Whether it’s the benefits of vitamin supplements or the causes of global warming, chances are a quick internet search will provide plenty of answers and lots of so-called experts ready to put across their views. So, how do you make sure you get the whole picture?

Words: Ahona Guha

Critical thinking sounds like a mundane skill, something that belongs to the realms of textbooks or university lectures. However, in this current information- and opinion-saturated world, it’s an essential ability that helps you differentiate between credible information based on fact and fake news or false information. Critical thinking essentially involves the capacity to understand, evaluate and use information appropriately and to be able to analyse an issue to form a suitable judgment.

Understanding why it’s necessary to sift through information and use critical thinking is important. Information is used all the time to make choices, be they simple – such as which breakfast cereal to eat – or challenging – regarding health, work or investments, for example. If those in the second category are based on false, misleading or biased information, then the end decision might not be the best one for you, and it could have long-term ramifications. Think, for example, about medical misinformation. In centuries gone by, this might have been peddled by a travelling salesman promising he had the cure for all manner of ailments in a glass bottle. Today, such deception has the power to go viral, courtesy of social media influencers. Similarly, false news or propaganda about geopolitical issues can inflame tension and affect global stability.