Reality is a chaotic kaleidoscope of sensations and details. We shift attention on various pieces while filtering through some of the visuals, sounds, and flavors amidst the many. What does this have to do with Critical Thinking?
People are naturally wired to focus. It is a deep trait embedded in our mental functions. Focusing our mind we can combine those perceived details into unified objects that we can identify after brief examination. For example being woken in the middle of the night and realizing that it was just the cat walking around in the next room.
This mental proclivity is essential for survival, keeping us from wandering aimlessly like sheep or airheads. We’d have been easy prey for predators and died out as a species otherwise. We can fully comprehend this with a short demonstration. Stop reading this blog and direct your attention to the nearest wall for a few seconds. Ready? GO.
If you did as requested, welcome back. Did you ask yourself, “What is with the wall? What am I supposed to be looking for? Why?” All very good questions, because I did not specify what to FOCUS on. In this case our eyes are an extension of our minds and they were searching for an object to focus upon. Did you also experience some mild feelings of anxiety and frustration about the experiment? Imagine being in that state for 1 minute… or 5.
Why is this important for Critical Thinking? Because this need to establish some focus will drive intuitive thinking to come up with an explanation for the sensations and details presented. Satisficing the problem immediately ends any cognitive dissonance that was causing mental discomfort. Validity of the explanation or solution doesn’t factor into how we feel.
This tendency to focus has been proven in multiple situations where you had repeatedly and conspicuously failed to correct your initial response, even after all available information is presented.
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