Problem solving is that term that has found its place in most fields. However, each of these fields has a different perspective on what problem-solving exactly is. For example, in psychology problem solving would be defined as finding a solution to any mental issues or processes where as in statistics it would be defined as a method to obtaining a solution for a certain issue on how many fish are there in a lake.
One must remember that the problems can also be categorized. These categories would be well-defined problems and ill-defined problems. Ill-defined problems, as the name suggests are problems that do not have a clear cut goal. It makes it difficult to come up with solutions to such problems. You might not be able to identify an expected solution. Well defined problems, on the other hand, are those problems to which solutions can be found easily. These problems have well-defined goals which make it easier to estimate the magnitude of the problem and also identify feasible solutions to the same. We might also be able to plan in advance if we identify such a problem.
When you are faced with a problem in any field, or even in your life, you might either try to solve the problem through logic or by trying to interpret the problem. No matter which method you use, you have to first understand the goal of the problem and also try to identify the different routes you can take to solve the problem. This is the key to problem solving! You might sometimes have to resort to abstract thinking and try coming up with a creative solution.
For instance, consider that you teach a bunch of 10 year olds English. You have to cover the different parts of speech in an hour’s time. You know that the children that you teach have a low attention span. Your problem here is to grab the attention of the kids for an hour in order to help them understand the parts of speech.
You could either go about teaching them in the regular manner by using the text or you can make it fun for them! This is a problem where you would use abstract thinking in order to find a creative solution. You know that your children love games. So you can come up with a brilliant game that they will enjoy. But ensure that this game also teaches them the parts of speech!
Critical thinking is a learned skill and it can benefit those who become adapt at using it in every decision they make. As a critical thinker, one of your goals is to become more familiar with your subconscious mind and to learn about the mechanics of the knowledge base that resides there.
Critical thinkers know that arguments are created in such a way for people to have ways of determining the validity of everything that happens in the world. In most situations, you may not even know whether you were able to make the perfect argument in proving that a claim is valid or not. However, the way you argue would be the one that would count.
