problems to solve." - ROGER LEWIN, Ph.D., British anthropologist and science writer

"Time given to thought is the greatest time saver of all." - Norman Cousins

"No way of thinking or doing, however ancient, can be trusted without proof." - Henry David Thoreau

"Who dares to teach must never cease to learn." - John Cotton Dana

"Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too" - Voltaire

"Reason obeys itself: ignorance submits to what is dictated to it." - Thomas Paine

"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything one learned in school." - Albert Einstein

Critical Thinking Quotes

The ability to think critically is the key to unlocking the door to new possibilities.

Critical thinking is not just about finding the right answers, but also asking the right questions.

Don’t be afraid to challenge your own beliefs and assumptions – that’s where critical thinking begins.

The more you use your critical thinking skills, the stronger they become.

Don’t be satisfied with surface-level answers – dig deeper and think critically.

Critical thinking is like a muscle – it needs exercise to grow stronger.

Question everything – even your own thoughts and opinions.

Critical thinking is the pathway to innovation and progress.

Don’t follow blindly – think critically and forge your own path.

Critical thinking is about examining information from multiple perspectives.

Don’t rely on intuition alone – use critical thinking to make informed decisions.

Critical thinking is not about being right all the time, but about being willing to admit when you’re wrong.

The best ideas come from a place of critical thinking and open-mindedness.

Don’t accept information at face value – think critically and evaluate its credibility.

Thinking critically is not about being negative, but about being objective.

Be curious – critical thinking begins with a genuine desire to learn.

Critical thinking is the antidote to ignorance and prejudice.

Don’t be afraid to question authority – critical thinking requires independent thought.

Embrace complexity – critical thinking thrives in the midst of uncertainty.

Don’t settle for easy answers – critical thinking demands intellectual rigor.

Critical thinking is like a compass – it helps navigate the sea of information.

Don’t let your emotions cloud your judgment – critical thinking requires a clear mind.

The power of critical thinking lies in its ability to challenge the status quo.

Don’t be afraid of disagreement – critical thinking thrives in the marketplace of ideas.

Critical thinking is the engine that drives progress and innovation.

Don’t be swayed by popularity – critical thinking demands independent thought.

Question the source – critical thinking requires skepticism.

Don’t be afraid of complexity – critical thinking is a tool for unraveling it.

Critical thinking is not about finding faults, but about seeking truths.

Don’t settle for black and white – critical thinking thrives in shades of gray.

Question your assumptions – critical thinking demands intellectual honesty.

Don’t fear uncertainty – critical thinking embraces ambiguity.

Critical thinking is not about winning arguments, but about seeking understanding.

Don’t be afraid to change your mind – critical thinking requires intellectual flexibility.

Question everything, especially your own biases – critical thinking is about self-reflection.

Don’t accept mediocrity – critical thinking strives for excellence.

Critical thinking is not about being right all the time, but about being willing to learn.

Don’t let fear hold you back – critical thinking requires courage.

Question authority – critical thinking challenges the status quo.

Don’t be satisfied with superficial knowledge – critical thinking demands depth.

Critical thinking is the spark that ignites the fire of curiosity.

Don’t be afraid to admit when you don’t know – critical thinking values intellectual humility.

Question your own biases – critical thinking demands self-awareness.

Don’t be swayed by charismatic speakers – critical thinking requires independent thought.

Critical thinking is the compass that guides us through the maze of information.

Don’t let others do the thinking for you – critical thinking requires independent thought.

Question everything, especially your own assumptions – critical thinking demands self-reflection.

Don’t settle for easy answers – critical thinking requires intellectual rigor.

Critical thinking is not about finding faults, but about seeking solutions.

Don’t be satisfied with surface-level understanding – critical thinking delves deeper.

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34 Best Learning Quotes For Critical Thinking

Post by Team FM

Last Updated: February 13, 2023

Critical thinking is the ability to make any kind of decision with the help of facts and things around you. It helps people better understand themselves and the things around them. Here are some best inspirational critical thinking quotes that will help you to know the value of critical thinking in your life.

Quotes to Know What is Critical Thinking

1. “Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.” ― Ennis

2. “Critical thinking requires a lot of attention and brain function. When a critical thinking approach is applied to education, it helps the student’s brain function better and understands texts differently.” ― Ennis

Also find: Human Weakness Quotes

3. “The intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.” ― Wikipedia

4. “Disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence.” ― Wikipedia

5. “Purposeful, self-regulatory judgment which results in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference, as well as an explanation of the evidential, conceptual, methodological, soteriological, or contextual considerations upon which that judgment is based.” ― Wikipedia

6. “The skill and propensity to engage in an activity with reflective skepticism.” ― Wikipedia

7. “An appraisal based on the careful analytical evaluation.” ― Wikipedia

8. “Critical thinking is a type of thinking pattern that requires people to be reflective, and pay attention to decision-making which guides their beliefs and actions. Critical thinking allows people to deduct with more logic, to process sophisticated information and look at various sides of an issue so they can produce more solid conclusions.” ― Wikipedia

9. “Critical thinking is essentially a questioning, challenging approach to knowledge and perceived wisdom. It involves ideas and information from an objective position and then questioning this information in the light of our own values, attitudes and personal philosophy.” ― Wikipedia

Best Thoughts on Critical Thinking

10. “Critical thinking is thinking about your thinking while you’re thinking in order to make your thinking better.” ― Richard Paul

11. “Critical Thinking has the potential to be a deeply creative process.” ― Pearl Zhu

12. “Critical Thinking is not automatic thinking. It takes extra effort to think critically.” ― Pearl Zhu

13. “Critical Thinking is also called structured thinking.” ― Pearl Zhu

14. “Critical Thinking brings insight into the situation.” ― Pearl Zhu

15. “Critical thinking doesn’t mean we disparage everything; it means that we try to distinguish between claims with evidence and those without.” ― Daniel J. Levitin

16. “Critical Thinking narrows and creative thinking expands, but they must work in tandem for problem-solving and decision making.” ― Pearl Zhu

17. “We of this age have discovered a shorter and more prudent method to become scholars and wits, without the fatigue of reading or of thinking.” ― Jonathan Swift

18. “Most people do not actually know how to think for themselves, and unfortunately that prevents them from even knowing it.” ― Bryant McGill

19. “Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking, and naming for you; it means learning to respect and use your own brains and instincts; hence, grappling with hard work.” ― Adrienne Rich

20. “When you write a book, you spend day after day scanning and identifying the trees. When you’re done, you have to step back and look at the forest.” ― Stephen King

21. “Put your foot upon the neck of the fear of criticism by reaching a decision not to worry about what other people think, do, or say.” ― Napoleon Hill

22. “Those who make conversations impossible, make escalation inevitable.” ― Stefan Molyneux

23. “Whatever negative things people think and say about you are enough to bring you down provided you believe that it carries a weight that can push you hard. Don’t agree to accept what critics say; be prepared to silence them by doing what they think you can’t do!” ― Israelmore Ayivor

24. “Truth has nothing to do with the conclusion, and everything to do with the methodology.” ― Stefan Molyneux

25. “Most people do not actually know how to think for themselves, and unfortunately that prevents them from even knowing it.” ― Bryant McGill

26. “One of the most important things one can do in life is to brutally question every single thing you are taught.” ― Bryant McGill

Critical Thinking Quotes for Students

27. “Children are rarely taught critical thinking anymore, and society has become so antirational that basic reason and evidence are the new countercultures: thought is the new punk.” ― Stefan Molyneux

28. “Let the improvement of yourself keep you so busy that you have no time to criticize others.” ― Roy T. Bennett

29. “Do not indoctrinate your children. Teach them how to think for themselves, how to evaluate evidence, and how to disagree with you.” ― Richard Dawkins

30. “You have a brain and mind of your own. Use it, and reach your own decisions.” ― Napoleon Hill

31. “The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks.” ― Christopher Hitchens

32. “Do not share your thoughts with people who think that what you are thinking is not worth thinking.” ― Michael Bassey Johnson

33. “Think independently and critically, but never forget to think with understanding and love.” ― Debasish Mridha

34. “Instead of complaining, discover ways, tactics, and tricks on how to reach out to people” ― Sunday Adelaja

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12 Inspiring Critical Thinking Quotes For Students

A birdie flies sans inhibitions, and so must you. But first, you must know where you wish to fly. One’s moods and behaviors are both influenced by one’s thinking. Whether you’re shaping a student’s moments or a lifetime, thinking is a powerful tool. The actual fun is that you can learn to think better throughout the course of your lifetime since it is a skill.

We can learn from the age-old knowledge and the contemporary sages to improve our thinking abilities. And one of the finest ways to achieve that is using “ quotes ”. There are a lot of wise words and proverbs that get us thinking, whether they be positive thinking quotes or critical thinking quotes. Perhaps one of the most powerful thoughts on thinking is this… “Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become who you are.”

Critical thinking for students – Who’s job is it?

Research reveals several essential findings. Despite widespread agreement that critical thinking is important, most individuals feel that schools do not do enough to help students develop their critical thinking skills.

Nearly 95% of people agree that critical thinking abilities are vital in today’s world, and favor more critical thinking across nearly every demographic characteristic. Nevertheless, many individuals are concerned that our schools do not teach sophisticated ways of thinking, and nearly 80% of respondents believe that young people lack the capacity for critical thought. Only 29% of respondents claim to have categorically studied critical thinking at school.

It’s unclear when, when, and even how critical thinking instruction should take place. A little over half of the parents surveyed believe that it is their responsibility to instill critical thinking in their children. Another 41% think that educators should be in charge of imparting critical thinking skills to young people. Another 22% think that kids should be in charge of their own behavior.

Critical thinking at school

A teacher’s influence on a student extends beyond just imparting a top-notch education.

You serve as a leader, mentor, coach, advisor, and promoter of growth. Since students spend so much time in your classroom, it is up to you and your co-workers in education to create an environment where students can be themselves and accomplish their best work.

Posters with inspirational quotes are a great approach to make your classroom immediately seem more upbeat. Famous writers, innovators, and other personalities have left us with a wealth of inspiring quotations on learning and achievement. After choosing your favorite motivational sayings, you can utilize them to make your own low-cost classroom posters.

What words weigh

The proverb “actions speak louder than words” is certainly familiar to you, but it’s not always the case. Each of us has the ability to sway someone with our words.

Numerous research has revealed the advantages and disadvantages associated with particular terms. Dr. Susan Smalley, a professor of psychiatry and biobehavioural sciences at UCLA, stated that “individuals [who] read words of ‘loving kindness’ showed an increase in self-compassion, improved mood, and reduced anxiety.”

If we think back to times we’ve heard inspirational words, we remember how good and motivated we felt after. To get in the habit of choosing our words wisely and with positive intent, we can put reminders around us.

Below is a rundown of some thought-provoking critical thinking quotes that are fit and fun to read for students and mentors alike:

Critical thinking quotes for students

1. “the important thing is not to stop questioning. curiosity has its own reason for existing.” — albert einstein.

Few men in history have had the critical thinking skills of Albert Einstein. One of the characteristics of extremely competent critical thinkers is their inherent curiosity. With that curiosity comes the practice of questioning to explore, discover, and reveal. This is why through using essential and herding questions in our teaching, we drive learners’ curiosity by engaging them in exploring a topic through questions that begin big and get increasingly specific as more discoveries are made. This piece of wisdom is a pearl for dyslexic and non-dyslexic students alike.

2. “To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” – Oscar Wilde

No, narcissism doesn’t say that. According to the saying, you must reawaken your love for yourself so that it last forever. To teach students anything , it is essential you teach them to love themselves first. Once you can do that, no one will be able to undermine your confidence and knock you down. Your own best critic would be you. The days of seeking emotional support from others and relying on them to maintain one’s mental health would be gone.

3. “You have a brain and mind of your own. Use it, and reach your own decisions.” — Napoleon Hill

The ability to think independently is one of the critical thinking’s most important characteristics. Without giving anything much thought, believing or agreeing is simple. However, when we make the decision to think for ourselves, we exercise a human right and a duty we have as citizens of the world. Independent thought is labor-intensive, but the benefits are incalculable. One benefit is that it provides various viewpoints and perspectives, which can be instructive. Another benefit of independent thought is that it inspires us to stand up for what we believe in and have confidence in our capacity to make the best decisions for ourselves.

4. “If you are going through hell, keep going.” — Sir Winston Churchill

This pearl of knowledge has lasting ramifications for the lives of all learners, young and old, within and outside of the classroom. Nothing can be endured indefinitely. Everything changes at some point in time. Life is a roller coaster ride that goes through ups and downs in cycles. When difficult times hit you, as a young student, it’s normal to feel discouraged, but you need to realize that they won’t last forever and that you need to keep at it until you’re there.

Hold hands, unite, and proceed through it. And you are never alone in the larger scheme of things.

5. “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” —Aristotle

According to cognition scientists, the average person has between 60,000 and 80,000 ideas per day, or a few thousand thoughts every hour. Thus, thinking critically entails evaluating ideas that have significance and tossing out or dismissing ideas that don’t. Let’s say that when you leave the house, you leave the iron on. You recall that you left it on as you’re driving out the driveway, so you go back inside to turn it off. Or does your day proceed as usual? Here is what might follow:

“That was so foolish, I could have set the house on fire.”

“What if, after preparing breakfast, I forget to turn the burner off? Children will burn their hands off!

“When my spouse or wife learns about it, what will they think?”

“Am I aging faster?”

We refer to this as “sharing our tale.” The stories we tell ourselves, however, are not the facts. The fact is you left the iron on, remembered because you’re smart, turned it off, and diverted a disaster. Additionally, now that you’ve learned from this experience, you’ll be more conscientious next time, and your family may also pick up on your good habits. That’s the path of the critical thinker.

6. “Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead.” — Charles Bukowski

Life is designed to be an experimentation ground. To think critically, you must first understand that one cannot think with boundaries around them. Consider also that curiosity is like exercise for the brain, combatting boredom and stagnation by making the brain more active and energized. The student cannot and should not think amid their safe, familiar bubbles and be pushed to explore. It is only in that experimentation you realize what you are worthy of. One would then become ecstatic, ecstatic by coming to a step closer to the meaning of life. It is that ecstasy that would madden you, help you grow and it will be totally worth it.

7. “Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider.” — Francis Bacon

One must be genuinely able to read anything without immediately taking it to heart because there are so many opinions and points of view in the world that are freely communicated through both online and offline means. Thus, developing analytical reading skills in our students is important. Encouraging children to think critically while they read is one thing we can do for them in this vein. The purpose for this is simple; not only does it cultivate independent critical thinking skills, but it helps students enjoy reading more. Rather than passively consuming the words they read, they are questioning and observing, looking for hidden meanings, recognizing patterns and relations to experiences they’ve had, and more.

8. “My father used to say ‘Don’t raise your voice, improve your argument.”— Desmond Tutu

This can occur when a person who wasn’t nearly as informed as they thought is suddenly confronted with evidence that contradicts their strongly held beliefs. This may be concerning because our opinions are significant to us and help to define who we are. As a result, this person may respond hastily and out of fear; their natural tendency is to shout louder to drown out the offensive opponent. That is not how critical thinkers operate. Instead, they come prepared to open discussions with a solid bedrock of knowledge and experience to rest on about the discussion topic. They’ll listen openly to the views of others and consider anything that another’s perspective may have to teach them, and share in any and all discussions as constructively as possible.

9. “Right is right even if no one is doing it; wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it.” —Augustine of Hippe

In the past, or in the future, righteousness has never depended on its adherents. Even if just a small portion of a population supports it, what is right must remain right. Not everyone has the strength to follow the correct route since it is less appealing than the other one. And more people will always be drawn to what is attractive and simple. For students and for them to adhere to critical thinking, it is essential they first abide by and think about what’s right.

10. “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” — Albert Einstein

It is an unavoidable fact that not everyone has potential that is similar to another person. A student’s ability is facilitated by their environment, society, and upbringing, which helps them see their value. Every student is capable of thinking, but also has his own special abilities that must be nourished, nurtured, and garnered.

11.“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” — Jimmy Johnson

Students rather are distinguished from the commonplace and be viewed as extraordinary. They must therefore ask themselves, “Have we really made that extra effort that would make us the latter?” today. When someone gives up the impulse to always take the easy route and instead makes the necessary extra effort, they become special.

12. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost

There is no way to succeed in life and climb above the rat race by adhering to it. You must possess the courage to travel the less traveled route. It is important to inculcate in the students that someday, they could be a pioneer in a field that they wouldn’t become aware of until years later. Fear keeps you from stepping into an unfamiliar environment. Once you let go of it there would be nothing holding you back.

Both you and your students deserve to hear all the uplifting and motivating things that are said.

With a bouquet of flowers, make sure to send these thoughtful quotes to a friend or family member who might or might not be a student as a way to express care and the importance of critical thinking.

An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having  just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of  Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’, 

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[C09] Famous quotes

Module: Critical thinking

• C01. What is critical thinking?
• C02. Improve our thinking skills
• C03. Defining critical thinking
• C04. Teaching critical thinking
• C05. Beyond critical thinking
• C06. The Cognitive Reflection Test
• C07. Critical thinking assessment
• C08. Videos and courses on critical thinking
• C10. History of critical thinking

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Plato is dear to me but dearer still is truth. - Aristotle Absence of thought is indeed a powerful factor in human affairs, statistically speaking the most powerful, not just in the conduct of the many but in the conduct of all. - Hannah Arendt To think and to be fully alive are the same. - Hannah Arendt There are no dangerous thoughts; thinking itself is dangerous. - Hannah Arendt It is a strange desire to seek power and to lose liberty. - Francis Bacon Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider. - Francis Bacon If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties. - Francis Bacon All colours will agree in the dark. - Francis Bacon I carry my thoughts about with me for a long time, often for a very long time, before writing them down. - Ludwig van Beethoven The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think -- rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with thoughts of other men. - Bill Beattie Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. - Buddha Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting. - Edmund Burke An intellectual is someone whose mind watches itself. - Albert Camus The fact is that if you have not developed language, you simply don't have access to most of human experience, and if you don't have access to experience, then you're not going to be able to think properly. - Noam Chomsky Democratic societies can’t force people. Therefore they have to control what they think. - Noam Chomsky To know what you know and what you do not know, that is true knowledge. - Confucius To study and not think is futile. To think and not study is dangerous. - Confucius Acquire new knowledge whilst thinking over the old, and you may become a teacher of others. - Confucius Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. - Noam Chomsky It is all right to say exactly what you think if you have learned to think exactly. - Marcelene Cox Thinking is the hardest work in the world; and most of us will go to great lengths to avoid it. - Louise Dudley The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts. - Charles Darwin I think. Therefore, I am. - Descartes The most important attitude that can be formed is that of desire to go on learning. - John Dewey We only think when we are confronted with a problem. - John Dewey We do not learn from experience... we learn from reflecting on experience. - John Dewey Education is a social process; education is growth; education is not preparation for life but is life itself. - John Dewey Anyone who has begun to think, places some portion of the world in jeopardy. - John Dewey Genius was 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. - Thomas Edison Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction. - Albert Einstein I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right. - Albert Einstein The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible. - Albert Einstein Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler. - Albert Einstein To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle requires creative imagination and marks real advances in science. - Albert Einstein Intellect annuls fate. So far as a man thinks, he is free. - Ralph Waldo Emerson What is the hardest task in the world? To think. - Ralph Waldo Emerson Be careful that you write accurately rather than much. - Erasmus The force of the temptation which urges us to seek for such evidence and appearances as are in favour of our desires, and to disregard those which oppose them, is wonderfully great. - Michael Faraday If you have knowledge, let others light their candle by it. - Margaret Fuller Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probably reason why so few engage in it. - Henry Ford Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. - Henry Ford All truly wise thoughts have been thought already thousands of times; but to make them truly ours, we must think them over again honestly, till they take root in our personal experience. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Irrationally held truths may be more harmful than reasoned errors. - Thomas Henry Huxley The heart of man is made to reconcile the most glaring contradictions. - David Hume There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything. Both ways save us from thinking. - Alfred Korzybski Blind commitment to a theory is not an intellectual virtue: it is an intellectual crime. - Lakatos New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common. - John Locke You see, but you do not observe. - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle It is a mistake to confound strangeness with mystery. - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Men are apt to mistake the strength of their feeling for the strength of their argument. The heated mind resents the chill touch and relentless scrutiny of logic. - William Gladstone What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure. - Samuel Johnson He who has imagination without learning has wings and no feet. - Joseph Joubert The ultimate court of appeal is observation and experiment ... not authority. - Thomas Henry Huxley A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices. - William James Genius means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an unhabitual way. - William James A problem well stated is a problem half solved. - Charles Franklin Kettering Creativity takes courage. - Henri Matisse He who establishes his argument by noise and command shows that his reason is weak. - Michel Montaigne As often as a study is cultivated by narrow minds, they will draw from it narrow conclusions. - John Stuart Mill The logic of science is the logic of business and life. - John Stuart Mill What I understand by ‘philosopher’: a terrible explosive in the presence of which everything is in danger. - Friedrich Nietzsche I don’t know what I may seem to the world, but as to myself, I seem only to have been like a boy playing on the sea-shore and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me. - Isaac Newton The great composer does not set to work because he is inspired, but becomes inspired because he is working. - Ernest Newman You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star. - Nietzsche Only the mind cannot be sent into exile. - Ovid Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past. - George Orwell The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink. - George Orwell Man is but a reed, the weakest in nature, but he is a thinking reed. - Blaise Pascal The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas. - Linus Pauling Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. - Blaise Pascal Philosophical habits of mind do not come quicker through fiber optics. Clear thinking is not aided by better dot resolution. Understanding ourselves and feeling for others does not come with a software upgrade. - Linda Ray Pratt All life is problem solving. - Karl Popper No rational argument will have a rational effect on a man who does not want to adopt a rational attitude. - Karl Popper Good tests kill flawed theories; we remain alive to guess again. - Karl Popper Problems are to the mind what exercise is to the muscles; they toughen and make strong. - Norman Vincent Peale If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking. - George Smith Patton Science is built up of facts, as a house is built of stones; but an accumulation of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house. - Henri Poincarè Where observation is concerned, chance favours only the prepared mind. - Louis Pasteur The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web. - Pablo Picasso Thinking is like loving or dying. Each of us must do it for himself. - Josiah Royce Not to be absolutely certain is, I think, one of the essential things in rationality. - Bertrand Russell To acquire immunity to eloquence is of the utmost importance to the citizens of a democracy. - Bertrand Russell To understand the actual world as it is, not as we should wish it to be, is the beginning of wisdom. - Bertrand Russell The most essential characteristic of scientific technique is that it proceeds from experiment, not from tradition. - Bertrand Russell Every man, wherever he goes, is encompassed by a cloud of comforting convictions, which move with him like flies on a summer day. - Bertrand Russell We have, in fact, two kinds of morality side by side; one which we preach but do not practice, and another which we practice but seldom preach. - Bertrand Russell We all have a tendency to think that the world must conform to our prejudices. The opposite view involves some effort of thought, and most people would die sooner than think – in fact they do so. - Bertrand Russell The great majority of men and women, in ordinary times, pass through life without ever contemplating or criticising, as a whole, either their own conditions or those of the world at large. - Bertrand Russell Without effort and change, human life cannot remain good. It is not a finished Utopia that we ought to desire, but a world where imagination and hope are alive and active. - Bertrand Russell Even when all the experts agree, they may well be mistaken. - Bertrand Russell Good reasons must, of force, give place to better. - William Shakespeare The unexamined life is not worth living. - Socrates False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil. - Socrates The advantage of the incomprehensible is that it never loses its freshness. - Paul Valery Strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and there will be an end to blind obedience. - Mary Wollstonecraft The appetites will rule if the mind is vacant. - Mary Wollstonecraft I must be allowed to add some explanatory remarks to bring the subject home to reason—to that sluggish reason, which supinely takes opinions on trust, and obstinately supports them to spare itself the labour of thinking. - Mary Wollstonecraft Some women govern their husbands without degrading themselves, because intellect will always govern. - Mary Wollstonecraft The mind will ever be unstable that has only prejudices to rest on. - Mary Wollstonecraft

And last but not least, let us not forget this quote from the Greek philosopher Diogenes the Cynics:

One original thought is worth a thousand mindless quotings.

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Sources of Insight

Unleash Your Greatest Potential

Great Thinking Quotes

“No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.”— Voltaire

Your thoughts can shape your feelings can shape your actions.

Thinking is powerful stuff whether you’re shaping your moment or shaping your lifetime.

The real beauty is that thinking is a skill, and you can develop throughout your lifetime.

To build our thinking skills, we can draw from the wisdom of the ages and modern sages.  And quotes are one of the best ways to do that.

Whether it’s positive thinking quotes, or critical thinking quotes, there are so many words of wisdom and sayings that make us think.

How Your Thoughts Shape Your Destiny

Perhaps one of the most powerful thoughts on thinking is this …

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words. 

Watch your words, for they become actions. 

Watch your actions, for they become habits.

Watch your habits, for they become character.

Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.” – Unknown

Now, let’s turn wisdom into action and fill your quiver with arrows of action, and fill your mental toolbox with a garden of insight in the form of pithy prose, one-liner reminders, and quotable quotes.

To make the most of these thinking quotes, see if you can find three thinking quotes that you can use in some way or at least make you think.

There are no right answers here, only growth and greatness.

Here’s to your excellence.

Top 10 Quotes on Thinking

• “A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.” — William James
• “Clear thinking requires courage rather than intelligence.” — Thomas Szasz
• “ Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” — Winnie the Pooh
• “Few minds wear out; more rust out.” — Christian N. Bovee
• “ It is well for people who think, to change their minds occasionally in order to keep them clean.” — Luther Burbank
• “Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about.” — Benjamin Lee Whorf
• “Misery is almost always the result of thinking.” — Joseph Joubert
• “Most of the mistakes in thinking are inadequacies of perception rather than mistakes of logic.” — Edward de Bono
• “Thought is the blossom; language the bud; action the fruit behind it.” —  Ralph Waldo Emerson
• “What we think, we become.” — Buddha

While that’s a useful bunch to have under your belt, and you may have heard of many of these before, now take a waltz through the garden below and be sure to stop and smell the thinking quotes that bloom brightest for you.

Best Quotes on Thinking

Here is a collection of thinking quotes from A – Z for your browsing pleasure …

“A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking.”

— Jerry Seinfeld

“ A good listener is usually thinking about something else.”

— Kin Hubbard

“A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.”

— William James

“A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.”

— Thomas Paine

“A man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes.”

— Mahatma Gandhi

“A man who as a physical being is always turned toward the outside, thinking that his happiness lies outside him, finally turns inward and discovers that the source is within him.”

— Soren Kierkegaard

“A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.”

— Oscar Wilde

“An idea is always a generalization, and generalization is a property of thinking. To generalize means to think.”

— Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

“A real decision is measured by the fact that you’ve taken a new action. If there’s no action, you haven’t truly decided.”

— Tony Robbins

“A sect or party is an elegant incognito devised to save a man from the vexation of thinking.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

“And these little things may not seem like much but after a while they take you off on a direction where you may be a long way off from what other people have been thinking about.”

— Roger Penrose

“And we’re seeing a higher level of consciousness and many more opportunities for people to challenge their present ways of thinking and move into a grander and larger experience of who they really are.”

— Neale Donald Walsch

“Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.”

— Albert Einstein

“ As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behavior. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to become. Take action on your behavior. Too many people want to feel, then take action. This never works.”

— John Maxwell

“At a certain age some people’s minds close up; they live on their intellectual fat.”

–William Lyon Phelps

“Begin challenging your own assumptions.  Your assumptions are your windows on the world.  Scrub them off every once in awhile, or the light won’t come in.”

— Alan Alda

“Belief is when someone else does the thinking.”

— Buckminster Fuller

“Believing is easier than thinking.  Hence so many more believers than thinkers.”

— Bruce Calvert

“Better to be without logic than without feeling.”

— Charlotte Bronte

“Building art is a synthesis of life in materialized form. We should try to bring in under the same hat not a splintered way of thinking, but all in harmony together.”

— Alvar Aalto

“Clear thinking requires courage rather than intelligence.”

— Thomas Szasz

“Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?”

— Winnie the Pooh

“Don’t be seduced into thinking that that which does not make a profit is without value.”

— Arthur Miller

“Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things.”

— Ray Bradbury

“Doubt is not a pleasant state of mind, but certainty is absurd.”

— Voltaire

“Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself its own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it.”

— Niels Bohr

“Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinking.”

— Khalil Gibran

“Fame usually comes to those who are thinking about something else.”

— Oliver Wendell Holmes

“Few minds wear out; more rust out.”

— Christian N. Bovee

“Few people think more than two or three times a year; I have made an international reputation for myself by thinking once or twice a week.”

— George Bernard Shaw

“Get into a line that you will find to be a deep personal interest, something you really enjoy spending twelve to fifteen hours a day working at, and the rest of the time thinking about.”

— Earl Nightingale

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.”

— Rick Warren

“I am neither bitter nor cynical but I do wish there was less immaturity in political thinking.”

— Franklin D. Roosevelt

“I am not what I think. I am thinking what I think.”

— Eric Butterworth

“I began to realize that thinking itself is nothing but the process of asking and answering questions.”

“I cannot cure myself of that most woeful of youth’s follies – thinking that those who care about us will care for the things that mean much to us.”

— David Herbert Lawrence

“I don’t pretend we have all the answers. But the questions are certainly worth thinking about.”

— Arthur C. Clarke

“I don’t think the human mind can comprehend the past and the future. They are both just illusions that can manipulate you into thinking theres some kind of change.”

— Bob Dylan

“I grew up thinking that whatever I wanted to do, I could do.”

— Victoria Principal

“I have a different way of thinking. I think synergistically. I’m not linear in thinking, I’m not very logical.”

— Imelda Marcos

“I have things in my head that are not like what anyone has taught me – shapes and ideas so near to me – so natural to my way of being and thinking that it hasn’t occurred to me to put them down.”

— Georgia O’Keeffe

“I knew I was a winner back in the late sixties. I knew I was destined for great things. People will say that kind of thinking is totally immodest. I agree. Modesty is not a word that applies to me in any way – I hope it never will.”

— Arnold Schwarzenegger

“I like thinking big. If you’re going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big.”

— Donald Trump

“ I like to think of thoughts as living blossoms borne by the human tree.”

— James Douglas

“I like what the future holds. I don’t like thinking about the past.”

— John Cale

“I must write it all out, at any cost. Writing is thinking. It is more than living, for it is being conscious of living.”

— Anne Morrow Lindbergh

“I once tried thinking for an entire day, but I found it less valuable than one moment of study.”

— Xun Zi

“I really wish I was less of a thinking man and more of a fool not afraid of rejection.”

— Billy Joel

“I succeeded by saying what everyone else is thinking.”

— Joan Rivers

“I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right.”

—  Albert Einstein

“I think of life as a good book. The further you get into it, the more it begins to make sense.”

— Harold Kushner

“ I was thinking that we all learn by experience, but some of us have to go to summer school.”

— Peter De Vries

“I’m against fashionable thinking.”

— Herman Kahn

“I’ve never responded well to entrenched negative thinking.”

— David Bowie

“If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.”

— George S. Patton

“If I look confused it is because I am thinking.”

— Samuel Goldwyn

“If the track is tough and the hill is rough, thinking you can just ain’t enough!”

— Shel Silverstein

“If you keep thinking about what you want to do or what you hope will happen, you don’t do it, and it won’t happen.”

— Desiderius Erasmus

“If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.”

—  C.S. Lewis

“If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.”

— Bruce Lee

“In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don’t try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present.”

— Lao Tzu

“It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.”

— James Thurber

“It is by not always thinking of yourself, if you can manage it, that you might somehow be happy. Until you make room in your life for someone as important to you as yourself, you will always be searching and lost.”

— Richard Bach

“It is neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so.”

— William Shakespeare

“It is no good getting furious if you get stuck. What I do is keep thinking about the problem but work on something else. Sometimes it is years before I see the way forward. In the case of information loss and black holes, it was 29 years.”

— Stephen Hawking

“It is well for people who think, to change their minds occasionally in order to keep them clean.”

— Luther Burbank

“It’s not the events that shape my life that determine how I feel and act, but, rather, it’s the way I interpret and evaluate my life experiences.”

“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.”

“Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about.”

— Benjamin Lee Whorf

“Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.”

— Winston Churchill

“Let your performance do the thinking.”

“Life consists in what a man is thinking of all day.”

“Living is like tearing through a museum. Not until later do you really start absorbing what you saw, thinking about it, looking it up in a book, and remembering – because you can’t take it in all at once.”

— Audrey Hepburn

“Logic teaches rules for presentation, not thinking.”

— Mason Cooley

“ Logic: The art of thinking and reasoning in strict accordance with the limitations and incapacities of the human misunderstanding.”

— Ambrose Bierce

“ Man can alter his life by altering his thinking.”

“Man falls from the pursuit of the ideal of plan living and high thinking the moment he wants to multiply his daily wants. Man’s happiness really lies in contentment.”

— Mohandas Gandhi

“Man is but a reed, the most feeble thing in nature, but he is a thinking reed.”

— Blaise Pascal

“Masterpieces are not single and solitary births; they are the outcome of many years of thinking in common, of thinking by the body of the people, so that the experience of the mass is behind the single voice.”

— Virginia Woolf

“Meditation is the dissolution of thoughts in Eternal awareness or Pure consciousness without objectification, knowing without thinking, merging finitude in infinity.”

“Men always do leave off really thinking, when the last bit of wild animal dies in them.”

“Men can live without air a few minutes, without water for about two weeks, without food for about two months – and without a new thought for years on end.”

— Kent Ruth

“Mental fight means thinking against the current, not with it. It is our business to puncture gas bags and discover the seeds of truth.”

“Misery is almost always the result of thinking.”

— Joseph Joubert

“Most of one’s life is one prolonged effort to prevent oneself thinking.”

— Aldous Huxley

“Most of the mistakes in thinking are inadequacies of perception rather than mistakes of logic.”

— Edward de Bono

“Most people are prisoners, thinking only about the future or living in the past. They are not in the present, and the present is where everything begins.”

— Carlos Santana

“Most people are unable to write because they are unable to think, and they are unable to think because they congenitally lack the equipment to do so, just as they congenitally lack the equipment to fly over the moon.”

—  Henry Louis Mencken

“My definition of an intellectual is someone who can listen to the William Tell Overture without thinking of the Lone Ranger.”

— Billy Connolly

“My hand is the extension of the thinking process – the creative process.”

— Tadao Ando

“My thought is me: that is why I cannot stop thinking. I exist because I think I cannot keep from thinking.”

— Jean-Paul Sartre

“No amount of energy will take the place of thought.  A strenuous life with its eyes shut is a kind of wild insanity.”

— Henry Van Dyke

“No matter where you go or what you do, you live your entire life within the confines of your head.” — Terry Josephson

“No problem can be solved until it is reduced to some simple form. The changing of a vague difficulty into a specific, concrete form is a very essential element in thinking.”

— J. P. Morgan

“No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.”

“Nothing comes merely by thinking about it.”

— John Wanamaker

“Nothing is more conducive to peace of mind than not having any opinion at all.”

— G.C. Lichtenberg

“Often the hands will solve a mystery that the intellect has struggled with in vain.”

— Carl G. Jung

“One ought to look a good deal at oneself before thinking of condemning others.”

“Opinion is that exercise of the human will which helps us to make a decision without information.”

— John Erskine

“Our job is not to make up anybody’s mind, but to open minds and to make the agony of the decision-making so intense you can escape only by thinking.”

— Anonymous

“Our minds are lazier than our bodies.”

— François, Duc de La Rochefoucauld

“Our thinking and our behaviour are always in anticipation of a response. It is therefore fear-based.”

— Deepak Chopra

“ Ours is the age which is proud of machines that think and suspicious of men who try to.”

— Howard Mumford Jones

“People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.”

“People mistakenly assume that their thinking is done by their head; it is actually done by the heart which first dictates the conclusion, then commands the head to provide the reasoning that will defend it.”

—  Anthony de Mello

“People who say they don’t care what people think are usually desperate to have people think they don’t care what people think.”

— George Carlin

“Physiological response to thinking and to pain is the same; and man is not given to hurting himself.”

— Martin H. Fischer

“Positive anything is better than negative nothing.”

— Elbert Hubbard

“Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will.” — Zig Ziglar

“Pressure is a word that is misused in our vocabulary. When you start thinking of pressure, it’s because you’ve started to think of failure.”

— Tommy Lasorda

“Pride is pleasure arising from a man’s thinking too highly of himself.”

— Baruch Spinoza

“Principles and rules are intended to provide a thinking man with a frame of reference.”

— Karl Von Clausewitz

“Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours.”

— John Locke

“Reading is equivalent to thinking with someone else’s head instead of with one’s own.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

“Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting.”

— Edmund Burke

“Romance is thinking about your significant other, when you are supposed to be thinking about something else.”

— Nicholas Sparks

“ Sad people dislike the happy, and the happy the sad; the quick thinking the sedate, and the careless the busy and industrious.”

“Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.”

— Carl Sagan

“Self-worth comes from one thing – thinking that you are worthy.”

— Wayne Dyer

“Sixty minutes of thinking of any kind is bound to lead to confusion and unhappiness.”

“Some people get lost in thought because it’s such unfamiliar territory.”

— G. Behn

“Some people do not become thinkers simply because their memories are too good.”

— Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

“Some years ago, I wrote a book called the Emperor’s New Mind and that book was describing a point of view I had about consciousness and why it was not something that comes about from complicated calculations.”

“Sometimes I think and other times I am.”

— Paul Valéry

“Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.”

— Bill Gates

“Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in.”

— Napoleon Bonaparte

“Talking with a friend is nothing else but thinking aloud.”

— Joseph Addison

“The act of putting pen to paper encourages pause for thought, this in turn makes us think more deeply about life, which helps us regain our equilibrium.”

— Norbet Platt

“ The average man never really thinks from end to end of his life.  The mental activity of such people is only a mouthing of clichés.”

— H.L. Mencken

“The best ideas come as jokes. Make your thinking as funny as possible.”

— David Ogilvy

“The best thinking has been done in solitude. The worst has been done in turmoil.”

— Thomas A. Edison

“ The best way of forgetting how you think you feel is to concentrate on what you know you know.”

— Mary Stewart

“The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking.”

— John Kenneth Galbraith

“The forceps of our minds are clumsy things and crush the truth a little in the course of taking hold of it.”

— H.G. Wells

“The ‘how’ thinker gets problems solved effectively because he wastes no time with futile ‘ifs’.”

—  Norman Vincent Peale

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”

— Alice Walker

“The most successful politician is he who says what the people are thinking most often in the loudest voice.”

— Theodore Roosevelt

“The most thought-provoking thing in our thought-provoking time is that we are still not thinking.”

— Martin Heidegger

“ The only place where your dream becomes impossible is in your own thinking.”

— Robert H. Schuller

“ The reason why so few people are agreeable in conversation is that each is thinking more about what he intends to say than others are saying.”

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

“The secret of living a life of excellence is merely a matter of thinking thoughts of excellence. Really, it’s a matter of programming our minds with the kind of information that will set us free.”

— Charles R. Swindoll

“The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking.”

— A. A. Milne

“The thoughts that come often unsought, and, as it were, drop into the mind, are commonly the most valuable of any we have.”

“The trouble with most people is that they think with their hopes or fears or wishes rather than with their minds.”

— Will Durant

“ The use of travelling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.”

— Samuel Johnson

“The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives.”

“The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking.”

“The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”

“There are different rules for reading, for thinking, and for talking. Writing blends all three of them.”

“ There are some days I practice positive thinking, and other days I’m not positive I am thinking.”

— John M. Eades

“There are two distinct classes of what are called thoughts: those that we produce in ourselves by reflection and the act of thinking and those that bolt into the mind of their own accord.”

“There are very many people who read simply to prevent themselves from thinking.”

— Georg C. Lichtenberg

“There is a magnet in your heart that will attract true friends. That magnet is unselfishness, thinking of others first; when you learn to live for others, they will live for you.”

— Paramahansa Yogananda

“There is an art of reading, as well as an art of thinking, and an art of writing.”

— Clarence Day

“ There is no expedient to which a man will not go to avoid the labor of thinking.”

“Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too.” – Voltaire

“Thinking about the universe has now been handed over to specialists. The rest of us merely read about it.”

— Mason Cooley

“Thinking begins only when we have come to know that reason, glorified for centuries, is the stiff-necked adversary of thought.”

“Thinking in its lower grades is comparable to paper money, and in its higher forms it is a kind of poetry.”

— Havelock Ellis

“Thinking is like loving and dying.  Each of us must do it for himself.”

— Josiah Royce

“Thinking is more interesting than knowing, but less interesting than looking.”

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“ Thinking is one thing no one has ever been able to tax.”

— Charles Kettering

“Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.”

— Henry Ford

“Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one’s thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world.”

“Thinking isn’t agreeing or disagreeing. That’s voting.”

— Robert Frost

“Thinking will not overcome fear but action will.”

— W. Clement Stone

“ Thinking: the talking of the soul with itself.”

“Those who know how to think need no teachers.”

“Thought is action in rehearsal.” — Anonymous“Thought is the blossom; language the bud; action the fruit behind it.”

—  Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Thoughts lead on to purpose, purpose leads on to actions, actions form habits, habits decide character, and character fixes our destiny.”

— Tryon Edwards

“Thoughts, like fleas, jump from man to man.  But they don’t bite everybody.”

— Stanislaw Lec

“To be a real philosopher all that is necessary is to hate some one else’s type of thinking.”

“To do anything truly worth doing, I must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in with gusto and scramble through as well as I can.”

— Og Mandino

“ To get others to come into our ways of thinking, we must go over to theirs; and it is necessary to follow, in order to lead.”

— William Hazlitt

“Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”

— John F. Kennedy

“Try not thinking of peeling an orange. Try not imagining the juice running down your fingers, the soft inner part of the peel. The smell. Try and you can’t. The brain doesn’t process negatives.”

— Doug Coupland

“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.”

— Marcus Aurelius

“We are formed and molded by our thoughts. Those whose minds are shaped by selfless thoughts give joy when they speak or act. Joy follows them like a shadow that never leaves them.”

—  Buddha

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

“We get into the habit of living before acquiring the habit of thinking. In that race which daily hastens us towards death, the body maintains its irreparable lead.”

— Albert Camus

“We teach people that they upset themselves. We can’t change the past, so we change how people are thinking, feeling and behaving today.”

— Albert Ellis

“What then do you call your soul? What idea have you of it? You cannot of yourselves, without revelation, admit the existence within you of anything but a power unknown to you of feeling and thinking.”

“When I get ready to talk to people, I spend two thirds of the time thinking what they want to hear and one third thinking about what I want to say.”

— Abraham Lincoln

“ When men yield up the privilege of thinking, the last shadow of liberty quits the horizon.”

“ When people talk of the freedom of writing, speaking or thinking I cannot choose but laugh. No such thing ever existed. No such thing now exists; but I hope it will exist. But it must be hundreds of years after you and I shall write and speak no more.”

— John Adams

“When the mind is thinking it is talking to itself.”

“ When we quit thinking primarily about ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness.”

— Joseph Campbell

“When you control a man’s thinking you do not have to worry about his actions.”

— Carter G. Woodson

“ Why should we think upon things that are lovely? Because thinking determines life. It is a common habit to blame life upon the environment. Environment modifies life but does not govern life. The soul is stronger than its surroundings.”

“Writing and learning and thinking are the same process.”

— William Zinsser

“Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.”

— Isaac Asimov

“You and I are not what we eat; we are what we think.”

— Walter Anderson

“You are educated. Your certification is in your degree. You may think of it as the ticket to the good life. Let me ask you to think of an alternative. Think of it as your ticket to change the world.”

—  Tom Brokaw

“You cannot simply put something new into a place. You have to absorb what you see around you, what exists on the land, and then use that knowledge along with contemporary thinking to interpret what you see.”

“You must continue to gain expertise, but avoid thinking like an expert.”

— Denis Waitley

“You sort of start thinking anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve.”

— J. K. Rowling

“Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes.”

— Alan Watts

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Critical thinking definition

Critical thinking, as described by Oxford Languages, is the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgement.

Active and skillful approach, evaluation, assessment, synthesis, and/or evaluation of information obtained from, or made by, observation, knowledge, reflection, acumen or conversation, as a guide to belief and action, requires the critical thinking process, which is why it's often used in education and academics.

Some even may view it as a backbone of modern thought.

However, it's a skill, and skills must be trained and encouraged to be used at its full potential.

People turn up to various approaches in improving their critical thinking, like:

• Developing technical and problem-solving skills
• Engaging in more active listening
• Actively questioning their assumptions and beliefs
• Seeking out more diversity of thought
• Opening up their curiosity in an intellectual way etc.

Is critical thinking useful in writing?

Critical thinking can help in planning your paper and making it more concise, but it's not obvious at first. We carefully pinpointed some the questions you should ask yourself when boosting critical thinking in writing:

• What information should be included?
• Which information resources should the author look to?
• What degree of technical knowledge should the report assume its audience has?
• What is the most effective way to show information?
• How should the report be organized?
• How should it be designed?
• What tone and level of language difficulty should the document have?

Usage of critical thinking comes down not only to the outline of your paper, it also begs the question: How can we use critical thinking solving problems in our writing's topic?

Let's say, you have a Powerpoint on how critical thinking can reduce poverty in the United States. You'll primarily have to define critical thinking for the viewers, as well as use a lot of critical thinking questions and synonyms to get them to be familiar with your methods and start the thinking process behind it.

Are there any services that can help me use more critical thinking?

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• Critical Thinking Quotes: Quotes About the Importance of Critical Thinking
• Critical Thinking Quotes: Quotes on the Importance of Developing the Ability to Think Critically

You're free to republish or share any of our articles (either in part or in full), which are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License . Our only requirement is that you give Ammo.com appropriate credit by linking to the original article. Spread the word; knowledge is power!

The truth is that it's up to each of us to defend our own  personal sovereignty . Hence, it's important to learn how to separate fact from fiction – to become knowledgeable, to create our own set of ideologies, and then to know how to persuasively defend them when the time comes (or change them when necessary). This is what critical thinking is all about, and below are some of our favorite quotes on the power it holds.

Quotes About Critical Thinking

“In religion and politics people’s beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination, from authorities who have not themselves examined the questions at issue but have taken them at second-hand from other non-examiners, whose opinions about them were not worth a brass farthing.” Autobiography of Mark Twain

“You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.” Eric Hoffer

“Ignorance is preferable to error, and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing than he who believes what is wrong.” Thomas Jefferson (Notes on Virginia, 1782)

“We need to teach our children how to debate the major life issues. Debate strengthens their beliefs and enables them to defend themselves against ideologies that are going to come their way.” Jim Rohn , "The Treasury of Quotes"

“To think is easy. To act is hard. But the hardest thing in the world is to act in accordance with your thinking.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together.” President Dwight Eisenhower , 1961 Farewell Address

“The opinion of 10,000 men is of no value if none of them know anything about the subject.” Marcus Aurelius

“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” Voltaire

“It is the duty of everyman, so far as his ability allows, to detect and expose delusion and error.” Thomas Paine

“There are three classes of intellects: one which comprehends by itself; another which appreciates what others comprehend; and a third which neither comprehends by itself nor by the showing of others; the first is the most excellent, the second is good, and the third is useless.” Machiavelli

“The biggest lesson I learned from Vietnam is not to trust [our own] government statements.” Senator James W. Fulbright

“The lies the government and media tell are amplifications of the lies we tell ourselves. To stop being conned, stop conning yourself.” James Wolcott , "From Fear to Eternity"

“The shepherd always tries to persuade the sheep that their interests and his own are the same.” Marie Beyle

“The evil that is in the world almost always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding.” Albert Camus

“Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it.” William Penn

“Trust everybody, but cut the cards.” Finley Peter Dunne

“Public school education in New Jersey in the 1970s was tremendously good. I mean we had formal logic! The goal: to teach us how to think critically. This is a big thing. And as far as education goes, that should be one of the overriding purposes - to learn how to think. Not rote memory of all these facts. To be able to separate the wheat from the chafe using your own brain. To look at the evidence. That to me is what's missing nowadays in society generally-speaking. And I think as a result, it makes people susceptible to some highly-questionable opinions about things. To some uninformed opinions about things. Because if you have the ability to separate fact from fiction - or at least give it a good shot - you should be able to chain together causation and come to a reasonable conclusion. This is particularly challenging in a very politicized environment.” Daniel Suarez , NYT Bestselling Author

“For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie--deliberate, contrived and dishonest--but the myth--persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the cliches of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.” President John F. Kennedy , Yale University Commencement, June 11, 1962

“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynihan

“He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them. But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion... Nor is it enough that he should hear the opinions of adversaries from his own teachers, presented as they state them, and accompanied by what they offer as refutations. He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them...he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.” John Stuart Mill , On Liberty

The Ten Commandments of Logic: Thou shalt not attack the person's character, but the argument. (Ad hominem) Thou shalt not misrepresent or exaggerate a person's argument in order to make them easier to attack. (Straw man fallacy) Thou shalt not use small numbers to represent the whole.(Hasty generalizations) Thou shalt not argue thy position by assuming one of its premises is true. (Begging the question) Thou shalt not claim that because something occurred before, it must be the cause. (Post hoc/False cause) Thou shalt not reduce the argument down to two possibilities.(False dichotomy) Thou shalt not argue that because of our ignorance, claim must be true or false. (Ad ignorantum) Thou shalt not lay the burden of proof onto him that is questioning the claim. (Burden of proof reversal) Thou shalt not assume “this” follows “that” when it has no logical connection. (Non sequitir) Thou shalt not argue that because a premise is popular, therefore it must be true. (Bandwagon fallacy) Unknown

Quotes: Concepts & Ideas

• Second Amendment Quotes: Pro-Gun Quotes on Individual Freedom and the Right to Bear Arms
• Gun Confiscation Quotes: Quotes About Gun Control from Politicians and Gun Grabbers
• Personal Sovereignty and the State Quotes: Quotes About State Power and Individual Freedom
• Military Wit and Wisdom Quotes: Quotes About Combat and War from the Military
• American Exceptionalism: Quotes About the American Dream and What Makes America Unique
• Freedom of Speech and Political Correctness Quotes: Quotes About the First Amendment
• Warrior Mindset Quotes: Quotes About Mental Toughness and Overcoming Life's Challenges
• Taxes and Free Market Quotes: Quotes About Taxes and Their Impact on the Free Market
• Military-Industrial Complex: Quotes About Defense Contractors' Insidious Relationship with D.C.
• How Civilizations Fall: Quotes to Remind Us How and Why Empires Collapse
• The Importance of Historical Knowledge: Quotes About Studying and Understanding History
• Privacy and Surveillance: Quotes on How Government Surveillance Destroys Personal Freedom
• Latin Phrases Patriots Should Know: Patriotic Latin Phrases and Their Translations

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7 Powerful Critical Thinking Quotes – Deconstructed

• Self-improvement

Online, you often find yourself surrounded by extracts, maxims, carefully manufactured word combinations. Or if we can place them inside a single category: quotes. Quotes that make you feel hopeful about the future and comfortable with your past. And while reading those your mind gets pumped. When you close the browser. Open the door to life. You start making the same mistakes you ordinarily do.

The fad of sharing quotes never gets old.

I don’t know which one is more popular.

Sharing quotes of famous people like Albert Einstein or sharing cat memes. Probably something in between – an Einstein quote made like a cat meme.

What makes quotes a preferred online asset – for both consumption and creation – can be portrayed in two points:

• Quotes provide packed wisdom and a delusional state of awe.
• The person sharing quotes believes that he’s getting closer to smartness by the mare recitation of wisdom words.

Both of these, are heavily over-represented.

When you read a quote. While it might feel like you are collecting coins that pump your IQ. It’s just a temporary feeling of satisfaction.

You feel motivated – or smarter, or better, or all included. But this mixture of sensations completely vanishes when your finger scrolls down the page.

All of this, might make you wonder…

Why then create a whole post that talks about quotes – critical thinking quotes, as the title suggests?

Why Spend Time Pondering Critical Thinking Quotes?

The main value of words on a page is misunderstood.

We think that the actual words are the main nugget. That’s not the case.

Real gold is always under a layer of thick wrapping.

As we have to remove the packaging to get and use an item we’ve purchased. In a similar fashion, we need to unpack great quotes.

What I mean by unpacking is not just reading a strangely good word combination and then moving along. Rather, stopping to think about what the person said, why he said it, and what we can derive from these words that can make our lives less miserable.

That’s the essence of critical thinking .

You don’t just glance at something and think you understand it. No. You gently grab it. Hold it. And examine it from all sides. Look at it from the microscope of your consciousness to comprehend it. To find the real value hidden inside.

Quotes. Well-crafted words can acquire your attention.

But to leave a lasting impact on your mind. They need to be deconstructed.

That’s what we are going to do below.

I’m taking the best quotes from some of the great thinkers on critical thinking and inspecting them.

While I’m positive that you’ll be familiar with some of the citations below. I’m also sure that we’ll uncover more insights than you’ll ordinarily get when consuming words on a page.

Here we go…

7 Powerful Critical Thinking Quotes:

1. “the value of a college education is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think.” albert einstein.

What’s considered important in school is unusable in real life. You are trained and optimized around remembering facts about the past that make little positive difference about your future. We are rarely taught how to think properly. How to think better .

Surely having a broad understanding of our history is beneficial. Sadly, teachers embed a belief that we should know dates of past events with surgical precious.

And not only in schools. Modern media is also trying to convince us that we should master isolated facts. That richness is in knowing random inputs about all sorts of things.

That’s a phenomenon observed in the book Amusing Ourselves To Death . Ever since the telegraph was invented, we believe that we should learn about things that have a little positive impact on our lives.

For instance, solving a crossword puzzle might seem like a worthy exercise. But how answering 50+ completely random questions will help you in life?

The value in learning. Reading books. Watching videos even online. It’s not so much about remembering the facts. But about tailoring, adjusting how you think.

When you think better. You’ll perform better.

Thinking is the particle that pushes you in the right direction. Not holding all sorts of random facts.

2. “When we blindly adopt a religion, a political system, a literary dogma, we become automatons.” Anaïs Nin

From an early age, we are steered towards certain beliefs and value systems. Some good. Some bad. Some awfully wicked.

Some of these are intentionally promoted by our teachers and parents – i.e., religion, good manners, etc. Some simply occur by the act of living and by our biological needs – desire for money, power, appreciation.

There is no harm in automatically adopting a behavior such as helping an old lady cross the street. But for most of the other things we hold in our heads, we should know why we have them.

For instance, these days it seems natural to be online. To have a social media profile and to participate in the never-ending race of awesomeness. Who got a new car? Who got a new job? Who went on vacation?

Involvement in the social media race seems so unquestionable.

But have you recently asked yourself, “Why are you really using social media?” Is it because you want to connect with others? Because it makes you feel motivated and inspired? Or because you feel the need to be inside because others are there, too? Because you want to showcase how much cooler you are than the rest of the walking undead?

I bet is the last part.

Too often, we watch and get things because others watch them and own them. But as Anaïs Nin above said. This blind obeying makes us mere automatons. We don’t hold the steering wheel of our lives. We are simply responding to the reaction of others. Which means that we are passengers on a bus that is headed towards somewhere. Somewhere we don’t know.

3. “If chess has any relationship to film-making. It would be in the way it helps you develop patience and discipline in choosing between alternatives at a time when an impulsive decision seems very attractive.” Stanley Kubrick

The only way an impulsive decision can be the best decision is when you’ve mastered a field . When you’re well-versed in a topic and extremely confident in your skills. In these situations, your intuition and tacit knowledge provide involuntarily a good answer. Plainly, you think fast.

This type of response – quick and precise – however. It’s usually only available to you in areas where you have extensive experience.

For the rest of the cases, the quote above stands.

Any activity that allows you to slow down and think before you act. That gives you room to consider the alternatives. Is an activity worth holding.

As you can’t win a chess game if you don’t pause and consider the contra moves of your opponent. You can’t win in life if you don’t pause and consider how what you do today can turn around and slap you back in the future.

4. “You do not win by struggling to the top of a caste system. You win by refusing to be trapped within one at all.” Naomi Wolf

As the authors of the book The Social Animal explain, we are social animals.

Our foundational particles push us towards relationships. We feel better when we are around other people.

But this comes with certain costs. When people are around other people. A natural hierarchy is formed. There is an alpha male/woman and people who want to take his/her place.

And even if you do reach the top position in your social circle. Which is also the case for any other tall structure formed by men – e.g., the corporate ladder. The battle is never over. You now have to defend your place.

A solution few are willing to accept is gently removing yourself from the modern rat race .

Take social media for example.

If you use it. You use it for validation. Every time you throw something in the endless abyss of filtered pictures, you are doing it to tell others that you are progressing in some way. But others are not sitting idle. They are, too, advancing. So the only way you can keep your position is to keep throwing status updates about how you are improving – even if you are not really improving.

This creates quite a stressful daily life. You no longer just live. Life becomes a sophisticated arena. There are no fist fights, however. The battle is for prestige – who is richer, better, smarter. Therefore, your day-to-day life becomes trying to figure out how to show to others that your life is good – even when life is bad.

The only way you can win this game is if you totally remove yourself from the equation.

You no longer share how life is treating you. Nor remain interested in how others apparently become richer and prettier. You just focus on the act of living.

5. “People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.” Søren Kierkegaard

Our desire to self-express is motivated by our need to feel valued. What we say is optimized not based on thinking. But optimized towards receiving – these days – likes and comments.

All of this means that we say a lot of things, but we don’t say anything important.

We just dump out more noise in the already noisy world. Hoping, praying, that others will notice us.

For the critical thinker, silence is more than the absence of noise. It’s opening the window and taking a breath of fresh air. A refreshing change from the polluted atmosphere.

Speaking because you can doesn’t mean that you necessarily should. Thinking, however, shouldn’t follow this logic. You should always think. Which will oftentimes lead to not speaking.

6. “Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.” Marie Curie

We fear the unknown for a simple reason. The brain is constantly trying to predict what will happen next. What the other person will do, so we can prepare the body and the mind for our reaction.

When we face an unfamiliar situation. The brain simply freezes. It doesn’t know what to do. That’s why we tend to avoid things we don’t quite understand.

Paradoxically, the only way we can advance. The only way we can get outside our comfort zone is to put ourselves in positions we are not fully prepared for – e.g., a new job, facing a new challenge, a new field altogether.

So, when you find yourself struggling to find a good solution to a problem. Or you a presented with a hard-to-digest concept. This is a sign. It means that you don’t yet know the full story. You don’t completely understand the situation. What you need to do is to go and find it.

When you understand the problem. Learn more about difficult concepts. You will clear away the fog. You will be prepared. You’ll have the courage to move forward.

7. “I don’t care that they stole my idea. I care that they don’t have any of their own.” Nikola Tesla

Lack of critical thinking will lead to either stealing ideas or trying to discourage others to pursue their ideas.

Ideas. Fresh perspectives that suggest a certain course of action. These are needed for better decision-making and moving further ahead.

But how to have them?

Here’s where one more quote by Nikola Tesla enters on how to produce good ideas:

“Be alone, that is the secret of invention; be alone, that is when ideas are born.” Nikola Tesla

Some of the ideas that will emerge in your brain will be useless. That’s for sure. But that’s part of the process of generating great ideas and great thinking.

Each of us has an idea-generation style. A way to find solutions to problems. Some instantaneously generate reasonable ideas regardless of the location. Others are capable of doing this exercise only when alone.

Make things easier for yourself by figuring out how you think best. Do you have to be alone? Surrounded by others? Or a combination of both – a time around others and then taking some time away to process the information.

Some Closing Thoughts

Quotes shared online seem like a desperate attempt to capture the attention of other people.

Simply because you can quote someone doesn’t mean anything particular.

You found useful words said by someone else. Good. Now what?

To be sufficiently skillful at this critical thinking judo requires questioning and observation.

This also applies when we examine the words of great people. The people who said the things above.

One smart person saying something is as useful as finding a wrench on the street. If you don’t know how to use it. It will be of no use to you.

I hope that you found handy the deconstruction of some of the best quotes on critical thinking. But what I also hope is that the whole post provided you with a new way to approach words on a page.

Not just agreeing with what was said – regardless of who said it. But to try something new. Something different.

Take an idea. Hold it in your hand and look at it from all sides.

Then, after examining it. Ask yourself: “What’s true about this and what is not?”

Add to your critical thinking knowledge by reading the following:

• 9 Provoking Critical Thinking Questions to Ignite Deep Reflective Discourse
• 5 Critical Thinking Strategies To Sharpen Your Thinking
• Critical Thinking Process (Or Acting Wisely Even If You’re Not Very Bright)
• 7 Popular Self-Discipline Quotes Explained

Trouble Saying No to Temptations?

Join Farview: A newsletter fostering long-term thinking in a world driven by impatience. Trusted by over 4,300 thinkers, Farview is a concise, thoughtfully organized newsletter helping you handle the self-sabotaging thoughts trying to corrupt you.

Related Entries

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By Colin Baker Leaders Staff

Colin Baker

Leadership and Business Writer

Colin Baker is a business writer for Leaders Media. He has a background in as a television journalism, working as...

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Updated Oct 18, 2023

55 Jordan Peterson Quotes to Inspire You in Your Life

55 of the best jordan peterson quotes, top resources by jordan peterson.

A bestselling author, world-famous psychologist, and a former professor at Harvard, Jordan Peterson has gained a reputation worldwide for his critical thinking and provocative writings. He has appeared on numerous podcasts such as The Rubin Report and The Joe Rogan Experience , with many YouTube videos featuring him reaching millions of views. Regarded by many as a modern philosopher, Peterson’s lectures and writings have proven highly influential among political and business leaders.

Peterson has gained acclaim for his use of first principles thinking, where he seeks to uncover the truth of many societal problems. However, his lessons often delve into finding solutions to the personal problems someone may face. Peterson often gives advice to help people find direction and success in life . Furthermore, he encourages them to think beyond surface-level ideas and look for ways they can improve themselves. The following Jordan Peterson quotes on life can help inspire you to be better and overcome your personal challenges.

1. “Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today.”

2. “If you aren’t moving forward in your life there is some idea, mode of action, or habit you’re so in love with you won’t let go of it.”

3. “The better ambitions have to do with the development of character and ability, rather than status and power. Status you can lose. You carry character with you wherever you go, and it allows you to prevail against adversity.”

4. “You’re not everything you could be, and you know it.”

5. “Self-love is the only antidote to the chaos of existence. And if you don’t love and care for yourself and your own needs, you will cause unnecessary suffering both for yourself and others.”

6. “Perhaps you are overvaluing what you don’t have and undervaluing what you do.”

7. “You must determine where you are going in your life, because you cannot get there unless you move in that direction. Random wandering will not move you forward. It will instead disappoint and frustrate you and make you anxious and unhappy and hard to get along with (and then resentful, and then vengeful, and then worse).”

8. “Pursue what is meaningful (not what is expedient).”

9. “You should be better than you are, but it’s not because you’re worse than other people. It’s because you’re not everything you should be.”

10. “To learn is to die voluntarily and be born again, in great ways and small.”

11. “Don’t be a slave to stupid rules.”

12. “When you are visited by chaos and swallowed up; when nature curses you or someone you love with illness; or when tyranny rends asunder something of value that you have built, it is salutary to know the rest of the story. All of that misfortune is only the bitter half of the tale of existence, without taking note of the heroic element of redemption or the nobility of the human spirit requiring a certain responsibility to shoulder. We ignore that addition to the story at our peril, because life is so difficult that losing sight of the heroic part of existence could cost us everything.”

13. “Don’t underestimate the power of vision and direction. These are irresistible forces, able to transform what might appear to be unconquerable obstacles into traversable pathways and expanding opportunities. Strengthen the individual. Start with yourself. Take care with yourself. Define who you are. Refine your personality. Choose your destination and articulate your Being. As the great nineteenth-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche so brilliantly noted, ‘He whose life has a why can bear almost any how.’”

14. “Face the demands of life voluntarily. Respond to a challenge, instead of bracing for catastrophe.”

15. “You can do an awful lot by writing down what happened to you and thinking it through.”

16. “If you don’t stand your ground, then all that happens is people push you backwards. And they will push you, and push you, and push you, until you fall off a cliff.”

17. “If you fulfill your obligations every day you don’t need to worry about the future.”

18. “Truth, virtue, and courage are not necessarily enough, but they are our best bet.”

19. “So, listen, to yourself and to those with whom you are speaking. Your wisdom then consists not of the knowledge you already have, but the continual search for knowledge, which is the highest form of wisdom.”

20. “You need to consider the future And think, ‘What might my life look like if I were caring for myself properly?’”

21. “To stand up straight with your shoulders back is to accept the terrible responsibility of life, with eyes wide open. It means deciding to voluntarily transform the chaos of potential into the realities of habitable order. It means adopting the burden of self-conscious vulnerability, and accepting the end of the unconscious paradise of childhood, where finitude and mortality are only dimly comprehended. It means willingly undertaking the sacrifices necessary to generate a productive and meaningful reality (it means acting to please God, in the ancient language).”

22. “The successful among us delay gratification and bargain with the future.”

23. “You cannot be protected from the things that frighten you and hurt you, but if you identify with the part of your being that is responsible for transformation, then you are always the equal, or more than the equal of the things that frighten you.”

24. “It took untold generations to get you where you are. A little gratitude might be in order. If you’re going to insist on bending the world to your way, you better have your reasons.”

25. “Can you imagine yourself in 10 years if instead of avoiding the things you know you should do, you actually did them every single day—that’s powerful.”

26. “The light that you discover in your life is proportionate to the amount of the darkness you are willing to forthrightly confront.”

27. “The way that you make people resilient is by voluntarily exposing them to things that they are afraid of and that makes them uncomfortable.”

28. “It is much better to make friends with what you do not know than with what you do know, as there is an infinite supply of the former but a finite stock of the latter.”

29. “When you have something to say, silence is a lie.”

30. “Once someone has spent enough time cultivating bad habits and biding their time, they are much diminished. Much of what they could have been has dissipated.”

31. “And if you think tough men are dangerous, wait until you see what weak men are capable of.”

32. “Adopt responsibility for your own well-being, try to put your family together, try to serve your community, try to seek for eternal truth. That’s the sort of thing that can ground you in your life, enough so that you can withstand the difficulty of life.”

33. “The secret to your existence is right in front of you. And it manifests itself as all those things you know you should do but you’re avoiding.”

34. “Truth is the handmaiden of love.”

35. “If your life is not what it could be, try telling the truth. If you cling desperately to an ideology or wallow in nihilism, try telling the truth. If you feel weak and rejected, and desperate, and confused, try telling the truth. In Paradise, everyone speaks the truth. That is what makes it Paradise. Tell the truth. Or, at least, don’t lie.”

36. “It’s better to do something badly than to not do it at all.”

37. “Always place your becoming above your current being.”

38. “It’s in responsibility that most people find the meaning that sustains them through life. It’s not in happiness. It’s not in impulsive pleasure.”

39. “You should be careful, therefore, to live your life fully, and marriage and children and grandchildren, and all the trouble and heartbreak that accompanies all of that, is much of what life has to offer. Miss it at your great peril.”

40. “The truth is something that burns, it burns off deadwood and people don’t like having their deadwood burnt off often because they’re 95 percent deadwood.”

41. “If you can’t understand why someone is doing something, look at the consequences of their actions, whatever they might be, and then infer the motivations from their consequences.”

42. “When you have something to say, silence is a lie.”

43. “I believe that the good that people do, small though it may appear, has more to do with the good that manifests broadly in the world than people think, and I believe the same about evil. We are each more responsible for the state of the world than we believe, or would feel comfortable believing.”

44. “Love is the desire to see unnecessary suffering ameliorated.”

45. “You can only find out what you actually believe (rather than what you think you believe) by watching how you act. You simply don’t know what you believe, before that. You are too complex to understand yourself.”

46. “You should take care of, help, and be good to yourself the same way you would take care of, help, and be good to someone you loved and valued.”

47. “Work as hard as you possibly can on at least one thing and see what happens.”

48. “If you’re going to be successful you need to be smart, conscientious, and tough.”

49. “The purpose of life is finding the largest burden that you can bear and bearing it.”

50. “Notice that opportunity lurks where responsibility has been abdicated.”

51. “Ideologies are substitutes for true knowledge, and ideologues are always dangerous when they come to power, because a simple-minded I-know-it-all approach is no match for the complexity of existence.”

52. “To suffer terribly and to know yourself as the cause: that is Hell.”

53. “If you are not willing to be a fool, you can’t become a master.”

54. “In order to be able to think, you have to risk being offensive.”

55. “If you cannot bring peace to your own household, how dare you try and rule a city?” 

These inspirational quotes are only the tip of the iceberg of Jordan Peterson’s writings. If you want to learn more, check out Peterson’s bestselling books.

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life

You can also watch the following videos featuring Jordan Peterson.

The Choice We All Have, But Only a Few Apply It

30 Minutes for the NEXT 30 Years of Your LIFE

Your Life Is Built For More

Looking for more inspirational quotes? Check out the following:

50 Family Quotes to Keep By Your Desk

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Critical Thinking Using Inspirational Quotes

• Vocabulary (What words within the quote should we look at more closely to understand the quote?)
• Literal Meaning (What's the author of the quote saying?)
• Deeper Meaning (What's the author really trying to say? Is there symbolism? metaphor? analogy?)
• Language (Does the author use word play? Is there an certain economy of words that adds clarity to the quote?)
• Context (What are the circumstances surrounding the time in which the quote was said? What is the historical background? What is the author of the quote famous for?)
• Transcendence (To whom does the quote apply? Does it transcend age? gender? culture? time period?)

• First, students record the exact quote and the author of the quote.
• Second, in their own words, students tell what they think the author of the quote was trying to say. What did they mean with these words? What did they want you to know?
• Third, students think about how the quote relates to their own life. How does this impact you? How are you affected by these words?
• Last, I like to have students give a rating, on a scale of one to four hearts, showing how personally meaningful the quote is to the student. Especially if they respond to quotes on a consistent basis, this allows them to quickly refer to which quotes they particularly like and want to remember.

10 Logical Quotes That Will Improve Your Critical Thinking

We are humans, which means we are emotional and social beings. We are not born with logic and rational thinking.

We develop it because it’s the only way we can make better decisions.

Decisions that are flawed with emotions are usually bad.

But we don’t understand how bad they are because our critical thinking is weak, and we are too attached to our emotions.

This is a really bad trait. Most successful people make their decisions based on critical thinking and logical thought.

Because the world doesn’t revolve around them, and making emotional-based decisions doesn’t get you anywhere.

That’s why I have collected these quotes.

Critical thinking doesn’t just help you in your work life, but also in your relationships and social life.

These quotes will challenge you to think deeply and logically about the world around you,

encouraging you to question assumptions and analyze situations in a rational and objective manner.

Here are the 10 Logical Quotes that will improve your Critical Thinking:

1. You have to train your mind to be stronger than your emotions or else you’ll lose yourself every time.

The truth is not always sweet; it can be harsh.

When reality is tough, lying may seem like a remedy, but the consequences can be really bad.

If you don’t train your mind to be stronger than your emotions, you are more likely to be manipulated and deceived.

However, if you use your mind in times when others are trying to use you, you will emerge victorious.

2. Don’t fear failure. Fear being in the exact same place next year as you are today.

The fear of failure has stopped many people from embarking on a journey that could have entirely changed their lives.

But here’s the thing: the worst situation you should fear is remaining the same person while others are progressing in their lives.

3. When people can’t control you, they try to control how people view you.

This is what losers and weak people often do.

When they are defeated, they use other means to convince themselves that they are right.

They usually have a victim mindset. Stand your ground against all lies.

4. Be teachable, you’re not always right.

Be an open-minded person. No one is always right.

Learn to change your mind when presented with new information based on proven scientific studies.

We live in an age of information; however, you have to protect yourself against misinformation.

But when the new information is proven to be correct, be teachable.

5. Don’t trust what people say, watch what they do.

Words are cheap, and you shouldn’t trust them.

Don’t buy into someone’s dream just because they are good at talking.

6. Stand up for yourself even if no one else is on your side.

People not standing up for you doesn’t mean you are wrong. Stand up for yourself even if no one else does.

7. Nothing will change until you change.

Change starts with you. If you want to change your life, start by changing your mindset, your habits, your environment, and your perspective.

Your life won’t change until you change yourself.

8. Don’t let people know too much about you. Be selective about what you share and who you share it with.

People don’t attract what they don’t know. Not everyone is your friend or wishes the best for you, so keep your circle small.

9. Sometimes the answer is in their behavior.

People may say different things, but their behaviors reveal their true character.

10. Learn to stay calm when things aren’t working in your favor. That’s how you turn the tide.

I've been in the world of Quotes for more than 3 years. Creative ideas and books enthusiast. Founder of Motivated Version.

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Wow these are some powerful quotes to live by. Hope more young entrepreneurs will see this post, thanks for sharing!

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• What Is Critical Thinking? | Definition & Examples

What Is Critical Thinking? | Definition & Examples

Published on May 30, 2022 by Eoghan Ryan . Revised on May 31, 2023.

Critical thinking is the ability to effectively analyze information and form a judgment .

To think critically, you must be aware of your own biases and assumptions when encountering information, and apply consistent standards when evaluating sources .

Critical thinking skills help you to:

• Identify credible sources
• Evaluate and respond to arguments
• Assess alternative viewpoints
• Test hypotheses against relevant criteria

Table of contents

Why is critical thinking important, critical thinking examples, how to think critically, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about critical thinking.

Critical thinking is important for making judgments about sources of information and forming your own arguments. It emphasizes a rational, objective, and self-aware approach that can help you to identify credible sources and strengthen your conclusions.

Critical thinking is important in all disciplines and throughout all stages of the research process . The types of evidence used in the sciences and in the humanities may differ, but critical thinking skills are relevant to both.

In academic writing , critical thinking can help you to determine whether a source:

• Is free from research bias
• Provides evidence to support its research findings
• Considers alternative viewpoints

Outside of academia, critical thinking goes hand in hand with information literacy to help you form opinions rationally and engage independently and critically with popular media.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Critical thinking can help you to identify reliable sources of information that you can cite in your research paper . It can also guide your own research methods and inform your own arguments.

Outside of academia, critical thinking can help you to be aware of both your own and others’ biases and assumptions.

Academic examples

However, when you compare the findings of the study with other current research, you determine that the results seem improbable. You analyze the paper again, consulting the sources it cites.

You notice that the research was funded by the pharmaceutical company that created the treatment. Because of this, you view its results skeptically and determine that more independent research is necessary to confirm or refute them. Example: Poor critical thinking in an academic context You’re researching a paper on the impact wireless technology has had on developing countries that previously did not have large-scale communications infrastructure. You read an article that seems to confirm your hypothesis: the impact is mainly positive. Rather than evaluating the research methodology, you accept the findings uncritically.

Nonacademic examples

However, you decide to compare this review article with consumer reviews on a different site. You find that these reviews are not as positive. Some customers have had problems installing the alarm, and some have noted that it activates for no apparent reason.

You revisit the original review article. You notice that the words “sponsored content” appear in small print under the article title. Based on this, you conclude that the review is advertising and is therefore not an unbiased source. Example: Poor critical thinking in a nonacademic context You support a candidate in an upcoming election. You visit an online news site affiliated with their political party and read an article that criticizes their opponent. The article claims that the opponent is inexperienced in politics. You accept this without evidence, because it fits your preconceptions about the opponent.

There is no single way to think critically. How you engage with information will depend on the type of source you’re using and the information you need.

However, you can engage with sources in a systematic and critical way by asking certain questions when you encounter information. Like the CRAAP test , these questions focus on the currency , relevance , authority , accuracy , and purpose of a source of information.

When encountering information, ask:

• Who is the author? Are they an expert in their field?
• What do they say? Is their argument clear? Can you summarize it?
• When did they say this? Is the source current?
• Where is the information published? Is it an academic article? Is it peer-reviewed ?
• Why did the author publish it? What is their motivation?
• How do they make their argument? Is it backed up by evidence? Does it rely on opinion, speculation, or appeals to emotion ? Do they address alternative arguments?

Critical thinking also involves being aware of your own biases, not only those of others. When you make an argument or draw your own conclusions, you can ask similar questions about your own writing:

• Am I only considering evidence that supports my preconceptions?
• Is my argument expressed clearly and backed up with credible sources?
• Would I be convinced by this argument coming from someone else?

If you want to know more about ChatGPT, AI tools , citation , and plagiarism , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• ChatGPT vs human editor
• ChatGPT citations
• Is ChatGPT trustworthy?
• Using ChatGPT for your studies
• What is ChatGPT?
• Chicago style
• Paraphrasing

 Plagiarism

• Types of plagiarism
• Self-plagiarism
• Avoiding plagiarism
• Academic integrity
• Consequences of plagiarism
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Critical thinking refers to the ability to evaluate information and to be aware of biases or assumptions, including your own.

Like information literacy , it involves evaluating arguments, identifying and solving problems in an objective and systematic way, and clearly communicating your ideas.

Critical thinking skills include the ability to:

You can assess information and arguments critically by asking certain questions about the source. You can use the CRAAP test , focusing on the currency , relevance , authority , accuracy , and purpose of a source of information.

Ask questions such as:

• Who is the author? Are they an expert?
• How do they make their argument? Is it backed up by evidence?

A credible source should pass the CRAAP test  and follow these guidelines:

• The information should be up to date and current.
• The author and publication should be a trusted authority on the subject you are researching.
• The sources the author cited should be easy to find, clear, and unbiased.
• For a web source, the URL and layout should signify that it is trustworthy.

Information literacy refers to a broad range of skills, including the ability to find, evaluate, and use sources of information effectively.

Being information literate means that you:

• Know how to find credible sources
• Use relevant sources to inform your research
• Understand what constitutes plagiarism
• Know how to cite your sources correctly

Confirmation bias is the tendency to search, interpret, and recall information in a way that aligns with our pre-existing values, opinions, or beliefs. It refers to the ability to recollect information best when it amplifies what we already believe. Relatedly, we tend to forget information that contradicts our opinions.

Although selective recall is a component of confirmation bias, it should not be confused with recall bias.

On the other hand, recall bias refers to the differences in the ability between study participants to recall past events when self-reporting is used. This difference in accuracy or completeness of recollection is not related to beliefs or opinions. Rather, recall bias relates to other factors, such as the length of the recall period, age, and the characteristics of the disease under investigation.

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50+ Best Thinking Quotes To Inspire Deep Insights And Creativity

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There is a distinction to be made between having thoughts and actually thinking. The first is something we all have, including animals, according to scientists. However, most of us do not engage in thinking, the act of actually forming and processing thoughts.

Thoughts are the random ramblings of our minds, and they rarely make sense. They are fleeting, and when a good idea appears, it vanishes just as fast.

Sometimes we have thoughts that even we don’t understand. Thoughts that aren’t even true—that aren’t really how we feel—but they’re running through our heads anyway because they’re interesting to think about. If you could hear other people’s thoughts, you’d overhear things that are true as well as things that are completely random. And you wouldn’t know one from the other. It’d drive you insane. What’s true? What’s not? A million ideas, but what do they mean?” ― Jay Asher

And that is why we need to take some time for ourselves to think.

When we say thinking it’s not about going full-on Albert Einstein, but rather thinking that has taken some time and significant processing before expressing or acting on it.

Because rash actions and unrestrained speech frequently get you into trouble. Thinking on the other hand allows you to deliberate with yourself, know and understand your thoughts, and channel your thinking toward a coherent, sensible, enlightening, and deep insight for creativity and action.

So if you want to improve your life, spare some of your time to think. Once the thinking is done, you can then proceed in doing.

Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action comes, stop thinking and go in. – Napoleon Bonaparte

Continue reading for 50+ more of the best thinking quotes to inspire deep insights and creativity.

50+ Best Thinking Quotes

Thinking quotes about life.

We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them. – Albert Einstein

Thinking is by far the most underrated activity. People consider it “unproductive” to sit on a bench and think. So they spend their lives doing things they never thought through. An hour of clear thinking can yield a conclusion that changes your life. – Johnny Uzan

We are addicted to our thoughts. We cannot change anything if we cannot change our thinking. – Santosh Kalwar

To think is easy. To act is difficult. To act as one thinks is the most difficult of all. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Controlling your life starts with controlling your thoughts. – Dan Go

Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure. – Oliver Sacks

Five percent of the people think; ten percent of the people think they think; and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think. – Thomas A. Edison

Thoughts are circular, they don’t take you anywhere. They don’t have feet-they can’t gain any ground. They can trap you if you don’t eventually stand up and make a move. – Katie Kacvinsky

Thinking is learning all over again how to see, directing one’s consciousness, making of every image a privileged place. – Albert Camus

The only place where your dream becomes impossible is in your own thinking. – Robert H Schuller

We must begin thinking like a river if we are to leave a legacy of beauty and life for future generations. – David Brower

To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all. – Oscar Wilde

Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours. – John Locke

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. – Albert Einstein

People mistakenly assume that their thinking is done by their head; it is actually done by the heart which first dictates the conclusion, then commands the head to provide the reasoning that will defend it. – Anthony de Mello

Thinking is man’s only basic virtue, from which all the others proceed. And his basic vice, the source of all his evils, is that nameless act which all of you practice, but struggle never to admit: the act of blanking out, the willful suspension of one’s consciousness, the refusal to think – not blindness, but the refusal to see; not ignorance, but the refusal to know. – Ayn Rand

The way forward is found on a path through the wilderness of the head and heart—reason and emotion. Thinking, knowing, understanding. – Laurence Gonzales

We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far. – Swami Vivekananda

Don’t wait for your feelings to change to take the action. Take the action and your feelings will change. – Barbara Baron

Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so. – Bertrand Russell

Words make you think. Music makes you feel. A song makes you feel a thought. – Yip Harburg

…most people in the world don’t really use their brains to think. And people who don’t think are the ones who don’t listen to others. – Haruki Murakami

Thinking is a bit uncomfortable, but you’ll get used to it. A matter of time and practice. – Lloyd Alexander

The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones. – John Maynard Keynes

Life is an experimental journey undertaken involuntarily. It is a journey of the spirit through the material world and, since it is the spirit that travels, it is the spirit that is experienced. That is why there exist contemplative souls who have lived more intensely, more widely, more tumultuously than others who have lived their lives purely externally. – Fernando Pessoa

Creativity involves breaking out of expected patterns in order to look at things in a different way. – Edward de Bono

Thought moves with the different whereas silence lives inside those with the loudest voice. – Daniel Kemp

Thinking is the hardest work anyone can do, which is probably the reason why we have so few thinkers. – Thomas S. Monson

Deep thinking quotes

If everyone is thinking alike, then no one is thinking. – Benjamin Franklin

Right thinking comes with self-knowledge. Without understanding yourself, you have no basis for thought. – Jiddu Krishnamurti

The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking. – John Kenneth Galbraith

Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains. – Steve Jobs

The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks. – Christopher Hitchens

The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. A second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. A first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking. – A.A. Milne

Pondering is a little like considering and a little like thinking, but looser. To ponder, one must let the facts roll around the rim of the mind’s roulette wheel, coming to settle in whichever slot they feed pulled to. – Christopher Moore

The greatest enemy of good thinking is busyness. – John C. Maxwell

Our thinking will automatically improve when we remember the words of Paul: ‘know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and the spirit of God dwelleth in you? – Thomas S. Monson

The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking. – Albert Einstein

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. – Kahlil Gibran

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning. – Albert Einstein

Thinking quotes funny

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. – Oscar Wilde

I prefer not to think before speaking. I like being as surprised as everyone else by what comes out of my mouth. – Unknown

Try walking forward while looking over your shoulder and see how far you get. The same goes for life. Look forward! – Martin Henderson

If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much. – Jim Rohn

When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened. – Winston Churchill

I think God, in creating man, somewhat overestimated his ability. – Oscar Wilde

Whenever I’m about to do something, I think, ‘Would an idiot do that?’ And if they would, I do not do that thing. – Dwight Schrute, The Office

Don’t waste so much time thinking about how much you weigh. There is no more mind-numbing, boring, idiotic, self-destructive diversion from the fun of living. – Meryl Streep

People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do. – Isaac Asimov

The lord gave us two ends: One to sit on and the other to think with. Success depends on which one we use the most. – Ann Landers

Self-thinking quotes

Thinking for yourself and making your own decisions can be frightening. Letting go of other people’s expectations can leave you feeling empty for a time. And yet seeing yourself as an independent adult who can stand up for your own choices frees you to accept yourself as you are. – Ellen Bass

The only means of strengthening one’s intellect is to make up one’s mind about nothing — to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts. – John Keats

Think for yourself and let others enjoy the privilege of doing so too. – Voltaire

Your thoughts have the power to control; our being, our emotions, and the way we view the world that surrounds us. If you don’t constantly re-think what you think of on a daily basis, how do you ever expect to evolve into a being of; wisdom, truth, understanding, love, and above all, to be there for others?  – Martin R. Lemieux

If you want someone to tell you what to think,” the phantom answered briskly, without looking up, “you will never be short of people willing to do so. – Frances Hardinge

I am not questioning God’s power! It is God who gave us reason and circumspection! It is God we serve by exercising prudence! – Dan Brown

Each person is chargeable with the essential task to make his or her thought processes as refined as possible. Every person must declare what important distinctions will allow him or her to live a vivid and reflection filled life. – Kilroy J. Oldster

You may believe that you are responsible for what you do, but not for what you think. The truth is that you are responsible for what you think, because it is only at this level that you can exercise choice. What you do comes from what you think. – Marianne Williamson

Why is thinking so important?

Thinking is an important mental process. It helps us in defining and organizing experiences including planning, learning, reflecting, and creating. It also serves as the basis for human reasoning, concept formation, problem-solving, and deliberation.

As such, active thinking is an important activity that we should all engage in for a better life. Here are a few reasons why thinking is important:

Thinking is what defines us as humans

Humans are unique in that we can extract or take out similarities between things and form a concept and interpret them accordingly, allowing us to acquire an infinite amount of knowledge about the world we live in.

Because we can see similarities and differences in concepts as well as definite or specific things, our knowledge potential far outstrips that of animals, distinguishing us from them.

Thinking is a key component of survival

Our ability to figure things out is critical to our survival. Because, whether we believe it or not, we as humans have no innate knowledge.

The “knowledge” we have right now comes from our memory, from everything we have learned from birth to the present.

So, in order to live and improve, we must use all of the information we have by thinking, figuring things out, and coming up with what is appropriate for the situation.

Thinking is our connection with reality

Connecting with reality requires an accurate assessment of what is going on based on our own understanding.

This is accomplished by thinking, through our very own information processing of facts gathered by our sensory data.

And since reality is not based on our emotions, feelings, therefore, have no place in the thinking process. As such, our feelings about reality should not be taken as accurate information.

This is because previous thoughts, ideas, events, comprehension, or interpretations also have a significant influence on our feelings. So, two people with very different sets of values, philosophies, and principles in life can have very different emotional reactions to the same thing.

Thinking is how we figure things out

Thinking allows for reasoning, deliberation, and problem-solving. It is how we find solutions and make sense of the world we live in.

So, before establishing goals, values, and strategies for achieving them, it is necessary to think. This is the only way we can gain knowledge and know which actions to take and how to keep living.

Thinking leads to effective action

All effective actions and behavior begin with having thoughts.

And the careful consideration of these thoughts, that is, going through a process that includes some planning, predicting, hypothesizing, calculating, and reasoning increases our chances of success in whatever we are attempting to accomplish.

Fosters a can-do attitude

Thinking promotes a positive, can-do attitude. It fosters a sense of ability and, as a result, self-esteem, because gaining knowledge boosts our self-confidence.

When we think and figure things out, we are informed, and we feel competent, capable of living, and thus worthy of living. This ability to perceive ourselves as competent and adept leads to healthy self-esteem and increased happiness.

In this sense, we can say that our happiness is proportional to our level of thinking. The more we think, the happier we become, whereas not thinking or, worse, not wanting to think, like avoiding anything that requires our attention, can never lead to genuine happiness.

Thinking leads to new discoveries

Thinking is the only way to discover new things, invent new things, and find better ways to do things.

This is how great discoveries in human history came about. Thinking is the process by which every advancement in our quality of life, the standard of living, and comfort was achieved.

So, with thinking, particularly rational thinking, you might just discover a new way of doing things that will advance your current progress.

Thinking allows for a more effective and happy life

Thinking is the only way to live an effective and happy life because it leads to deliberate action, resulting in the achievement of goals, and thus a sense of control over one’s life and self-esteem.

What happens in our lives is the result of our mind’s constant stream of decisions and choices. Our mind is the engine that drives our lives.

We need to think in order to make informed choices and decisions. Because thinking leads to knowledge acquisition, which in turn leads to making informed decisions.

In addition, our ability to think greatly influences our happiness. Thinking is therefore required to ensure that the outcomes leave us effective and happy.

To conclude, thoughts and thinking are distinct from one another. Thoughts are our minds’ random ramblings; they rarely make sense and are fleeting. In contrast, thinking is a process of defining and organizing experiences. It is also the foundation of human reasoning, concept formation, problem-solving, and deliberation.

Simply allowing random thoughts to swim around in our heads will not suffice. We need to give ourselves some time to think if only to avoid making hasty decisions and saying things that will land us in hot water.

But it is even more important for us to think for the following reasons.

• Thinking is what makes us human.
• Thinking is a basic tool we can use in order to survive.
• Reality is based on our own thinking.
• We can figure things out by way of thinking.
• Thinking leads to effective action.
• Thinking fosters a can-do attitude.
• It leads to new discoveries. And
• Thinking allows for a more effective and happy life.

It is therefore for these reasons that we have compiled a list of 50+ of the best thinking quotes to inspire deep insights and creativity. Return to this article each time you need inspiration about thinking and its importance.

Please share your thoughts or ideas about 50+ Best Thinking Quotes To Inspire Deep Insights And Creativity in the comments below. For more quotes, check out…

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Critical Thinking: Definition and Analysis

This essay about the significance of critical thinking in various aspects of life, from academia to everyday interactions. It emphasizes the importance of analysis and synthesis in fostering intellectual autonomy and resilience. Through examples in different contexts, it highlights how critical thinking enables individuals to navigate complex information, evaluate arguments, and cultivate intellectual humility.

How it works

Critical thinking, a term often echoed in scholarly circles, workplaces, and beyond, is a skill of immense significance across various dimensions of life. It serves as the cornerstone of education, problem-solving, decision-making, and personal development. However, despite its ubiquitous presence, the concept of critical thinking remains somewhat enigmatic, with its definition subject to interpretation and nuanced understanding. In this exploration, we delve into the depths of critical thinking, endeavoring to unravel its essence, dissect its components, and illuminate its implications.

At its essence, critical thinking can be described as the ability to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information or arguments in a systematic and reasoned manner.

It goes beyond mere acceptance or rejection of ideas; rather, it involves a rigorous examination of evidence, assumptions, and logical coherence. Critical thinkers engage in reflective and independent thinking, questioning assumptions, exploring alternative perspectives, and arriving at well-informed conclusions. Essentially, critical thinking acts as intellectual armor, equipping individuals with the tools to navigate the complex landscape of information and ideas in today’s world.

One of the foundational elements of critical thinking is analysis. Analysis entails breaking down complex ideas or issues into their constituent parts, closely examining them, and discerning patterns, relationships, or implications. It serves as the scaffolding for reasoned judgments by providing a framework for understanding. During analysis, evidence is scrutinized, biases are uncovered, the credibility of sources is assessed, and underlying assumptions are revealed. Through this process, a deeper understanding of the subject matter is attained, enabling individuals to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses more effectively.

However, analysis in critical thinking is not limited to deconstruction; it also involves synthesis – the integration of disparate elements into a coherent whole. Synthesis represents the culmination of analytical inquiry, where insights gleaned from individual pieces of information or perspectives are merged to form a comprehensive understanding. It is the creative aspect of critical thinking, where innovative ideas or solutions emerge from the interplay of diverse viewpoints. Thus, analysis and synthesis work in tandem to foster holistic comprehension and innovative thinking.

To underscore the significance of analysis in critical thinking, one can examine its application across various contexts. In academia, students are frequently tasked with analyzing literary texts, scientific data, historical events, or philosophical arguments. Through close examination, experimentation, or historical research, students learn to dissect complex phenomena, identify underlying themes or principles, and construct coherent interpretations. Similarly, professionals in fields such as business, law, or healthcare rely on analytical skills to dissect problems, assess risks, and formulate effective strategies. Whether it involves conducting market research, analyzing legal precedents, or diagnosing medical conditions, the ability to analyze information critically is indispensable.

Moreover, analysis in critical thinking extends beyond academic or professional domains; it permeates everyday life. Consider the deluge of information encountered through media channels, social networks, or interpersonal interactions. In an era of information overload and misinformation, the ability to analyze sources critically is paramount. Individuals must scrutinize news articles for bias, fact-check viral claims, and discern the agenda behind persuasive rhetoric. By honing analytical skills, individuals become less susceptible to manipulation and more adept at navigating the complexities of the modern world.

Furthermore, analysis in critical thinking fosters intellectual humility – the recognition of one’s fallibility and the willingness to revise beliefs in light of new evidence or perspectives. In a world marked by ideological polarization and echo chambers, intellectual humility is a rare trait. However, critical thinkers, through their commitment to rational inquiry and open-mindedness, cultivate this virtue. They recognize that truth is multifaceted and elusive, and that certainty is often illusory. Consequently, they approach arguments or viewpoints with skepticism, subjecting them to rigorous analysis before rendering judgment.

In conclusion, critical thinking, grounded in analysis, is an indispensable skill for navigating the complexities of the modern world. It empowers individuals to dissect information, evaluate arguments, and synthesize insights, fostering intellectual autonomy and resilience. Whether in academia, professional endeavors, or everyday life, the ability to think critically is indispensable. By honing analytical skills and nurturing intellectual humility, individuals can traverse the vast expanse of information and ideas with clarity and discernment. As dedicated practitioners of critical thinking, let us embrace the challenge of analysis, for therein lies the path to intellectual enlightenment and empowerment.

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Famous Quotes Related to Critical Thinking

"Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts." - William Bruce Cameron (often falsely attributed to Albert Einstein)

"What we hope ever to do with ease, we must learn first to do with diligence." - Samuel Johnson

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." - Aristotle

"The school is the last expenditure upon which America should be willing to economize." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." - Derek Bok

"It is today we must create the world of the future." - Eleanor Roosevelt

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." - Albert Einstein

"The objective of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives." - Robert Maynard Hutchins

"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't." - Anatole France

"Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson "Education would be much more effective if its purpose was to ensure that by the time they leave school every boy and girl should know how much they do not know, and be imbued with a lifelong desire to know it." - William Haley, British Editor

"Do not confine your children to your own learning for they were born in another time." - Hebrew Proverb

"Too often we give children answers to remember rather than problems to solve." - Roger Lewin

"The school is the last expenditure upon which America should be willing to economize." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

"The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend." - Henri Bergson, French Philosopher and Educator "If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can't, you're right." - MARY KAY ASH, American businesswoman

"The man who can make hard things easy is the educator." - RALPH WALDO EMERSON, American writer and philosopher

"Children are apt to live up to what you believe of them." - LADY BIRD JOHNSON, Former First Lady of the United States

"The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend." - HENRI BERGSON, French Philosopher and Educator

"The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life." - PLATO, Greek Philosopher

"With a smile we should instruct our youth..." - JEAN BAPTISTE MOLIERE, French Playwright

"Children are not vessels to be filled but lamps to be lit." - SWAMI CHINMAYANANDA, Indian Spiritual Leader

"Genius without an education is like silver in the mine." - BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, American Diplomat, Scientist, and Writer

"Education must not simply teach work—it must teach life." - W.E.B. DU BOIS, American Civil Rights Leader and Writer

"Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to the error that counts." - NIKKI GIOVANNI, American poet

"Teaching is the greatest act of optimism." - COLLEEN WILCOX, American school administrator

"Those of us who are in this world to educate—to care for—young children have a special calling: a calling that has very little to do with the collection of expensive possessions but has a lot to do with worth inside of heads and hearts." - FRED M. ROGERS, Host of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood

"Each student is a unique person and a powerful learner capable of great achievements. I truly marvel at my students' capacity for learning, accomplishment, and growth." - MICHELLE FORMAN, American National Teacher of the Year 2001

"The one real goal of education is to leave a person asking questions." - MAX BEERHOHM, British Critic, Essayist, and Caricaturist "Too often we... enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." - JOHN F. KENNEDY

"Out of the questions of students come most of the creative ideas and discoveries." - Ellen Langer

"Invest a few moments in thinking. It will pay good interest." - Author Unknown

"He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever." - CHINESE PROVERB

"No problem can be solved by the same consciousness that created it. We need to see the world anew." - ALBERT EINSTEIN

"The important thing is not to stop questioning." - Albert Einstein

"Knowing a great deal is not the same as being smart; intelligence is not information alone but also judgment, the manner in which information is collected and used." - Carl Sagan

"There is nothing more uncommon than common sense." - FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

"Too often we give children answers to remember rather than problems to solve." - ROGER LEWIN, Ph.D., British anthropologist and science writer

"Time given to thought is the greatest time saver of all." - Norman Cousins

"No way of thinking or doing, however ancient, can be trusted without proof." - Henry David Thoreau

"Who dares to teach must never cease to learn." - John Cotton Dana

"Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too" - Voltaire

"Reason obeys itself: ignorance submits to what is dictated to it." - Thomas Paine

"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything one learned in school." - Albert Einstein

What O.J. Simpson meant to Black America

Nearly 30 years later, O.J. Simpson’s arrest and murder trial in Los Angeles still evokes strong memories. There was the glove. The Bronco chase . The minute-by-minute national television coverage.

And, for many Americans, Simpson’s case will also be remembered for how it exposed the deep divisions between Black and White Americans.

The nation’s view of his 1995 acquittal for the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and a friend, Ronald Goldman, largely cleaved along racial lines, though time has bridged some of the gap. Simpson died on April 10 at 76 years old .

Coming just a few years after the acquittal of four officers who beat Black motorist Rodney King in 1992 and the 1991 killing of Black teenager Latasha Harlins by a store clerk in Los Angeles, Simpson’s treatment by the police and media was viewed by many in the Black community as proof that even wealthy celebrities couldn’t escape racism in America, said Amilcar Shabazz, a professor of Afro-American Studies at the University Massachusetts at Amherst.

“When the verdict was reached we had one side of the screen with White people crestfallen and crying and then we had on the other side of the screen, Black people jumping up and down for joy,” said Shabazz.

Those racial divisions remain, he said. “It’s because we haven’t repaired the social fabric in a way that we like to pretend we have because we fall back on race and racism at the drop of a hat or a drop of the glove in this case,” Shabazz said.

While the reaction to the verdict was largely portrayed in the media along racial lines at the time, it was always more complicated than that, said James Lance Taylor, a politics professor at the University of San Francisco. “The truth is many millions of Black people thought O.J. Simpson was probably guilty,” said Taylor. “There was just so much wrapped up in the O.J. case that was connected to the Black experience in America.”

Twenty years after the verdict, a 2015 Washington Post-ABC News poll showed Black Americans were less likely to believe Simpson was guilty, compared to White Americans, though by 2007 the gap had started to narrow. In 1997, 31 percent of Black Americans said that they were “definitely” or “probably” sure of Simpson’s guilt. By 2015, that share had risen to 57 percent. In comparison, 83 percent of White Americans said Simpson was guilty in 2015, about the same share as had held that position in 1997.

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It’s not that Black people have changed their minds about Simpson’s innocence, Taylor said. “I think in the barbershops today, Black people are saying, ‘he got away with it, but the police got away with killing a lot more of us,’” said Taylor. “That’s the mentality.”

Taylor was living in Los Angeles at the time of the murders and said he remembers the day that Simpson led police on a car chase and how tens of thousands of people, including many White people, lined the streets and highways yelling, “Go, O.J., Go.”

But far before the trial, many Black Americans already felt that Simpson had turned his back on the Black community, Taylor said, noting that he reportedly liked to tell friends, “I’m not Black, I’m O.J.”

Local police prepared for riots if Simpson was convicted, Taylor said. “But Black people didn’t love O.J. like that. This wasn’t about O.J. the person,” he said. “O.J. was just an extension of the general polarization between Black America and law enforcement.”

“The sympathy for O.J. is not as deep as we think it is” in the Black community, Taylor said.

Kevin B. Blackistone, ESPN panelist and professor of the practice at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, wrote in a 2016 Washington Post column, “Simpson didn’t transcend his race; he escaped it like it was a would-be tackler. He came from the black working-poor side of town, but his athleticism trumped that and landed him in an exclusive white university in Los Angeles.”

“Every Black celebrity knows that, whether they like it or not, they represent the entire Black community,” NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said on X , the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday. “Sadly, despite admirable accomplishments as an athlete, OJ Simpson was not able to live up to that responsibility.”

Rev. Amos Brown of San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church, a longtime friend of Eunice Simpson, Simpson’s mother, said it’s difficult for him to disentangle the football star’s crimes from the challenges he faced, including the ever-present threat of violence in his neighborhood growing up. “O.J. Simpson and far too many young Black males to this day have been met with attitudes and practices that define them as being less than human,” he said.

Simpson was introduced to a new audience in 2016 when two television series about the former running back captivated a generation too young to have known him as a Heisman Trophy winner and one of the most recognizable personalities in the country.

Phillip Lamarr Cunningham, an assistant professor of media studies at Wake Forest University, said many of his students view Simpson as a true-crime figure rather than the athlete he remembers.

Cunningham, who was a young man during the trial, said that he still struggles with the not guilty verdict. “Just like everybody else, I had to wrestle with the reality that he very well may have done it, alongside the fact that he is this Black man who had for all intents and purposes, made it,” Cunningham said.

Los Angeles was a “powder keg” at the time of Simpson’s trial, still reeling from the Rodney King acquittal and other racially divisive cases, said Marc Watts, who covered the Simpson trial for CNN and is currently the chief brand officer for the African American Leadership Forum.

“Many African Americans believed that O.J. Simpson was the revenge verdict,” Watts said. “It was the one Black people had won in response to some of the ones Black people had lost.”

For many Black people, the trial turned on the testimony of investigating detective Mark Fuhrman , who denied using a racial profanity on the witness stand, Watts said. Simpson’s defense team produced audiotapes of Fuhrman using the word multiple times and Fuhrman later pleaded no contest to committing perjury during the trial. He couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.

“That was the day I felt the jury, which was predominantly African American, pretty much bought the idea from the dream team that Fuhrman was a racist rogue White cop,” Watts said.

Watts says he will never forget the day of the verdict, Oct. 3, 1995, when he stood on risers outside of the Los Angeles courthouse and heard the roar of the crowd gathered outside with the media. When he arrived home that evening he watched news footage of joyous Black Americans and frustrated White Americans reacting to the verdict.

“It showed us even back then that our country was tragically racially polarized. And that is still true today,” Watts said.