The time has come for women to think about rational thinking, since intuition and emotions are a good thing, but they do not always help in making the right decision. Let's first look at what emotional thinking is based on and why it should be abandoned in favor of rational thinking.
So, emotions arise at a subconscious level and are formed with the help of associations laid down from birth. For example, if a child has formed the connection “bright color - good mood,” then when choosing the next blouse, the choice will fall on a more colorful one. Although it will be the twenty-fifth “pink T-shirt” in the wardrobe.
From the point of view of rational thinking, such a choice is extremely illogical. Because we want something new, but we bought almost the same thing. It would be more practical to buy gray or blue, and even more logical - to think about color combinations with other clothes we have in our closet.
Another example: a girl is on a diet, but when she sees an ice cream stall, she immediately runs to buy it, convincing herself that this is the most low-calorie dessert in the world. Have you seen this often?! - We, yes. At such a moment, our emotional perception plays a cruel joke on us, which often prevents us from achieving our goals.
I hope we have convinced you that thoughtful, reasonable weighing will help protect you from at least stupid purchases. And if you apply the methods of rational thinking in making more serious decisions, dizzying success will not be long in coming.
Methods of rational thinking:
- Method No. 1 – weighing all the pros and cons. Take a piece of paper and divide it into two halves. In the first we write down all the positive consequences of the decision made, and in the second - possible negative ones. Just think and analyze carefully. It is very difficult to immediately establish sequential logical chains in your head, so the option with a list is extremely useful. Based on it, it will be much easier to make the right rational decision.
- Method No. 2 – take into account or not take into account all factors. Sometimes our choice is influenced by thousands or even more factors. It is unrealistic to take everyone into account; you and I are not computer technology. Therefore, G. Simon also proposed basing decision-making only on the most important indicators, since the course of further events will mainly depend on them.
- Method No. 3 is an ambiguous choice. Sometimes there are several possible solutions and the analysis method becomes somewhat more complicated. Let's say we have three plans to get out of the situation. We take the same number of sheets and count the pros and cons for each. The one with the most advantages will win. If there is an equal number of pluses everywhere, then we count the minuses. The less the better, respectively. If suddenly there is a coincidence here, then intuition will come to the rescue, but this very rarely happens.
We have outlined three basic methods of rational thinking that will help you make the right decision in any situation and not make a mistake.
Of course, it’s difficult to force yourself to analyze your every step, especially for girls whose nature has a more emotional perception of the world. But if you try, over time it will develop into a good habit, which in turn:
- will definitely save your budget;
- will teach you not to look like a fool in the eyes of a man;
- will help you reach a new level in your career, if you have one;
- You will be able to set priorities correctly and achieve your goals.
Of course, this is a rather incomplete list of advantages, but these are already quite enough. A modern woman cannot survive on her “emotions” alone, so we are learning to conquer this world on an equal basis with men.
At the end of the 20th century, many changes in the conditions of our life became clear, including fundamental changes in the means, methods and forms of organizing our thinking. Organizational and management activities became professional and, therefore, began to need their own special logic and methodology of thinking. When solving various kinds of managerial and strategic problems, it is necessary to use special logical techniques, techniques and methods of thinking that systematize the process of mental activity and make it more fruitful.
This chapter is devoted to consideration of such techniques and methods of thinking.
The most common thinking techniques are the following:
. Analysis is a method of thinking that consists of dividing a whole into its component parts.
. Synthesis is a method of thinking that consists of combining, aggregating individual parts into a single whole.
. Reduction is a transition from complex elements to simple ones, highlighting the main basis.
. Induction is a method of thinking based on inference from the particular (particular) to the general.
. Deduction is a method based on inference from the general to the particular (special).
. Comparison is a method that determines the similarity or difference of phenomena.
. Analogy is a method of thinking based on the transfer of one or a number of properties from a known phenomenon to an unknown one.
. Growing an idea or concept is a means of building logically related elements or ideas into one concept.
. Reflection is a method of thinking aimed at understanding one’s own actions, work, thinking and their analysis, i.e. introspection.
Reflection is perhaps the most interesting method of thinking and deserves special attention. It is advisable to consider this method in more detail.
To understand the mechanism of reflection, consider the diagram of the so-called “reflexive output”.
Let's say that an individual is engaged in a certain activity, given by his goals, means and knowledge, but for some reason he cannot get the desired result from his work or cannot carry out the necessary actions at all. In each of these cases, he asks himself the question: why is he not succeeding and what needs to be done to achieve the desired result?
The simplest case would be when he himself or someone else already carried out activities aimed at achieving a similar goal under similar conditions, and, therefore, this individual simply needs to build a copy of it.
It is much more difficult when such an activity is fundamentally new, there are no examples of it to draw analogies. But the answer must still be found, and it is now created not just as a description of a previously completed activity, but as a project or plan for future activity.
But no matter how new and different the project activity may be from all previous ones, the project itself cannot be developed only on the basis of analysis and awareness of previously performed actions and the results obtained.
In all cases, in order to obtain such a description of an activity that has already been performed, the individual we have considered must leave his previous position as an actor and move to a new position - external, both in relation to the previous and in relation to the projected activity. This will be the “reflexive output”, the new position of the actor will be called the “reflexive position”, and the knowledge developed in it will be called “reflexive knowledge”, since they are developed in the first position. The “reflective output” scheme will serve as the first abstract model characteristic of reflection as a whole.
The new activity of the individual in a reflexive position, as it were, absorbs the previous activity, acting for it as a material for analysis, and future activity as a projected object. This attitude of absorption through knowledge acts as the second characteristic of reflection as a whole.
The relation of reflexive absorption, acting as a static equivalent of “reflexive output,” allows us to abandon the principle of the “isolated individual” and consider reflexive relations directly as a type of cooperation between different individuals and, accordingly, as a type of cooperation between different types of activities.
Now the essence of a reflexive relationship is no longer that this or that individual goes “out of himself” and “for himself,” but that activity develops, creating increasingly complex cooperative structures based on the principle of reflexive absorption.
Cooperative ties are:
- practical production connections, consisting in the transfer of products of one activity as input material or funds to another activity;
- theoretical connections of unification and integration of means of activity, objects, knowledge when servicing any third activity. The important thing is that some of these connections must necessarily arise, otherwise no cooperation is possible.
The point is that reflective output turns the original activity not even into an object, but simply into material for reflective activity. Reflected and reflective activities are not equal, since they lie at different levels of the hierarchy, they have different objects, different means of activity, different knowledge, and due to all these differences between the reflective and reflective actors there can be no mutual understanding and no communication in the true sense this word.
Indeed, an individual in an external position describes what is happening, including elements of the activity of the first individual, in his own way, and then conveys his description and message to the first individual. The latter, upon receiving a message, must understand it and use the knowledge contained in it in his activities. But to understand means to take information from the perspective in which the second individual presented it. This is practically impossible, or at least extremely difficult. This fact is explained by the fact that the first individual carries out a completely different activity than the second, presents a picture of the whole situation in his own way and, as a result, he will understand and interpret all the information coming from the second individual differently than the second - with a different meaning and other content.
The only opportunity for the first individual to accurately and adequately understand the meaning inherent in the message of the second individual is to take his point of view, accept his active position. But this will be a completely artificial transformation, violating the natural and necessary conditions of the current communication situation: under normal conditions, the transition of the first individual to the position of the second will mean a renunciation of his professional position. And, therefore, cooperation as such will again fail.
The question arises: is there a way and method of understanding that would allow the first individual to restore the true meaning inherent in the message of the second, and at the same time maintain his own point of view?
This path and method of understanding is possible and occurs in those cases when the first individual has very special and specific means of understanding, allowing him to combine two points of view - “see” and know what the second individual “sees” and knows, and at the same time something that one must “see” and know for oneself.
In the simplest case, the first individual must have such an idea of the situation and all its objects that mechanically connects the ideas of the first and second, but at the same time makes it possible to separate them. In a more complex case, this will be a “configuration type” representation that combines different “projections”.
Thus reflection, described as reflexive exit or reflexive absorption, turns out to be a purely negative, critical and destructive relationship; in order to become a positive creative mechanism, it must supplement itself with some kind of constructive procedure that generates the conditions and means necessary for the unification of reflective and reflective activity within the framework of genuine cooperation. Only then can a holistic mechanism be obtained that ensures the creation of new organized activities and their development.
Techniques for destruction and elimination of errors.
The second set of thinking techniques is conventionally called destructive techniques. They are united by a common orientation towards finding weak, vulnerable places in mental work, its prerequisites and results. One of the main functions of this set of techniques is to encourage the deepening of statements, greater justification, elimination of contradictions and errors, and the search for new ideas.
. Misunderstanding is a destructive technique based on a lack of understanding of what is being proposed and affirmed. This technique is aimed at finding new ideas, new arguments, simpler and more convincing formulations and arguments, and creating productive tension in the group. This technique encourages participants in the work to repeatedly pronounce their arguments and reasons, due to which an in-depth elaboration of the idea occurs. Misunderstanding stimulates the desire to make communications more perfect, and also accelerates group-forming processes.
. Doubt is the introduction of uncertainty about the correctness of the idea proposed by the group. This asks questions like: Is this true? And it's all? Is this true? Are you sure? and so on. This technique allows you to detain the group at one stage of work for a more in-depth study of the content of the issues and ideas being discussed. It helps to weed out weak, unproductive ideas, remove attempts at demagogic speeches, and create a sense of responsibility for the results of work.
. Problematization is a mental technique consisting of the demand to explain why an individual or group asserts and does this and that, persistently fixing the instability or lack of foundation for the statements made. Due to this technique, the productivity and quality of work usually sharply increases, the skills of searching, elaborating and constructing the basis of one’s judgments, ideas, statements and actions are formed.
. Criticism is the recording of shortcomings of the provided content, methods of obtaining and presenting it. Criticism allows you to identify the weaknesses of a particular structure, develops the skills of a constructive attitude towards shortcomings, and the ability to defend your point of view. The criticism technique includes the following steps:
- determine the goals of criticism;
- determine the object of criticism;
- fix the standard that will be used for criticism;
- comparing the object of criticism with the standard, identify differences and contradictions;
- make a critical assessment of the characteristics of the object of criticism that deviate from the standard.
. Negation. The consultant says “no” to all statements and suggestions from the work participants. The purpose of this technique is to search for new ideas, develop argumentation skills, create productive creative tension, expand the meaningful field of work, including the use of creative thinking techniques. It is possible to “break through” this “no” only if you change the way you work. In methodological practice, this way of working is known as the “NO - strategy.”
. Inversion is a statement directly opposite to what is asserted or expressed by one or more participants in the work, fixation and substantiation of this point of view, focusing on the possibility of the opposite approach. This technique serves for in-depth study of the content of the issue being discussed, searching for completely new arguments, training the skills of comprehensive consideration of issues, and creating productive tension in the group.
. Reduction to the absurd. This technique is implemented through the following actions:
- the content of the thesis that will be refuted is determined;
- the assumption is made that it is true;
- conclusions are drawn from the statement, the last of which is absurd;
- a logical law is fixed, according to which only a true consequence can be obtained from a true statement;
- the connection between the absurdity of the conclusion and the falsity of the main thesis is fixed.
Skillful mastery of these techniques significantly increases the intellectual potential of the participants in the work, makes the analysis deeper, and the conclusions more meaningful and substantiated.
Effective thinking is the ability to come to logical, useful and correct conclusions; the ability to set goals and build algorithms for achieving them; the gift of sifting out real information from the illusions that the psyche throws at every person. Effective thinking is a rather multifaceted concept that, in essence, needs no introduction. Everyone understands that it includes such qualities as speed, objectivity, effectiveness and originality. But how to achieve this efficiency? Is this ability given by nature, is it a talent, is it nurtured in childhood, or is it developed through training? Of course, in many ways, the prerequisites for the development of “thinking” are inherent in genes and parental upbringing. But the formation of effective thinking can also occur in adulthood - for this you only need to consciously approach the process of “thinking” and improve your results through classes and exercises.
But first, let's look at the question of what prevents most people from thinking quickly and efficiently.
The main enemies of efficiency in thinking are habits of thinking in a certain way. The thought slides along the well-trodden road, because this is what our parents or friends thought, this is what humanity has thought for decades. And we thought so, and nothing bad seemed to happen - which means that our way of thinking is quite normal and suitable for life. Indeed, it is suitable for the average life of a person living from paycheck to paycheck. But it has nothing to do with the efficiency of thinking, which helps to implement far-reaching plans or make discoveries. To break out of the quagmire of standard thinking and move on to effective thinking, you need to get rid of a number of patterns.
1. Fear of change
This mental property is inherent in almost all people and humanity as a whole. Any new trend, be it a scientific thought, a creative breakthrough or a technical innovation, is initially viewed with suspicion, ridiculed or condemned. For example, many inventors tried to create a steam locomotive, but they all encountered a skeptical attitude from society. The idea was called an absurd fantasy, the steam engine was called a fiend of hell, and travel by rail was considered too dangerous. After all, at a huge speed of 40 kilometers per hour, passengers will not be able to breathe, they will begin to have convulsions, hallucinations, they will go crazy and die right in the trolleys! Now you are smiling while reading these lines, but in the 18-19th century, when the steam locomotive was slowly making its way to mass use, these were serious arguments.
The idea of photography, television and going to the moon was ridiculed in the same way. Well, I think everyone knows about the fates of Giordano Bruno and Galileo Galilei.
What motivates these people who so zealously resist the new? Laziness and fear. Laziness - because every innovation causes a labor-intensive process of reforming many areas of life, including the way of thinking that we are talking about today. Innovations bring with them a chain of inevitable changes, to which, willy-nilly, you will have to adapt - and this is difficult and not always pleasant. Fear - because not everyone is able to go through these changes. People are afraid that they will not be able to do this, they are afraid of failure and shame, they are afraid of finding themselves on the margins of civilization, unable to adapt to its development. Therefore, they diligently slow down this development.
Get rid of fear and laziness, learn, at a minimum, to consider new products from an impartial position, without clinging to familiar stereotypes. Of course, not everything new is good - you shouldn’t immediately rush into the arms of novelty. But there is no need to be afraid of her.
2. Compliance with the rules
In itself, it is not bad - there are useful rules that preserve our lives, health, help us understand each other and control social relationships. There are grammatical rules, traffic rules, laws - compliance with them makes our life easier, and experiments on this basis do not bode well.
But there are also rules that can be called controversial - moral rules, social traditions, religious dogmas. They are embedded in us as models of thinking and behavior; By deviating from them, we demonstrate nonconformity. For creative people and inventors, it is a symbol of search; for bigots and snobs, it is the quality of renegades and outcasts. Yes, nonconformists have always been black sheep, but they are the ones who make discoveries in science and creativity, change people's lives for the better, helping to get rid of outdated and useless models and traditions.
Conformity stems from cowardice, the fear of going against society and being a “lone psycho.” We begin to obey general rules in order to preserve the status quo. But by doing so, we deprive ourselves of the opportunity to think creatively and see solutions in non-standard situations. It’s sad that we are often pushed to this by those closest to us who care about our well-being - parents, friends, teachers. We are taught to keep a low profile and live by the rules, thereby depriving our personality of the individuality that is inherent in it by nature.
The best way to get rid of blindly following the rules is not to look at the opinions of others, but to live by your own mind. As my mother said: “And if everyone goes to jump from the roof, will you go too?”
3. Self-deception
Many people deceive themselves, although it would seem impossible. Alcoholics and smokers are confident that they can quit at any time, overweight people are convinced that they eat little. Idlers blame others for their failures, and blame their bosses for low wages.
The point of self-deception is that a person changes his thinking depending on the situation. He thinks in the way that is most beneficial for him to think, while forgetting old agreements and his own decisions made earlier.
Often self-deception becomes an inertial effect from the deception of others. Someone pretends to be knowledgeable in some area, creates a certain illusion, an improved image for others, and over time begins to believe in this image.
How to avoid falling into the trap of self-deception? Remember that the first decision made is usually the right one - it comes solely from our logic, personal morality and conscience. When we get involved in the process and encounter difficulties, negative character traits such as laziness, envy or greed begin to work. These emotions force us to make new decisions that benefit the dark sides of our ego. Therefore, in order not to confuse yourself, you need to learn to clear your thinking from these whispers.
4. In the name of saving the image
Every person, at the subconscious level, has a need to maintain the positive image he has created for himself and those around him. When making mistakes or some unsightly actions, he tries to do everything to protect his image from destruction and his reputation from stains. And the most interesting thing is that he will deceive himself first, and then others.
The most common way to maintain a positive image is through excuses. Everyone justifies their actions by external factors, from a small child who broke a vase to a murderer. “I was forced, I had no other choice, I could not do otherwise, it just happened,” is a standard set of justifications, accompanied by spatial explanations of the circumstances.
Another scenario when saving an image is adjusting the facts. This is the sin of the media - in pursuit of a specific goal, they select facts that confirm their theory and discard those that refute it. True, they do this consciously, while average people adjust facts to fit their theories unconsciously. This is usually done retroactively, when the job is done - all that remains is to create a competent explanation of your actions. It's essentially the same excuse.
The subconscious impulse in any controversial situations is to deny one’s involvement and look for facts confirming innocence. This urge stems solely from the fear that our ego will be defeated and humiliated. As you understand, this approach is devoid of constructiveness. You need to learn to honestly assess your role in the development of events, be objective in your judgments regarding your guilt or innocence, and not exaggerate the importance of external factors.
5. “Your shirt is closer to your body”
Each of us has an interesting mental property - we always consider our own better than someone else’s. Your friends are good, strangers are irresponsible hooligans. Their own children are smart and loved, strangers are not a match for them. They say that the grass is greener in the neighbor's meadow - but this is not always the case. In many situations, we evaluate two absolutely identical objects differently only because one of them is directly related to us.
This effect is best seen in wars and civil strife. The soldiers of their own army are “heroes-liberators”, those of the enemy are “occupiers and murderers”. Our own people are “forced to take measures”, others are “being outrageous”. In the USSR there were even two different concepts: intelligence officer and spy. The first one was proudly called the agents of the Soviet special services, and the second one, disgustingly, was the foreigners and defectors.
People tend to divide everyone into “us” and “them”, considering other people to be worse. This is where racism, male chauvinism, unhealthy feminism, and misunderstanding between people of different ages, classes and financial status arise. Yes, we differ in many ways, but such a division alienates people from each other as if they were from different planets.
This effect forces us to have a subjective attitude towards the actions, achievements and proposals of different people, depending on our personal sympathies. You can rush around with the embodiment of the ridiculous idea of the person you are in love with, rejecting the suggestions of intelligent specialists; You can invest money in a friend’s failed project, while refusing investment to a good startup. To be able to choose the best, you need to learn to put friends and strangers on the same level, guided solely by an assessment of the quality of the proposal or achievement itself.
6. Stereotypes
We all know that stereotypes are bad. The popular phrases “all women are fools” and “all men are goats” immediately come to mind.
But things are a little different. In fact, a stereotype is a product of induction, when we draw a generalizing conclusion based on multiple repeated premises. The brain automatically forms stereotypes so as not to create new reaction algorithms every time - if it finds itself in a similar situation, it will remember the same one and react in the same way. The problem is that not all stereotypes are true. To be more precise, every stereotype has a weak point. And it comes from a simple logical rule that says that the truth of an inductive inference is never 100%. In addition, stereotypes tend to become outdated.
For example, having learned from various friends that in some store they hang and sell stale products, you will come to the conclusion that it is better not to go to this store, and you will be right. Maybe they don’t weigh it every time, and not all the products are stale, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. But the store’s management changes, a new policy is introduced, and unscrupulous employees are fired. Those people who have not heard about this store will make a purchase there and create a new stereotype - they will recommend the store to their friends and go there themselves. You will continue to avoid it, following an outdated stereotype that may persist for many years after conditions change.
In general, the idea is clear - you shouldn’t make total generalizations and blindly trust them, you shouldn’t follow the lead of public stereotypes, because they could have become outdated a long time ago, and even self-created stereotypes can often play a bad joke on their creator.
Learning to think effectively
So, we've talked about what not to do. Now let's turn our attention to techniques that can help develop fast and effective thinking.
Let's start with the fact that thinking intersects with many inextricably linked components, each of which needs to be systematically developed - intuition, logic, creativity and fantasy, memory, concentration and intelligence.
An effective way of thinking cannot be developed, for example, without a certain knowledge base, attentiveness, the ability to analyze and compare facts, the ability to memorize complex information and many other useful things. It's like a language - to speak it, it is not enough to learn the words - you need to know grammar, punctuation, style, idiomatic combinations and a lot more. Let's look separately at all the components that form fast and effective thinking.
Since our site is dedicated to self-development, there is already a lot of material on the development of important components of mental activity. In order not to repeat ourselves and write too long an article, we will simply make references to these articles.
1. Logical thinking
We are simply not capable of thinking effectively without relying on basic logical laws. Successful people have strict logical thinking, which helps them come to unexpected and at the same time correct conclusions, using obvious premises that are accessible to everyone. While a person with lame logic will look at the facts and not understand what’s going on, the logician will organize everything, put it on the shelves, and build a beautiful and clear logical sequence. This difference is shown in the examples of Hastings and Hercule Poirot in the works of Agatha Christie, Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes in Conan Doyle.
The ability to think logically is a science and an art at the same time. Such talent is not given by nature, but is developed throughout life. This is well written about in the article “ Development of logical thinking" - this section is quite extensive, so we will not go deeper, but move on to the next one.
2. Creative thinking
Effective thinking presupposes creative thinking, because it is this that helps us get rid of stereotyping, banality, and narrowness of perception. A person can read books as much as he wants and retell the encyclopedia by heart, but until he knows how to go beyond the boundaries of the known, he will think with other people's thoughts - nothing more.
Creative thinking, or creativity as it is also called, is mandatory for anyone who creates their own product and does not copy others - be it intellectual creativity or industrial inventions. We will be able to think effectively only when our imagination embarks on an endless journey, giving us more and more new ideas.
You can find more information in the articles " Development of creativity» , « Imagination. How important is it?», « Convergent and divergent thinking» . Check out these resources to learn more about imagination, creativity, and ingenuity.
3. Strategic thinking
Tactics and strategy are military concepts that have migrated into everyday life. Planning and organizing any activity implies strategic inclinations. A strategist must be able to keep in mind planned and already completed actions, anticipate the enemy’s moves and other external factors beyond his control, assume all possible results of his actions and ways of responding to these results. He needs to have a good memory, an analytical mind and the gift of foresight. To develop a strategic mindset, learn to play chess and turn-based strategy games like Heroes.
Well-developed logical, creative and strategic thinking is precisely the basis for effective thinking. But there are also auxiliary components that you cannot do without.
4. Memory, attentiveness, concentration
These are intelligent tools. And we all know that dull or rusty tools will never be good aids in development. Anyone who does not remember information well will not be able to operate with it. Anyone who skips details will not be able to piece together the picture of events. Anyone who is not able to concentrate on a mental task will perform it for a long time, being distracted by all sorts of nonsense. What kind of efficiency is there?
All these tools must be in a state of constant readiness, they must be trained and used. It’s like in sports - while the athlete is practicing, he is strong, fast and dexterous. But once you quit, after a while the muscles become flabby and weak. Returning to classes, after a while he will regain his shape and will be as strong again. It’s the same story with thinking tools. Train them to always be mentally sharp.
5. Intuition and emotions
It would seem, what do these irrational and uncontrollable properties of the human soul have to do with it? Very much so. Let's start with the fact that they are not so irrational, and not so uncontrollable.
Intuition is a subconscious appeal to existing experience - using its help, we operate with minor details that elude consciousness. It is not for nothing that there is such a term as professional instinct - an experienced specialist sometimes cannot explain in detail why he chose this particular path to solve a problem. But his choice almost always leads to a positive result.
Emotional intelligence is also not a fantasy. It exists on a par with rational thinking, having less accuracy, but greater volume and efficiency.
Both of these phenomena can either help or hinder effective thinking - it's all a matter of how you set them up and to what extent you rely on them. And, of course, you need to learn to control them.
For a more in-depth look, we recommend reading the articles “ Emotional and rational thinking in the decision-making process», « Development of emotional intelligence" And " Intuition and its role in decision making».
6. Clearing your mental space of clutter
No matter how smart, creative and educated we are, if we have chaos in our heads, our thinking will not be effective. To make your head clear, you need to follow two paths - clearing the information field and calming your thoughts. Our society is overloaded with a huge flow of information, and not always of high quality - you shouldn’t even try to digest it all. It is very important to be able to filter information - you can learn more about this in the article “ Causes of information overload and methods to combat it» .
When thoughts jump from one to another, you get nervous, and your brain panics and frantically mixes useful operations with useless ones - not at all effective. Those whose mental flow is like a stormy mountain river will find the article “ Steve Jobs Meditation Technique» ,
where ways to calm your thinking are well described.
In any activity, theory is always followed by practice. After all, a lot of smart words is, of course, good, but specific recommendations for putting all this information into practice are simply necessary. Each technique of effective thinking affects one of the above areas of human mental activity - memory, logic, attentiveness; helps in solving certain problems:
- « Mind maps: scope and recommendations for preparation»;
- « “RVS Operator” method: eternity and a fraction of a second to complete a task»;
- « Cicero's method of memorization»;
- “Synectics method”;
- « Focal object method»;
- « Edward De Bono's Six Thinking Hats Method».
P.S. : This extensive article did not touch upon such a concept as intelligence - not because it was unfairly forgotten, but because in many definitions intelligence is thinking. There is also a broader concept of intelligence - as a person’s ability for mental and mental activity, which includes thinking, memory, perception, imagination, sensation, etc. There are many of these qualities, so only those that are directly related to the effectiveness of thinking were mentioned. A good tool for improving your mental capabilities is described in the article “ Development of intellectual abilities».
We tried to reveal as much as possible the concept and essence of effective thinking, although, as you understand, this is not so easy due to the scale of the phenomenon. But we hope that this article helped you penetrate the veil of mysteries of thought and unravel its most important secrets.
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Rational thinking (rationality) is a term that in the broadest sense means rationality, meaningfulness, the opposite of irrationality, a characteristic of knowledge from the point of view of its compliance with certain principles of thinking. However, the term itself has different meanings in philosophy, economics, sociology, psychology, evolutionary biology and many other sciences and subjects.
A person with rationality has a clear logic of thinking. He can notice his own mistakes and change his mind depending on this. These errors are called .
There are the following types of cognitive distortions:
Distortions related to behavior and decision making
- Loss aversion is when a person is more upset by losing $100 than happy by finding the same bill.
- The curse of knowledge is when an informed person has difficulty viewing a problem from the point of view of less informed people.
Distortions related to probability and stereotypes
- The gambler's fallacy is when a person believes that he can somehow influence a random event (for example, a lottery).
- The hindsight effect is the tendency to perceive past events as predictable.
Socially conditioned biases
- The illusion of transparency is when you overestimate your ability to understand another person, as well as their ability to understand you.
- Projection bias is the tendency to believe that other people share the same values as you.
Distortions due to memory errors
- Cryptomnesia is when you mistakenly think that you have made up an anecdote or story.
- The benefactor effect is the perception of oneself as responsible for desirable outcomes, but not responsible for undesirable ones.
All these types of cognitive distortions should be studied in order to improve your rational thinking. The fewer mistakes you make, the better for him. In addition, it is important to master the tools of rational thinking:
- Analysis. What is just a set of numbers for an unprepared person (for example, in statistics), for an analyst is a storehouse of useful information.
- Argumentation. Its essence is that every statement must have a basis of reliability.
- Comparison. You must learn to compare the available data with each other.
- Judgment. This is your statement, opinion about some phenomenon.
- Conclusion. From each judgment, and especially from a system of judgments, one must draw a conclusion.
You've probably read articles about the development of rational thinking, so we won't repeat ourselves (well, maybe a little), but will just analyze one book that fits perfectly into our topic.
Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality
From 2010 to 2015, American artificial intelligence specialist Eliezer Yudkowsky published fan fiction (amateur writing based on popular literary works) based on the Harry Potter series of novels on his blog. It was called "Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality."
Yudkowsky offers an alternative story about the "boy who lived." In the context of the article, the most interesting thing for us is that in this work Harry has almost canonical rational thinking. Probably, no other person on our planet has such a level of mastery of the skill, but the way the hero identifies thinking errors and copes with them is very interesting.
Errors in thinking
Fundamental attribution error
“Imagine you came to work and saw your colleague kicking the table. You think: “What a bad character he has.” At this time, your colleague is thinking about how on the way to work someone pushed him and then yelled at him. “Anyone in my place would be angry,” he thinks.”
The fundamental attribution error is a person’s tendency to explain the actions and behavior of other people by their personal characteristics, and their own behavior by external circumstances.
We humans tend to look for the reason for our bad behavior in external factors, while we do not give such concessions to others. They probably just have a bad character.
Why does the fundamental attribution error exist? Psychologists and scientists have found a lot of reasons, but one of the most logical is this. When something happened to us, we know under what circumstances it happened. But if this happened to another person, it is easier for us to act according to the stereotype, labeling it: it is much faster and does not require mental effort. As we know, the brain really likes to choose the thought or reaction that takes the least amount of energy.
Planning error
“Muggle scientists have found that people are always overly optimistic: they say that some process will take two days, but in fact it takes ten, or they say two months, but it takes more than thirty-five years.”
The planning fallacy is a term first coined by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, which means that a person underestimates the amount of time it will take to solve a problem.
Yudkowsky, through Potter, notes a study in which students are asked to estimate when they will complete their academic projects. Specifically, they were asked to predict when they would complete 50%, 75%, and 99% of the work:
- 13% of participants completed their project by the time they were assigned the 50% probability level;
- 19% had completed by the time it was assigned a 75% probability level;
- 45% finished by their 99% probability level.
In addition, a survey of Canadian taxpayers published in 1997 found that they filed their tax returns about a week later than predicted.
Why does this happen? There are several reasons:
- People often focus on the more optimistic scenario without thinking about the problems and difficulties that may arise.
- A person takes wishful thinking. Maybe at first he understands that this is just his desire, but after some time he simply forgets about it.
- People also forget how long they have been doing this task in the past.
Systemic bias
“People generally prefer to conduct experiments that will confirm their hypotheses rather than those that will disprove them. You have almost the same error. One must learn to look at the negative side of things, peering into the darkness.”
Systemic bias is the tendency inherent in a process to support one of the parties, to give preference to certain results.
In the scene that resulted in Potter's line, Harry asks Hermione to name any three numbers. Moreover, he has some rule that either corresponds to these numbers or not. The challenge is to find out what the rule is.
Hermione says the numbers "4, 6, 8", Harry says "yes".
Hermione says "10, 12, 14", Harry says "yes".
Hermione says "Minus 3, minus 1, plus 1", Harry says "yes".
Hermione: “The rule is that each next number in the three is two more than the previous one.” Harry: "The three real numbers in ascending order, from smallest to largest."
The mistake was that Hermione herself came up with a certain system, believed in it on the second try and did not try to refute it. This cognitive distortion should be avoided both by the scientist with his theories and by the ordinary person.
If you come up with your own theory or system, take the time to try to refute it.
Bystander effect
Bystander effect, Harry thought, remembering Lathan and Darley's experiment, which showed that if you had an epileptic seizure, you were more likely to get help if you had one person nearby than three. “Dispersal of responsibility: everyone thinks that someone else will act first.”
The bystander effect is a psychological effect that manifests itself in the fact that people who witness an emergency situation (accident, crime, etc.) do not try to help the victims. The more people there are, the more likely they are to just stand around and do nothing.
What does the bystander effect have to do with rational thinking? Yes, the most direct thing is that this skill is worthless if you ever succumb to this distortion and do not come to the aid of a person who is in trouble.
An attempt to get rid of cognitive dissonance
“World domination is such an ugly phrase. I prefer to call it global optimization.”
Cognitive dissonance is a state of mental discomfort in a person caused by a clash in his mind of conflicting ideas: ideas, beliefs, values or emotional reactions.
With this phrase, Harry Potter gets rid of the conflict in his thoughts and immediately appears to himself as a benefactor of humanity. It is worth understanding that we engage in such self-deception very often, which leads to incorrect thinking and negatively affects our decisions.
Start to notice such attempts to get rid of cognitive dissonance and you will realize that you are used to deceiving yourself so as not to experience unpleasant emotions.
Books
Of course, in order to develop rational thinking, you need more than reading one article and doing a couple of exercises. You have to go deep into the topic. Books are ideal for this. Here are the ones we recommend starting with.
- “Rational thinking. What Aptitude Tests Don't Measure" Keith E. Stanovich.
- Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality by Eliezer Yudkowsky.
- "Rationality: From AI to Zombies" by Eliezer Yudkowsky.
- "Brain. Instructions for use" David Rock.
- "Brain Accelerators" Richard Nisbett.
- "The Art of Systems Thinking" Joseph O'Connor, Ian McDermott.
- “The Japanese System for the Development of Intelligence and Memory” by Ryuta Kawashima.
- “Think like a mathematician. How to solve any problem faster and more efficiently” Barbara Oakley.
We wish you good luck!
NATA KARLINRational thinking differs from irrational thinking in that it is based on logically sound arguments and facts for thinking and making decisions. Irrational thinking is an incoherent train of thought that does not have a strictly constructed logical chain and is based on assumptions and feelings. Irrational thinking arises from a person’s desire to believe in his fantasies.
Rational thinking is a process, not a result
This way of thinking is the ability to build logical chains, draw appropriate conclusions, etc. The desire to think rationally is a positive factor for working on your own shortcomings. Guided by logical thinking, a person does not act spontaneously, thereby excluding unpleasant surprises. Rational thinking allows a person to see things in their true light, explains the inexplicable, calms them down and shows the shortest path to achieving the desired result. This method helps, which is currently considered paramount.
To learn to think rationally, follow these guidelines:
Begin every reflection with a search for verified facts. Sometimes this is difficult to do, but without them it is impossible to build a logical chain that will lead to the right conclusions and the right actions;
When thinking, be guided by the fact that your point of view (as well as those of those around you) may be incorrect. Ask your friends about their vision of this fact.
Do not judge people's actions and behavior only by external manifestations. Do you think that someone you know is avoiding communicating with you? What are your conclusions based on? On logic or assumptions? Find out the truth, don't speculate. Find confirmation that they are avoiding you. Maybe a person is in trouble and tries to limit communication with everyone. He has no time for you;
Don’t think up phrases for your opponent, don’t imagine what he’s thinking about. Listen carefully to your interlocutors, and perceive only what they tell you;
Do you doubt the sincerity of a person’s words and actions? Speak directly by voicing concerns and asking questions.
The benefits of rational thinking
The benefits of rational thinking can be seen in a simple example. You listened to reproaches and dissatisfaction from your interlocutor, expressed in rejection of your views and behavior. The first impulse in this case will be to answer the person in kind. But what do you get in case of a scandal? Mutual hostility, mental discomfort, and long-lasting. It is better to maintain your own dignity and peace of mind. A person with rational thinking will act more simply - he will analyze his own actions, which caused criticism and dissatisfaction, and accept the opinion of the one who criticized him. He will try to find consensus - to reach agreement on an issue on which both have their own opinion. At the same time, it will make it clear to the opponent that issues can be resolved through a peaceful agreement without offending or humiliating the views of the interlocutor.
Rational thinking helps a person regain peace of mind. You can give an example of how people think when they fly on an airplane that is caught in a zone of turbulence:
An irrationally thinking person immediately imagines his own death in every detail.
A rationally thinking person thinks that there was a similar situation, and everything ended well. In addition, the percentage of plane crashes from the total number of flights in the world is negligible.
In any case, it is better to be calm and cool to the very end than to “wind up” yourself, worsening the situation and panicking.
Rational thinking is typical for people in the following professions:
Mathematicians;
Military;
Physicists;
Chemists, etc.
In every field where knowledge of the exact sciences is required, people use rational thinking.
Irrational thinking - feelings and emotions
People who cannot separate fact from fiction and build logical chains of thought use irrational thinking. It is difficult for them to foresee events and the result of certain actions, which leads to spontaneous actions and unnecessary experiences. However, rational thinking is impossible without the presence of an irrational (spiritual) component. For example, an artist cannot explain the principle he uses in the selection of paints. It turns out that he contradicts the laws of logic, while creating masterpieces of fine art.
However, the average person needs to be taught to deal with manifestations of irrational thinking. It is necessary to analyze events and facts in order to exclude the possibility of thinking irrationally.
Extremes.
When assessing a given situation, do not go to extremes such as “all or nothing” or “this is clearly black, and this is white, and there are no halftones.” To combat such manifestations, there are several rules:
There are no good or bad people, they all have their own strengths and weaknesses. You can find positive qualities in every person and “close your eyes” to the negative ones;
Eliminate from your vocabulary words that express the extreme degree of something. For example, “always” or “never”. Do not use them in relation to others and to yourself;
Leave categorical thinking aside. It’s better to admit to people that you suffer from outbursts of irritability, rather than claiming that you are a hot-tempered person. This is how you justify your shortcomings.
"Nightmare".
Change your attitude towards such thoughts:
Think about the fact that the situation that has arisen is a problem, but not one that guarantees imminent death or the end of the existence of the Universe;
Compare the current situation with a truly terrible event - the death of a loved one or the condition of people in fascist concentration camps.
Calm yourself with the following thoughts:
“This is a trifle that is not worth focusing on”;
“Unpleasant, but not fatal”;
"Everything will be fine";
“The Earth will not leave orbit, and humanity will continue to exist.”
"End of the world".
If you are used to exaggerating the destructive power of a particular problem, imagining the dire consequences of the situation that has arisen, calm down with the following thoughts:
Learn to expect from life not only blows, but also good moments;
Constantly repeat to yourself that the outcome of the situation may be bad, but the probability of this is negligible
Don't worry about what might happen. After all, the key word here is “can”. Most likely, this will not happen at all, and you will only be wasting your nerves;
Try to project several options for the development of events, and calculate the percentage probability that the result will be the worst.
"I can not do it anymore".
This is a belief not only of people who use irrational thinking, but also of those who. Reformulate the expression and convince yourself that life is difficult for you now, but gradually you will overcome this obstacle.
The main thing is to answer yourself the question: is this really your problem? Or you are simply experiencing someone else’s pain, passing it off as your own.
March 22, 2014