Critical Thinking As A Learned Skill
Critical Thinking As A Learned Skill
M. Bakri Musa
July 7, 2025
Excerpt #16 from my book Qur’an, Hadith, And Hikayat: Exercises In Critical Thinking
Thinking is what the conscious mind does, unlike dreaming or hallucinating. Thinking is an active, complex mental process.
The popular image of thinking is of the man stooped forward, palm on chin, staring at nothing in particular, well captured in Auguste Rodin’s iconic sculpture, “The Thinker.” In human biology, thinking conjures up images of the dendritic ends of brain cells sparkling with the release of neurotransmitters as they communicate with one another. It is the brain organizing and making sense of all the information that has come in.
Thinking involves perception, learning, remembering, and that general thing called intelligence. All for the single purpose of solving a problem or making a decision that would benefit the individual, or at least not harm him.
The lowest rung of the learning process is the simple act of observation, as a videorecorder would a scene. Just as one’s eye sees what it wants to see, likewise with video recordings. Contrary to what we think, we do not record the scene in a passive neutral manner. We are familiar with television cameramen focusing on the few unruly demonstrators in an otherwise peaceful rally, thus giving viewers a completely different conclusion. That is called framing, and it also occurs with thinking.
The opposite, that is, a neutral or fixed camera setting as with a surveillance camera, could also be or even more misleading. An example would be the official recordings of United States Congressional sessions. The camera has a fixed focus and position – towards the podium with the speaking lawmaker at the center. That is required by statute precisely to prevent possible camera slanting and manipulation of images, that is, to avoid framing.
If the camera (meaning its operator) were to be allowed to pan around and reveal the empty chamber, that would reduce the congresswoman with her impassioned speech and exaggerated gestures to impress her constituents back home to a pathetic figure.
American policemen have body cameras. Many thought that would reduce police abuses. They do, for the most part. However, that body camera records only what’s within its view and range. The scenes beyond which could often be more determinative are excluded. We have to be circumspect with such claims as “the camera does not lie.” This is quite apart from the capabilities of today’s sophisticated video and photo editing software, as well as Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Have a video where a politician’s every little misleading statement pieced together, and you would effectively paint her as a habitual liar.
Years ago I met a group of Malaysian leaders on a State Department-sponsored tour of America. They visited Washington, DC, and Las Vegas, among other cities. On chatting with them, one complained of the pathetic and ubiquitous sights of the homeless in Washington, DC, together with the rutted streets and adult stores at every corner. To him that was America, and he was far from impressed.
It was obvious that he was not shown or chose not to visit Georgetown University where the world brightest would compete for admission, the Library of Congress which has more original ancient Malay scripts as well as books on Malaysia than Perpustakaan Negara (Malaysia’s National Library), or the National Institutes of Health where miraculous discoveries in medicine are being made all the time.
There was a bright side to the visitors’ observations. After a visit to Las Vegas one of them gushed that the city would be his vision of Paradise! When I inquired how so, he replied that as in Heaven, you could satisfy your needs and desires by just pressing a button. He was referring to the ubiquitous vending machines. Push one button and out gushes hot soup; another, a chocolate bar. He did not tell me whether he could get any of his 72 virgins by clicking on similar buttons!
The eye sees what it wants to see! Therein lies the problem! Those visitors carried with them their earlier assumptions (or prejudices) about America. Their visit did not alter anything, except for the one who thought Las Vegas as Heaven. He was receptive to changing his views with new experiences. In short, he was engaging in some introspection and critical thinking.
Travel, and with that, new experiences, is often the best and ready stimulus to think critically, or at least reexamine one’s old comfortable assumptions. That however is predicated upon the willingness to be open to new experiences and different viewpoints. As the 14th Century Moroccan wanderer Ibn Battuta wrote, “Travelling – it leaves you speechless, and then turns you into a storyteller.” You are more than eager to share your stories and perspectives. Doing so also engages you in critical thinking.
Excerpt #17: Critical Thinking: To Think Like A Child