Capstone Checkpoint January 11, 2012 CRT/205 Critical Thinking Melissa Bramm In the future, how will thinking critically influence the way you * Read? Thinking critically when reading has helped me keep an open mind about what I am reading. I know that when I sit down to read something now that I can’t have a closed mind, I have to look at it from every angle that I can.

I have learned that I can ask question and try to find the answer in the answer when I am reading. I feel like I can pick up on some of the feeling that the writer had when they were writing the article, or the book that I am reading.For example with the discussion question for week 8, dealing with Terri Schiavo I got to think outside the box, it was a hard situation to read and watch the video about but I was able in the end to understand both sides. I was able to understand why the husband did what he did, and why the parents felt the way they did. I know that thinking critically help with most of my reading for this class, and it will help with the future classes because I will have the open mind set.

* Write?Thinking critically with writing is going to help me have more than just one point of view on how something happened. If a question is asked because I made something unclear, I will be able to answer it. I think that with writing I will be able to get the point I want across, and if there are questions I will be able to answer them without hesitating. If I have to use fallacies when writing I will be able to do so and I will be able to use the correct one. I will know how to explain things in a different way than just writing my opinion down and submitting it.

I will be able to have a logical and moral explanation. * Process information? With processing information it is going to trigger deeper thoughts on why something happened. It is going to make me want to ask more questions to get more information. Just like with reading it is going to help me look for a more detailed explanation. To process information I feel like I am going to need all I need to know, so therefore I am going to need detailed questions answered. I am going to have to review all information and see if it triggers more questions.

I will have to make sure that I have more facts than myths. I would not want something to come to a conclusion on something that was not answered properly, or even unclear. Why and how could you apply critical thinking when you evaluate each of the following? * Articles? When reading an article you are usually left wanting more because you only get one side. When reading an article i can look at it open minded. I can see if both sides of the story are presented in the article or i can see if the other parties’ article is in another magazine/book.

If both sides are presented I can see which one is morally right. I can look at the moral and logical point of view in the article I am reading. I think it is important not to judge something you don’t know both sides about it is hard to judge something when one side is presented more than the other. When reading an article I am going to be able to keep an open mind and not judge something I know very little about.

* Advertising? Thinking critically when watching or viewing an advertisement is going to be a little difficult for me.I would have to say I would have to think open minded and keep an open mind when watching an advertisement. I know that thinking outside the box is going to help; I can try to see in between the lines and see what message the advertisement is trying to get across. Usually they are trying to get a really good message across, but for someone who doesn’t read between the lines or think open minded about it, the message may not be easy to understand.

Using critical thinking is going to help make things a clearer. Media? With the media it is going to be the same as advertising. You are going to have to keep an open mind because the media can be harsh on people and twist things around. They can make things seem worst then what they are, if you don’t look at things from week to week, or when they talk about the story they are covering over and over you can get sucked into to thinking the wrong way about a situation. Usually with the media you can check them where they make mistakes.In order to do that you have to keep up with the full story from start to finish, then you can what they class as taught you about fallacies to make a decision.

I think that with the fallacies we have learned about and those playing a role in critical thinking you can make sense of things. * Conversations? With conversations thinking critically is going to help you look at the whole picture instead of a short in the box picture. You will be able to give dvice that is helpful I think, if you think open minded, which critical thinking has taught me to do, you can look at all aspects of what is being discussed. If something is unclear you can ask the questions to make things clear to you, you will be able to use your judgment to get the answers you need to understand the conversation that is taking place. Also you have to remember that when thinking critically you are able to keep an open mind, and with the open mind you are able to see more than one outcome.