To me, critical thinking is the mechanism I use to process and evaluate data. The first thing I do is determine whether the data/hypotheses/theories/etc. are credible and valid. In order to do this, I look to see how the data was collected, who collected it, how it was measured/analyzed/captured, how it was interpreted, and how it is presented. And then I determine whether the conclusions drawn are reasonable and logical.
If I am confident in the quality of the data, then I feel comfortable using it. But I always maintain some level of doubt. I never accept anything, whether I generated it or not, at face value. There is room for error everywhere. My motto for as long as I can remember is "question everything."
My basic beliefs have not changed since I first started at this forum. I have always been a skeptic and remain so today.
As for you, I think you have become a better thinker and your critical thinking skills have certainly improved. However, I feel that you are reluctant to evolve further for fear of what you might find. You want to believe what you have always believed and this is your default position. A safe position. Moving beyond what you want to believe is not something you are actively seeking, but you are curious and keep picking at it a tiny bit at a time.
Edited by roxrkool, : No reason given.
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