Think Critically Quotes

Donald Saari uses a combination of stories and questions to challenge students to think critically about calculus. "When I finish this process," he explained, "I want the students to feel like they have invented calculus and that only some accident of birth kept them from beating Newton to the punch." In essence, he provokes them into inventing ways to find the area under the curve, breaking the process into the smallest concepts (not steps) and raising the questions that will Socratically pull them through the most difficult moments. Unlike so many in his discipline, he does not simply perform calculus in front of the students; rather, he raises the questions that will help them reason through the process, to see the nature of the questions and to think about how to answer them. "I want my students to construct their own understanding," he explains, "so they can tell a story about how to solve the problem. ~ Ken Bain

If you claim to 'love' animals but you eat animal products, you need to think critically about how you understand love. ~ Gary L. Francione

A neoliberal, late-capitalist education system is increasingly one that teaches people to function, and to perform at ever-higher levels, but not necessarily to think critically. It emphasises standardized testing and stresses "delivery" over enquiry; "resilience" over versatility. ~ Marcus Gilroy-Ware

Even though I wanted to experience all these things I was interested in, I couldn't get them. So I had to think critically and culturally about what was available. ~ Chuck Klosterman

I was brought up in a home environment where I was taught to think critically and was encouraged to seek answers to questions about my faith. ~ Ken Ham

The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and think critically. Intelligence plus character; that is the goal of a true education. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

I don't shy away from saying that the single most developed tradition of critical thought devoted to the study of capitalism was initiated by Karl Marx. His work was built on that of many people who preceded him. It does not offer the only set of solutions to our problems; it has its own shortcomings and failures. But if you want to think critically about capitalism, sooner of later you are going to have to encounter the theoretical traditions of Marxism, because it is the most developed and draws from contributions made from every country on Earth, from a thousand struggles against business and governments supporting capitalism. It's a repository, a rich resource that ought to be made use of by anyone who wants to have a balanced perspective when it comes to dealing with the real problems. ~ Richard Wolff

At a time when we need an urgent national conversation about how schools and curriculum should address the environmental crisis, we're being told that the problems we need to focus on are teacher incompetence, government monopoly, and market competition. The reform agenda reflects the same private interests that are moving to shrink public space-interests that have no desire to raise questions that might encourage students to think critically about the roots of the environmental crisis, or to examine society's unsustainable distribution of wealth and power. ~ Bill Bigelow

What do you need to succeed in business? You need the ability to think critically and communicate, and those things you can get just as easily out of a philosophy degree. ~ Matthew Stewart

It is necessary to remember, as we think critically about domination, that we all have the capacity to act in ways that oppress, dominate, wound (whether or not that power is institutionalized). It is necessary to remember that it is first the potential oppressor within that we must resist – the potential victim within that we must rescue – otherwise we cannot hope for an end to domination, for liberation. ~ Bell Hooks

A famous bon mot asserts that opinions are like arse-holes, in that everyone has one. There is great wisdom in this ... but I would add that opinions differ significantly from arse-holes, in that yours should be constantly and thoroughly examined.
We must think critically, and not just about the ideas of others. Be hard on your beliefs. Take them out onto the verandah and beat them with a cricket bat ... Be intellectually rigorous. Identify your biases, your prejudices, your privilege. ~ Tim Minchin

To think critically, it is first maturing and distancing a bit from self, no matter what level one lives on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. ~ Pearl Zhu

Americans are addicted to plausible deniability. If we can't even think critically about something as relatively insignificant as an internet cat or admit that a person might give a pet an offensive name or apologize honestly for small, careless slights, how are we ever going to reckon with the fact that our country was built by slaves on land stolen from people on whom we perpetrated a genocide? What the f*ck are we going to do? Our propensity for always, always, always choosing what is comfortable over what is right helped pave the road to this low and surreal moment in US history. ~ Lindy West

We only give credence to that which we can prove exists. Since we cannot find evidence that gods, miracles, and other supernatural things are real, we do not trouble ourselves about them. If that were to change, if Helzvog were to reveal himself to us, then we would accept the new information and revise our position."
"It seems a cold world without something ... more."
"On the contrary," said Oromis, "it is a better world. A place where we are responsible for our own actions, where we can be kind to one another because we want to and because it is the right thing to do, instead of being frightened into behaving by the threat of divine punishment. I won't tell you what to believe, Eragon. It is far better to be taught to think critically and then be allowed to make your own decisions than to have someone else's notions thrust upon you. You asked after our religion, and I have answered you true. Make of it what you will. ~ Christopher Paolini

We weren't taught to think critically about Hitler and anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. We weren't taught, for instance, that the architects of apartheid were big fans of Hitler, that the racist policies they put in place were inspired, in part, by the racist policies of the Third Reich. We weren't taught how to think about how Hitler related to the world we lived in. We weren't being taught to think, period. ~ Trevor Noah

Students need to learn how to think critically, how to argue opposing ideas. It is important for them to learn how to think. You can always cook. ~ Charlie Trotter

Good satire goes beyond the specific point it's trying to make and teaches you how to think critically. Even after your favorite cartoonist retires or [Stephen] Colbert wraps it up, you're not left believing everything they're telling you. ~ Aaron McGruder

But somehow things took a sinister turn, and the division of labor came to be understood as the demarcation of a social hierarchy. Women kept busy with numerous domestic responsibilities while their male counterparts' sole duty was tending to the flocks. Men had time to think critically, form political infrastructures, and ultimately, network with other men. Meanwhile, women were kept too busy to notice that somewhere along the line, they had become inferior. This is approximately when shit hit the fan. ~ Julie Zeilinger

One of my goals as a professor of English is to teach students to recognize and think critically about what makes something art. ~ Andrew Hoberek

When people in a democracy are not educated in the art of living
to strengthen their conscience, compassion, and ability to question and think critically
they can be easily manipulated by fear and propaganda. A democracy is only as wise as its citizens, and a democracy of ignorant citizens can be as dangerous as a dictatorship. ~ Paul K. Chappell

Most bad people are good people that don't know how to think critically. These people become the blind weapons of a society. ~ Debasish Mridha

For people who have no critical acumen, a state is a mythical entity, for those who think critically it is a rational fiction, created by man in order to facilitate human coexistence. ~ Friedrich Durrenmatt

One of the great tragedies of modern education is that most people are not taught to think critically. The majority of the world's people, those of the West included, are taught to believe rather than to think. It's much easier to believe than to think. People seldom think seriously about that which we are taught to believe, because we are all creatures of imitation and habit. ~ Haki R. Madhubuti

It is better to be taught to think critically than to be told on what to believe. ~ Christopher Paolini

It is far better to be taught to think critically and then be allowed to make your own decisions than to have someone else's notions thrust upon you. ~ Christopher Paolini

People in America, they're getting dumber, they're getting less able to analyze something and think critically, and pick apart the underlying elements. And more and more ready to make a snap judgment regarding something at face value, which is too bad. ~ William Missouri Downs

The economy schoolchildren currently expect to live under and serve would not survive a generation of young people trained to think critically. ~ John Taylor Gatto

Think critically about what you are told. Do not accept the word of authority unthinkingly. Science is not a belief system: no belief system instructs you to question the system itself. Science does. (There are many scientists, however, who treat it as a belief system. Be wary of them.) ~ Terry Pratchett

See first-hand the ways that democratic education is being undermined as the interests of big business and corporate capitalism encourage students to see education solely as a means to achieve material success. Such thinking makes acquiring information more important than gaining knowledge or learning how to think critically. ~ Bell Hooks

The most used program in computers and education is PowerPoint. What are you learning about the nature of the medium by knowing how do to a great PowerPoint presentation? Nothing. It certainly doesn't teach you how to think critically about living in a culture of simulation. ~ Sherry Turkle

But my favorite period for actors is the 70s. I think so many great movies were made in the 70s. The 90s just seem to be a confused decade. Nobody knows, really, what's going on. ~ Ethan Suplee

[Letter to William Ward, 11 July 1878]
Dear Boy,
Why don't you write to me? I don't know what has become of you.
As for me I am ruined. The law suit is going against me and I am afraid I will have to pay costs, which means leaving Oxford and doing some horrid work to earn bread. The world is too much for me.
However, I have seen Greece and had some golden days of youth. I go back to Oxford immediately for viva voce and then think of rowing up the river to town with Frank Miles. Will you come?
Yours
Oscar ~ Oscar Wilde

In a sense, [Christianity] creates, rather than solves, the problem of pain, for pain would be no problem unless, side by side with our daily experience of this painful world, we had received what we think a good assurance that ultimate reality is righteous and loving. ~ C.S. Lewis

I think the penalties are grossly unfair. I think it's borderline shameful. ~ Matt Kenseth

I think we shot the ball very well tonight, we just didn't get stops when we needed to. They hit 11 3-pointers in the third quarter. Sometimes when one person gets hot, everybody's hot. ~ Shawn Marion

What a phrase that is: 'that explains everything!' I know better than to think anything 'explains everything' today. ~ John Irving

We come now to the question: what is a priori certain or necessary, respectively in geometry (doctrine of space) or its foundations? Formerly we thought everything; nowadays we think nothing. Already the distance-concept is logically arbitrary; there need be no things that correspond to it, even approximately. ~ Albert Einstein

People relate to things that feel real to them. All the good, happy, over-sexed and moneyed endings on TV are not the way most of us feel in our lives. The success of 'E.R.,' I think, is not relying on overly sentimental stories that are solved where people's lives wrap up nicely with happy endings. ~ Anthony Edwards

If I could put back the pieces and make them right,I'd turn back the hands of time with all my might.You'd never think that things went wrong.If I took the pain away and if I say that you complete me in every single way.If I shout it from the clouds above for everyone to hear.Could you ever believe me?If I whisper to you sweetly,you say you need a reason. But I've never gone astray.Now if I can once again persuade you
to say yes to me today.There is just one more question left for me to ask before we throw it all away.What do you say?Please say yes to me today
I gave you my heart, placed it in your hands for our dreams of tomorrow, just like we planned together as one for the rest of our days.But If I'd only showed instead of told you,I would have taken this doubt away.If I scream it from the sky above so everyone is sure to know.Could you ever believe me?If I whisper to you sweetly,you cry out you need a reason.But we've never gone astray.Now if I can once again persuade you to say yes to me today
If you give me your hand, I'll wrap it in golden bands for a long future together, I'd be a happy man.I'll hold you forever as our story unfolds by my side.You've been my only lover, let the truth be told.
If I scream it from the sky above so everyone is sure to know.Could you ever believe me?If I whisper to you sweetly If I say I am your reason and our love will light our way.Now if I can once again persuade you to say yes to me today.There is just one more que ~ Tina Reber

For myself, for a long time ... maybe I felt inauthentic or something, I felt like my voice wasn't worth hearing, and I think everyone's voice is worth hearing. So if you've got something to say, say it from the rooftops. ~ Tom Hiddleston

Harry, I'm not sure about this," breathed Hermione.
"Look at the size of her; I think we could overpower her if we had to," said Harry. "Listen, I should have told you, I knew she wasn't all there. Muriel called her 'gaga. ~ J.K. Rowling

You think far too much."
"Excuse me? You don't know me."
"I can see the wheels turning, babe. You're analyzing everything I say, filtering yourself. I can tell by your answers to my questions. You're so guarded."
"I--"
"Sorry, not guarded. I meant: uptight. You're uptight. You need to get laid."
"How dare you? How do you even know that I haven't--?"
"Oh, trust me, I know. It's blatantly obvious. You're wound so tight. ~ Franca Storm

I always think that women are the chaos managers of life. ~ Teresa Heinz

People think, 'Oh my goodness! I have to do something really big.' You don't. Do what you love. There's a great quote from a poet I use all the time: 'Instead of asking what the world needs, ask yourself what you love,' because what the world needs is more people doing what they love. ~ Maria Shriver

All journalists hope that their work will inspire a broader conversation. I think that's just what journalism is. ~ Sebastian Junger

I think I was born with the drive for success because I have a certain gene. ~ Donald Trump

You compose a question and then you just start walking. Concentrate on each step. Don't think too far ahead and don't think about where you have been. But consider closely how one step leads to another. Contemplate connections and links. Immerse yourself in the pattern. ~ Amanda Quick

Usually, if you think something's wrong, it probably is ... ~ Jayce O'Neal

Emma; but you must think him agreeable. Can you lay your hand on your heart, and say you do not?
- Indeed I can, Both Hands; and spread to their widest extent. ~ Jane Austen

I get a lot of return business. I think it's all those years I put in traveling around the country; people saw me before and had a good time so they want to see me again. ~ Rita Rudner

'Reversible Errors' is about the limits of the law to define who committed ultimate evil, to define what ultimate evil is, to allow the million arbitrary factors to make this a meaningful punishment, and finally to say, 'Are we really accomplishing what we wanted to accomplish? Are those anxieties relieved?' I don't think so. ~ Scott Turow

I think quite a lot of people have a friendship or a love that's gone like that and it never quite reconciles properly. ~ Tim Finn

You big ugly. You too empty. You desert with your nothing nothing nothing. You scorched suntanned. Old too quickly. Acres of suburbs watching the telly. You bore me. Freckle silly children. You nothing much. With your big sea. Beach beach beach. I've seen enough already. You dumb dirty city with bar stools. You're ugly. You silly shopping town. You copy. You too far everywhere. You laugh at me. When I came this woman gave me a box of biscuits. You try to be friendly but you're not very friendly. You never ask me to your house. You insult me. You don't know how to be with me. Road road tree tree. I came from crowded and many. I came from rich. You have nothing to offer. You're poor and spread thin. You big. So what. I'm small. It's what's in. You silent on Sunday. Nobody on your streets. You dead at night. You go to sleep too early. You don't excite me. You scare me with your hopeless. Asleep when you walk. Too hot to think. You big awful. You don't match me. You burnt out. You too big sky. You make me a dot in the nowhere. You laugh with your big healthy. You want everyone to be the same. You're dumb. You do like anybody else. You engaged Doreen. You big cow. You average average. Cold day at school playing around at lunchtime. Running around for nothing. You never accept me. For your own. You always ask me where I'm from. You always ask me. You tell me I look strange. Different. You don't adopt me. You laugh at the way I speak. You think you're better than me. You don't like ~ Ania Walwicz

I'm sure I was a great disappointment to many women because I wasn't Errol Flynn. But I'm me. I think that's got some merit. ~ Orlando Bloom

I don't know where I got the idea for 'The Great Thumbprint Drawing Book'; I just told my brain to think of a book, and it did. ~ Ed Emberley

I don't think food safety laws are going to protect you from a third carnitas burrito," Hanson said. "That's not about food safety. It's about pork fat overload. ~ John Scalzi

Behind me, I heard a young woman of 25 say, "If it weren't for my horse, I wouldn't have spent that year in college." Now, I'm gonna repeat that, because it bears repeating. "If it weren't for my horse ... " as in, giddyup, giddyup, let's go - "I wouldn't have spent that year in college," which is a degree-granting institution. Don't think about that too long, or BLOOD will shoot out your NOSE! ~ Lewis Black

Look on the bright side ... " David said.
I waited. Then he roared with laughter.
"What?"
"I can't think of anything."
"Asshole. ~ Kimberly Sabatini

I think talented people are priceless. And I think people that are knowledgeable and experienced - and I think there's a balance of new talent and experience, which makes, I think, Estee Lauder really special. ~ Aerin Lauder

We don't have permission to kill him," Bull said. "A finger slips, think we can get forgiveness?" "Probably. ~ James S.A. Corey

The book is the book and it will always be there. It's a quiet ending. In the book it's a contemplative ending which I think you could certainly do that in a movie. ~ Jane Goldman

I think that when people are at their best, when they are thinking, reflecting, cogitating, then they are doing philosophy. So I don't see philosophy as an academic enterprise. ~ Simon Critchley

Hawai'i has often been called a melting pot, but I think of it more as a 'mixed plate'
a scoop of rice with gravy, a scoop of macaroni salad, a piece of mahi-mahi, and a side of kimchi. Many different tastes share the plate, but none of them lose their individual flavor, and together they make up a uniquely 'local' cuisine. This is also, I believe, what America is at its best
a whole greater than the sum of it's parts. ~ Alan Brennert

I enjoy what I do. I think it shows. ~ Billy Mays

Bountiful is your life, full and complete. Or so you think, until someone comes along and makes you realize what you have been missing all this time. Like a mirror that reflects what is absent rather than present, he shows you the void in your soul - the void you have resisted seeing. That person can be a lover, a friend, or a spiritual master. Sometimes it can be a child to look after. What matters is to find the soul that will complete
yours. All the prophets have given the same advice: Find the one who will be your mirror!. ~ Elif Shafak

People still think of me as a cartoonist, but the only thing I lift a pen or pencil for these days is to sign a contract, a check, or an autograph. ~ Walt Disney

I think it's incredibly basic: we have to now deliver all of the huge advantages of trading with the 92 per cent of people in the world who aren't in the EU, so for me that was the final deciding factor. ~ Andrea Leadsom

Targeted ads, I think, are useful because I don't want to see all the crap. I'm not interested in buying a Mercedes Benz, but I am interested in buying a new MacBook Air. So if organizations like Facebook can actually make the ads more relevant to me, if they know what I am interested in, I have no problem with that. ~ Rick Smolan

When Olivia leaves the room, I move to follow, but Franny steps into my path.

"Oh no, you stay here."

"Simon," I say with a scowl, "collect your wife before I say something I'll regret."

But Franny just tilts her head, appraising me. "I used to think you were a selfish bastard, but I'm starting to believe you're just a fool. A double-damned idiot. I'm not sure which is worse."

"Then I guess it's good that I don't give a turtle's arse-crack about your opinion of me. ~ Emma Chase