The Power of Critical Thinking

Science is driven by curiosity, but relies on critical thinking to channel that curiosity into tangible progress. In current times, with information (and misinformation) instantly available at the click of a button, there has never been more of a need for skepticism and analytical reasoning. 

There a number of ways in which critical thinking fuels the engine of scientific progress:

Accounting for Cognitive Bias

It is Human nature to recognise patterns, even when there are none. Therefore scientists are naturally more likely to entertain and accept evidence that supports theories evidence they previously hold, this is known as confirmation bias. Critical thinking forces scientists and researchers to objectively and systematically challenge their own presumptions, improve scientific methodologies and experimental design to improve reproducibility, and preclude subjective bias influencing the way in which results are interpreted.

Recognising the difference between Correlation and Causation

When a researcher is focussed on a specific field, with experience it can become easy to conflate the correlation of two or more events with the idea that one event may cause the others. Practicing critical thinking requires investigation to continue past surface-level observations:

• Are there other variables that may influence what has been observed?
• Could the observed relationship between two events be coincidental?
• How rigorous and reproducible were the experiments that lead to these observations being made?

Embracing the possibility of being Disproved

True science is at its core, transient.  20th Century philosopher Karl Popper argued that a scientific theory can never been proved to be absolutely true, only disproved. To quote Crash Course Scientific Thinking, “science is our attempt to become less wrong over time”. Critical thinking practices ensure that scientific models and theories remain open to constant review, taking new data and evidence into account and revising current theories accordingly.

Navigating the Digital Age

With the wave of technological advancement in the last 50 years, there has been an explosion of accessible pre-print servers, open access-journals and AI-generated content. As the barrier to publishing scientific claims has never been lower, it is more important than ever for both the public and the scientific community to practice critical thinking and quality control when reading online literature. Sources must be checked for falsification or hallucination, methodologies must be scrutinised and conflicts of interest buts be recognised and accounted for before coming to conclusions.

Science is not a rigid catalog of facts, but is a fluid, ever improving system of rigorous inquiry. By nurturing a culture of critical thinking, Paperstars is ensuring that science is elevated from a collection of textbook answers to an active and self-correcting pursuit of understanding.

Join Paperstars to be a part of nurturing that culture of critical thinking!