Thinking A Lot About Critical Thinking!

Lately I have been thinking a lot about critical thinking. Critical thinking involves reasoned, non emotive, questioning that looks to correctly assess a question and come to a logical conclusion. I have been thinking about it so much because I keep seeing it less and less in all public debate on almost every issue. We have none of it in political discourse, interpretation of scientific research, honest analysis of taxes, the economy, individual human rights, and on and on. I like to look at something simple that fails all critical thinking.....Noah's Ark. Think about all the species of animals that exist in nature. Now think about how big of a boat you would need to house two of them all. Then put them on a nice cruise for 40 days and nights, keep them from eating each other, yet keep them fed, clean up all the crap (literally), and then unload them all in a safe ecosystem based on their needs. And don't forget the giant aquarium for the whales! So, critical thinking says Noah's Ark is a nice biblical story, but is not in any fashion, logical. Organized Religion of course remains the area where critical thinking is least utilized and most discouraged. Another good example is a statement make by Mike Beard, a Minnesota state legislator who said "we should not try to limit the damage we do to the earth, because God has created a planet that we humans cannot hurt". Now any degree of critical thinking would show you that besides nuclear destruction, we are already in the process of negatively impacting the air, oceans, our water and food supply, and extracting almost all of the earths resources at an alarming rate. Ocean scientists have recently said that at the rate we are acidifying the ocean, heating it, and starving it of oxygen, we are probably on track to destroying all life in the oceans within 50 years. Now where did Mike Beard receive all of his scientific training and expertise? the Bethany College of Missions. So, do you think he was taught to think critically? Doubt it. As I see different news programs on T.V. with their sensational headlines and complete lack of any attempt to translate the story logically, I keep wondering about the sheeple sitting there eating their nachos and watching saying "yup, I saw that on the news, so it must be a true and complete story". And you add all the twits on twitter with their 140 characters or less, thinking just seems to be in shorter and shorter supply. Do we teach critical thinking in schools? Not so much. So, we continue to evolve a society that reads, and on occasion, thinks on a 5th grade level, and wants to be spoon fed their opinions, and chooses to dodge the brain strain of thinking about anything hard too much. Keep shoveling the pablum, and keep your mind filled thru mental media masturbation.....Just try not to think about it too much....