How do I improve my critical thinking skills/Thinking on my feet?

[kyrax12]

Any suggestions.

These are probably one of the most important skills to have in the world. Both socially and professionally.

 

[keird]

Dodgeball

 

[inachu]

You could try Neuroflexyn. Or just use lots of Vitamin D3 and Vitamin B complex.

After that should feel right as rain.

 

[dank69]

Argue shit in P&N. You can learn all about logical fallacies anyway.

 

[Fritzo]

I played a lot of strategy games. Worked well.

 

[Printer Bandit]

talk to people on the streets. get in precarious situations, like they do in the movies.

 

[vi edit]

Dodgeball

If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball!

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

You improve by analyzing your actions after the fact. Estimation skills are critical, practice them.

Did your actions have the desired outcome?
Was it the best outcome?
Would involving others lead to a better outcome?
Would communicating your decisions differently affect the outcome?
Would having specific information have led to a better outcome?
If so, is there a way to acquire that information before a decision is made?

There are others but, answering these kind of self questions will help.

 

[cbrunny]

reflection is important. also video games, particularly strategy games.

 

[vi edit]

And honest answer, board games. Many games require you to plan out multiple steps ahead, keep track of what others are doing, and make rapid judgement calls when somebody blocks a turn or takes a resource you were planning on grabbing.

Great things with board games is that it's also social requiring you to read other peoples emotions and strategies, and there's an endless pool of games and ways you can play them. Improving your mind is something that just takes a lot of repetition and practice.

 

[kyrax12]

I played a lot of strategy games. Worked well.

What strategy games do you recommend?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Read books about critical thinking.

Do post-mortem analysis on things - claiming you're just a contemplative person will get you breathing space.

Eventually, you'll get better at it and eventually be able to do it "live."

Strategy/Board games aren't great by themselves - they simply represent a closed system with fixed rules - a puzzle - which you can figure out. Once you figure it out, you can usually decide the best solution for "winning." This takes place in most games, and sucks the fun out of them.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Read books about critical thinking.

Do post-mortem analysis on things - claiming you're just a contemplative person will get you breathing space.

Eventually, you'll get better at it and eventually be able to do it "live."

Strategy/Board games aren't great by themselves - they simply represent a closed system with fixed rules - a puzzle - which you can figure out. Once you figure it out, you can usually decide the best solution for "winning." This takes place in most games, and sucks the fun out of them.

I've always wondered why so many gamers who are adept at learning the unstated rules and constraints of video games and then exploiting them are so poor at doing the same at work or in social situations? It would seem their prejudices and fears cloud the logical thinking they tend to pride themselves on.

 

[kyrax12]

I've always wondered why so many gamers who are adept at learning the unstated rules and constraints of video games and then exploiting them are so poor at doing the same at work or in social situations? It would seem their prejudices and fears cloud the logical thinking they tend to pride themselves on.

So social anxiety?

WOuld a tiny bit of alcohol help with that?

 

[Smoblikat]

Any suggestions.

These are probably one of the most important skills to have in the world. Both socially and professionally.

Child abuse.
Depression.
Drugs, lots of them.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I've always wondered why so many gamers who are adept at learning the unstated rules and constraints of video games and then exploiting them are so poor at doing the same at work or in social situations? It would seem their prejudices and fears cloud the logical thinking they tend to pride themselves on.

Social situations - and life in general - are far more complex and nuanced than most video games.

Most people don't have, for instance, life bars, aggro meters, or affinity points.

There's also no save points, undo, or cancelling out of a conversation to start over.

I can't get my ex to like me again by handing her dead animal parts.

And I CERTAINLY can't just kill everything on the screen and then wait for a new girl to respawn so I can try the conversation again.

That said, most of what I do in The Cubicle involves fixing "puzzles" that are about on par (complexity-wise) with most video games. The difference is that I get paid for it. And that I can ask other people for help without getting ganked and teabagged.

 

[GrumpyMan]

Chess.

 

[sm625]

http://brainworkshop.sourceforge.net/

but stick with dual 2 back.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Social situations - and life in general - are far more complex and nuanced than most video games.

Most people don't have, for instance, life bars, aggro meters, or affinity points.

There's also no save points, undo, or cancelling out of a conversation to start over.

I can't get my ex to like me again by handing her dead animal parts.

And I CERTAINLY can't just kill everything on the screen and then wait for a new girl to respawn so I can try the conversation again.

That said, most of what I do in The Cubicle involves fixing "puzzles" that are about on par (complexity-wise) with most video games. The difference is that I get paid for it. And that I can ask other people for help without getting ganked and teabagged.

So, you're saying gamers find life too complex for logical thought? And here I just thought they were too lazy.

 

[Cienja]

So social anxiety?

WOuld a tiny bit of alcohol help with that?

Bingo!

 

[NuclearNed]

two words: Fight Club

 

[BoomerD]

Experience. NOTHING else will teach you what you seek.

You can read everything you can get your hands on, play all the board games you want...but until you actually have to put it to use...it's just theory.

 

[TheSlamma]

Maturity, experience, wisdom and patience helps. Clears your mind of other BS so you can focus on problems at hand.

 

[IronWing]

For critical thinking, read history and try some scientific journal articles (real peer-reviewed science, not pop articles about science). History to get a broad understanding of the astonishing capacity people have for delusion and science articles to read about the extent people have to go in attempt to defeat our propensity to delusion.

For thinking of your feet, try Toast Masters.

 

[Moonbeam]

Suppose your question was, what is truth. You ask because you don't know tha answer, but because you don't know the answer you won't know a correct answer from a false one. The sane dilemma applies here. So, while I can't tell you how to think critically in any way you would recognize, I can tell you that you weren't thinking critically when you asked your question. All you can do is pick an answer that appeals to your opinion of how your thinking can be improved.

Furthermore, you might spend some time asking yourself why you have this question. I would submit for your consideration the fact that you have always been perfect except you were conditioned to doubt yourself.

Thus, if I were to advise anything, it wouldn't be adding some improved skill, but unlearning habits of doubt.