Critical Thinking Skills

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Nancy

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I am just curious about a topic. I hope some people can clear it up for me. :)

People who do not have critical thinking skills have skills like copying word for word from a paper to a computer, but those who do don't copy it, but think "outside the box" to complete the paper to the computer. This is just an example to tell you the difference.

Are people with "critical thinking skills" smarter than those who do not have critical thinking skills? Or are those who do not have it are also smart, but have a different way of thinking? What causes the differences?

Thanks for any of your help to clarify this.
 
People who can ‘think outside the box’ fall more into the category of ‘imaginative’ and ‘creative’—it doesn’t necessarily indicate critical thinking abilities, although it can be a reflection of this. ‘Critical thinking’ refers more to the ability to analyze information without drawing unsubstantiated conclusions. A simple example of this is the logical fallacy of ‘post hoc ergo prompter hoc’—after this, therefore because of this. It is the fallacious belief that if event A precedes event B, then event A caused event B—which isn’t necessarily true. An intellectually inferior person will believe, for example, that if lightning always precedes a rainstorm, then lightning must cause rain. A person who is capable of critical thinking will realize that this is not true, and that lightning and rain are the result of a set of atmospheric conditions which cause both phenomena.
 
Criticial thinking skills also involves being "pro-active" and being "reactive".
 
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