What is Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is the ability to doubt incoming information and one's beliefs. The skill helps to think clearly and rationally, to look for a logical connection between facts and to formulate strong arguments. The basis of critical thinking is the ability to reason.

Critical thinkers ask questions, question ideas and statements, rather than accept them as truth.

To become a critical thinker, one must be an active researcher, not a passive recipient of information.

A person with undeveloped critical thinking. Makes a decision quickly, without thinking, relying on feelings and intuition. Skimming through the information. He doesn't think about arguments or look for evidence.

A person with developed critical thinking. Thinks about his reaction before making a decision. He doubts the incoming information and his beliefs until he finds evidence.

American and European schools have been teaching critical thinking since the 1930s. According to the Cambridge Assessment study, between 2001 and 2009, the number of British schools with critical thinking courses increased from 130 to 1,000. At the same time, the performance of students has grown. A study by The Foundation for Critical Thinking suggests that critical thinking increases the intensity and effectiveness of learning.

Critical thinking was thought about in ancient Greece. Plato and Socrates questioned established facts and asked questions in search of truth. In today's world, the skill is becoming even more relevant. Critical thinking helps to analyze information, not to fall for fake news and make better decisions.

Why it is important to critically perceive information
The modern information flow is a constant feed of messages, which mixes news, advertising, useful content, propaganda. If you believe everything that is written and said, you can be deceived to manipulate or impose someone else's opinion.

Journalists of the Canadian newspaper The Toronto Star in 2018 checked 1.3 million statements of Donald Trump during his presidency. Employees of the newspaper found 1972 false statements and 68928 false words. In 2017, Donald Trump issued almost three false statements a day. Such claims help Trump get votes, but their choice will be unconscious and unfounded. If voters are not satisfied with something, they will have to deal with the consequences of the choice themselves.

False media reports can negatively affect finances, profession or personal life. For example, an anonymous news source reports that the shares of a certain company will soon rise. If the news turns out to be unreliable, and you buy shares, you will lose money. All information cannot be true. You need to learn to recognize lies, to share facts and opinions.

Elena Plekhova, an expert in critical thinking, a trainer of non-formal education at ART:

"It is important to verify information so as not to be misled and not to spread it further. Misconceptions can cause real harm: sow panic, undermine trust, provoke unrest. I often encounter this opinion: "So what if I do not recognize a fake, for example, about the death of Svetlana Alexievich. I will be deluded, who is worse off from this?" Of course, no one can force a person who consciously accepts the error to check the information. It's everyone's personal choice. It is important to understand that you can become a source of fakes and manipulations. Living in delusion is one responsibility, but becoming their source is quite another."

According to the theory of information deficit, a large flow of information increases the gap between different segments of society. Educated people know where to look for the necessary information, learn faster, know how to filter fakes and propaganda. Less educated people get lost in the flow of information. They cannot find and identify useful information, and their opinions can be manipulated. Development slows down.

It turns out that only a small part of society has the correct important information. For example, people move away from scientific discoveries because they are difficult to understand. Because of this, they can be mistaken about automation or global warming, do not prepare for changes and lose their jobs. The opinions of such people can be formed by journalists, corporations or the state.

How to Use Critical Thinking in Life
Learning critical thinking will not work immediately. It's like learning a foreign language – at first everything seems complicated and incomprehensible, but when you understand the logic, it becomes easier. Start thinking about things you usually trust. For example, if you look through recommendations on social networks, think about why you are shown this kind of content, in this order. Question the theses and arguments of this article, check the references to research or the competence of experts.

Practice the skill on specific cases, for example, news. For this, the methods of "5W + H", AMVAIN, lexical analysis and services for determining authenticity are suitable.

Fact-checking methodology "5W+H"

"5W+H" is a system of questions you can ask about incoming information. W and H denote the first letters of special questions in English:

What? - what happened?

Why? - why did this happen?

Who? - Who reported this?

Where? - where did this happen?

When? - when did it happen?

How? - how did that come about?

To verify the authenticity of the news, try to find the answers to these six questions. If they suit you, most likely, the journalist is honest, and the information is true.

IMVAIN Source Verification Method
The journalist is obliged to refer to the source of information in the news. The IMVAIN method is the properties that a trusted source must have. The method is named after the first letters of these properties:

Independent? Who is the source of the information? How does the source benefit from the spread of the news? If so, what will they get and why?
Multiple? Are there other sources saying the same thing? Are there sources that refute this news? If there is only one source, why? If there are several sources, how related are they and why?
Verified? Have the sources provided evidence of their claims or refuted the claims before?
Authoritative? Why can the source be trusted? How does he know what he's reporting? If you haven't been there in person, where did you get the information from?
Named - named? How is the source signed? Can you find it on the internet? Has he appeared before? If you can't find it, how will it affect the credibility of the publication that reported the news?
IMVAIN questions should only be asked to the source, not the news as a whole. If you have answered all the questions and they suit you, then the source can be trusted. If you can't answer two or more questions, don't trust that information.

Lexical analysis of the text
Lexical analysis is a scientific method of text verification. The analysis helps to identify the author's manipulations with data and facts. To conduct a full analysis, you need to delve into the methodology, but to check the news, it is enough to know a few signs of the text that you need to think about.

Euphemisms. Neutral words that replace something unpleasant or inappropriate. Euphemisms make it difficult to understand the exact message. For example, instead of the word "bombing", the phrase "direct air support" is used.

Introduction of the Expert Advisor. Experts confirm or refute the facts, help to understand the topic in which the reader does not understand. The problem is that the regalia of the expert may not reflect his competence. For example, a historian will speak about Gorbachev's period, but his specialty will be pre-revolutionary Russia.

Synonyms. Words that are close in meaning can change the perception of the message and the logic of the reader's thinking. For example, if instead of a rally they write a march or an uncoordinated action.

Evaluative vocabulary. The task of the journalist is to show the most objective picture of what is happening without assessments, opinions and judgments. If you meet an assessment in the news, then it is subjective.

Stylistically reduced vocabulary. The news may use swear words or insults. Such news is unprofessional, and therefore can be false.

User reviews. Readers' comments are used as part of the news, representing them as the news itself. In this way, the journalist absolves himself of responsibility for the words or vocabulary of readers, but conveys the meaning of their messages. For example, in the news about the fall of the ruble, the journalist will insert negative comments. The reader will have a certain opinion.

If you met these signs in the text, then you need to stop and think. Ask yourself questions and try to answer them critically.

Authentication Services
To determine the authenticity of a photo or account, special programs and services help. Here are some of them:

1. Detecting Fake News is a program with machine learning technology to search for fake news. To install it, see the instructions.

2. Botometer is a service of Indiana University that determines the authenticity of Twitter accounts. Botometer checks the account of the user, friends or subscribers and gives him from one - a real user, up to five points - a bot.

3. Politicfact – the site checks the statements of politicians and bloggers for truthfulness. The site is managed by a team of editors and journalists from the Pointer Institute for Media Research.

4. Assembler — the service helps to distinguish real images from fake ones and shows traces of editing.

5. Tineye – finds similar images, even if they are processed or inverted.

How to Pump Critical Thinking
Like other skills, in order to develop critical thinking, you need to delve into the theory and practice skills. The head of the School of Critical Thinking and co-author of the book "Critical Thinking", Nikita Nepryakhin developed the GLOBUS system. Nikita suggests constantly checking yourself for compliance with six requirements for thinking:

flexible thinking;

logical presentation;

informed judgments;

impartiality;

ordered thoughts;

independent thinking.

Elena Plekhova believes that if the skills of checking information are poorly developed, but there is a habit of believing suspicious sites, there may be no difficulties with the development of the skill. A person simply will not understand that he has poorly developed critical thinking, so first you should think: how critically you approach working with information.

At the same time, critical thinking is not a panacea. Difficulties can arise even in a person with a developed skill. For example, if the information is not enough, it is hidden or there are no scientifically confirmed facts, studies. Critical thinking won't help if you don't know what to doubt.

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