Critical Thinking

It has occurred to me that with the influx of information on the world wide web and the deluge in news broadcasts in newspapers, magazine, on television and radio, on facebook, twitter and web blogs that we do not always apply the critical thinking skills we developed during our school years.

Critical thinking is hearing without prejudice, contemplating the who, why, and how ... and then coming to a decision.

It is "to be fair and open-minded while thinking carefully about what to do or what to believe. If you are a critical thinker, you will assess the reasons for and against doing something and then make your decision on the basis of a fair assessment, not on the basis of your emotions nor on what your astrology column says nor on whether the person giving you the reasons is looking you in the eye while sounding sincere."

http://www.csus.edu/indiv/d/dowdenb/4/ct-def/def-of-ct.htm

Yet, "Critical thinking varies according to the motivation underlying it. When grounded in selfish motives, it is often manifested in the skillful manipulation of ideas in service of one’s own, or one's groups’, vested interest. As such it is typically intellectually flawed, however pragmatically successful it might be."
http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766

Think about it....how often do we really stop and think?
Most times we absorb. The information comes pouring into our brains unfettered and unanalyzed, merely taking up space, waiting to be remembered at some later date.