I learnt most in school, if i had to pin it down mostly in language classes (German, English) because of the literature i was exposed to and the discussions we had about current events, philosophy because its philosophy and art classes because of the teacher and interpretations of art pieces in context of the time they were created. Also my biology teacher who taught us to keep an open mind and a lot about the scientific method.
The important part were the teachers, who didn’t just let us memorize stuff, but encouraged us to ask questions.
squaresinger@lemmy.world 19 hours ago
Remember, critical thinking and trusting nobody are two very different things that don’t really have anything to do with one another.
Critical thinking means that you learn to figure out who (and what information) you can trust. If you are a critical thinker, you know how to vet sources, lean what marketing/political lingo actually means beyond the apparently obvious meaning of the words. You know how to find discrepancies between different bits of information and how to balance them and figure out what’s behind them.
It certainly doesn’t mean to not trust anything, because that means you are discarding actual information in favour of hallucinations.
ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 10 hours ago
Not trusting anyone based on feelings or emotions rather than through knowledge, experience and unbiased information is also a very dangerous thing.
It can lead people down a path towards cults, religions, and authoritarian leaders and movements that have all the “answers” for you.
There is no greater power for an individual to have than a broad range of knowledge and information from reliable vetted, openly available, openly shared and universally accepted sources. If your guru had secret knowledge that no one knows about, chances are that information is either no good or it is unacceptable for a reason.
And also remember “keep an open mind, but not so open that your brain falls out”
squaresinger@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
Love that, I’m gonna steal that ;)
ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 5 hours ago
It’s a quote often attributed to Carl Sagan but I think it was around, or a quote like it has been around far longer.
I love the quote too and often remind people about it especially when they want to share information or knowledge that is extreme or not well known.
We do have to question the world and everything and everyone in it … but not to the point where we abandon reality.