Why YSK: A well cultivated critical thinker:
raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely;
gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards;
thinks openmindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences;
and communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems.
I mean more in the applied professional context where timing is important. I tend to be a wild card for stuff like this already.
Company: We need a massive social media presence.
Me: Can you prove that this has any impact on customers and sales?
Company: This is what everyone else is doing.
Me: The sales statistics don’t reflect any value correlated to social media outreach.
Company: This is just how things are done. You can’t test this. It just works.
Me: Try giving away something of high value, with no strings attached, using social media to see if you can influence a single person. If the item is still here at the end of the week, it is mine.
I was the Buyer for a chain of bike shops. That’s how I got my carbon wheels, and didn’t need to waste time with the company Facebook page any more because if you can’t even give away $900, you’re never going to sell it.
There are many times I have these types of ideas, but they take far too long to mull over for effective solutions when I need them.