ontheedgeofeverything

I am extremely fortunate in the sense that upon getting married and leaving home, I really didn’t get too far; my husband and I moved into a house next door to the one I was raised in, and because we are so close, I go to my parents every day for lunch.

My parents and I often have rather stimulating conversations over lunch, and our chat a few days ago is no exception. We were discussing how these days, it very much seems as though we, as a collective society, have completely lost the ability to think critically.

I’ve been out of school for a little while now, but critical thinking was one component of teaching that was perpetually emphasized throughout my education, from elementary school to university. It’s a life skill more than it is an academic one, in my opinion, and if we don’t possess the ability to question things in order to ascertain information, we’re a wee bit fucked in the grand scheme of this thing known as life.

Present day, I have come to notice that so many of us are told something and we believe it, right then and there. We don’t ask questions, nor do we challenge the information we have just received; rather, we abide by it blindly without ever questioning, for example, the truth of this information, or even its origin.

Am I the only person who acknowledges how consequential a lack of critical thinking is in this world? Not to mention the repercussions that will inevitably come as a result?

We are all of our own mind, and we were given brains for reasoning far beyond basic human survival and bodily functions. Our brains are one of our biggest weapons when it comes to intelligence and knowledge, and I sincerely think we all need to revisit the idea of critical thinking and, furthermore, put it into practice.

Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash