INTHEBLACK August 2024 - Flipbook - Page 57
“It is no longer enough to know the content
and methods of a particular discipline, or to be
able to regurgitate knowledge,” Brown says.
“Being able to question existing practices
and generate new solutions are foundational
for an innovative economy, and there is no
successful innovation that does not depend
on a critical analysis of a problem.”
Critical thinking is also seen as an essential
antidote to the serious global problems arising
from the abundance of misinformation and
disinformation found within the information
being created online every day.
Organisational psychologist Charlotte Rush
of behavioural change firm Inventium says
the ability to analyse and evaluate “that sea
of information, to work out what is actually
relevant, credible and valid to reach a
conclusion” is what will ultimately set
people apart.
Critical thinking may not be an innate skill,
but Brown believes it is one that can – and
should – be taught.
“There is a lot of psychological evidence
that shows we are naturally susceptible to
certain kinds of biases in our thinking and
decision-making.
“These get in the way of thinking critically,
but we all have a capacity to become critical
thinkers,” she explains.
LISTEN
to an OUTLOUD
podcast on skills
for accountants in
a post-truth era
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