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Jul 20, 2017
The Critical Thinking Personality Spectrum Ensemble
The Critical Thinking
Personality Spectrum
Ensemble

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A Note to Diana Collins
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Author's Note
Preface
Introduction
The Big Picture
Research Articles
     Genes Influencing Human Intelligence
Summary Essays
     Albert Einstein's Unique Approach to Thinking
Example Critical Thinking Essays
    (e.g. Abortion, Discrimination, Friendship, etc.)
Multiple Filters in Play
Issues
Moving Forward


Offered by David Apollo

Author's Note
"Those who have Understanding, True Comprehension, are often not identified as such. Validation requires recognition, and it is not possible to validate what one does not grasp. Without validation, Understanding and Comprehension is in our midst, unseen." - David Apollo

[ dual heads picture ]
"I know things that others don't know. You say, 'But I don't care to know them. And how do you know if you really know them, and if they are even really there?' And I say, 'But I do care to know them. And because I do care to know them and you don't, then the way I come to know and understand them is to look for them myself.' " - David Apollo

"Our Filters often leave things unseen, or unheard, even when they are in plain sight, and spoken clearly. Just because things remain unseen, or unheard, does not mean they are not Real " - David Apollo



This is Version 1 of the chapter discussing the Critical Thinking Personality Spectrum Ensemble.

[ CT components picture ]
Critical Thinking is a fairly advanced, or complex ensemble. It will be composed of numerous component ensembles all working with each other to form the Critical Thinking Personality Spectrum Ensemble. An ensemble of ensembles, as many of our perception, behavior, and response filters are.

Among these component ensembles, at least three will be mentioned in this chapter, although as of this writing they have not been developed or described in their own chapters. URLs to their chapters will be included in revisions to this chapter as they are developed. These component filters, which interact nicely with each other, are:
  • The Cognitive Aptitude Personality Spectrum Ensemble - required in order to actually understand what one is doing and why. Cognitive Aptitude does not refer simply to being able to memorize an offered answer informing what is going on, but rather to actually understand it. To have the ability to derive it given prerequisite conditions that are its basis.

  • The Innovation Personality Spectrum Ensemble - drawn to and often entertains situations that one has an earlier familiarity with, but in different, novel, out-of-the-box perspectives. Oftentimes, during innovative cognitive activity, multiple out-of-the-box perspectives are entertained at the same time. Because validation is required in order to achieve the harmony that comes with truth, those with an active Innovation Filter are often times drawn to experimental activity with the intention of uncovering the underlying truth of a thing. This in turn can lead to successful innovative activity with the productive out-of-the-box perspective, or a derivative of it. Mixed, of course, with plenty of examples of failed innovative activity, or, activity that has gone in a non-productive direction before being terminated.

  • The Likelihood Recognition Personality Spectrum Ensemble - able to hold multiple unproven alternatives under consideration, as if they may be truthful, prior to validation. People with an active Likelihood Recognition Filter are comfortable thinking in terms of the probability that a hypothesis (or interpretation of an observation) may or may not be factually true. With sufficient validation, the alternatives found not to be truthful are dismissed. With only partial validation, there is only partial dismissal. The Indoctrination Filter is not in play here, and thus dismissal is only executed once sufficient validation is met, and sufficient validation rests nearly entirely on facts. For that reason, the Recognition of Facts Personality Filter also needs to be active for the Likelihood Recognition Ensemble to work credibly.
The Likelihood Recognition Personality Spectrum Ensemble is important, as it can work along side the Cognitive Aptitude Personality Spectrum Ensemble and the Innovation Personality Spectrum Ensemble in order to fascilitate the derivation and testing of a variety of optional hypotheses. In this way, credible (i.e. validated) alternate new narratives (theories, explanations) for understanding That Which Is are advanced and developed. Directed experimentation and innovation are enabled. Critical Thinking is in play.

[ thinking education picture ]
Critical Thinking requires calling into question that which one knows, or think one knows, and working through if there is more to it, or if it might be understood differently and possible more correctly. Now, that could simply occur randomly, and sometimes does. However, if innovation is going to have a better chance of succeeding positively, then the potential alternative perspectives need to be whittled down to the alternatives most likely to be true. None of these may be known to be true (yet), but if they are going to be examined, the effort considering them is best prioritized. And that is where the Likelihood Recognition Personality Spectrum Ensemble becomes relevant.

Those with a strongly acting Critical Thinking Personality Spectrum Ensemble are able to hold multiple unproven alternatives under consideration. They have a feel for the likelihood that any of them might be truthful, and for any of them to be practically relevant, some mechanism for validating whether or not any are true is also of compelling interest. Why? Because "the point" is not simply to have an entertaining imagination able to generate fictional narratives that seem like they could be truthful. "The Actual Point" is that there is an interest in getting to a greater understanding of something more truthfully. And what would really be fun is if something innovative or otherwise interesting could come from it.

"It" being a newly uncovered truth, or an invention that either is useful or at least perhaps entertaining.

This chapter is currently offered "as is" in order to get introductory information out to the ConserveLiberty audience for their review. Subsequent revisions may include additional material that support sections of this chapter more completely.

→ The Author's Note was last updated 12 Jul 2017 14:00 PDT ←

A Peek at the Note to Diana
I need your thoughts on a new filter I want to work on. Words are limited in how to describe this right now.

This new filter is the one that enables Understanding. ... Basically, Understanding is the next step we take cognitively (once we have certain facts) to [comprehend] a bigger picture than just the one that is obviously in front of us.

... It's not just a computational or memory or speed thing. Computers can do all that so much faster than people, but they don't get to Understanding. They don't themselves create or invent or synthesize new ways of comprehending an issue that we haven't considered before. People do, whether or not they are using computers, if they are enabled cognitively with the ability to regard what they are trying to comprehend Out-of-the-Box.

Click here to go to the full note.


Preface
multiple filters picture
We start each Personality Spectrum Filter discussion by reminding the reader what ConserveLiberty means by a Personality Filter. Click there.

Now that the declaration that "our personality filters have an organic, genetic basis" is out of the way ... it is also important to keep in mind that since authors are endowed with their own foundational filters, these posts are always written from an unavoidable perspective and expression personality bias.

Finally, we continue to remind that ...
The biological and genetic basis underlying human personality is expected to be quite complex, with many component parts. By no means is it implied or should it be construed that the Critical Thinking Personality Spectrum Ensemble is the result of a single gene. Rather, an ensemble of biological parts are necessary to be expressed and put together just right so that a person's individual place on the Critical Thinking Ensemble is determined.
In fact, with regard to the Critical Thinking Ensemble it is probably a bit more clarifying to reiterate the statements above in a more declarative manner:
There is no single gene (whose expression or structure is variable and can be altered,) or for that matter a single event, that is causative of "actually getting it". Either by genetic variation, environmental influence, or random fluctuation resulting in a recognizable clinical impact. And thus, more generally, there is no single gene or environmental influence that results in our ability or inability to correctly Understand, Comprehend, Regard Perspectives Probabilistically or actively Innovate.
Typically (as it is for many of the filters) many, many people actually believe that they do have a strong ability to understand and to innovate, whether they actually do or do not. And they will insist that they do, whether they actually do or do not. Actually, not everyone can think critically, factually. Many know who they are. The rest ... simply believe that they can. There is really no way to show those who cannot that they do not. To be able to show them, they would need a strong Likelihood Recognition Filter. And they should not be easily Indoctrinatable. Absent those conditions, they cannot be shown what is In Plain Sight. To some.

[ gauges pictures ]
Numerous genes are involved, functioning together as an ensemble, which together under the right circumstances result in our ability to both Comprehend what may actually be True given the information we have at the time and from there move forward in developing (innovating) alternative perspectives that may be even more True and more Useful. We refer to these as the Critical Thinking Personality Spectrum Ensemble.

Of course, since neither our filters nor the information that we have currently is perfect or complete, all of us, in one way or another, is a little "off" - not fully understanding what may actually be True regarding the interpretation of what we are perceiving. These "misperceptions" are not entirely within our intentional control. When one grasps the likelihood that one may not be understanding a situation accurately, IF that is grasped, it is often accompanied either with feelings of unease, wonder and curiosity, or apathy (like, "so what?") For many, our imagination (always ready) kicks in instinctively (we may not even be aware of it) and we wind up believing whatever we feel makes sense, from whatever perspective "making sense" is considered "important" to us.

Which, of course, may have little (or zero) correlation with the actual Truth, whether validatable or not.
"Some get it, if any get it. Some get some of it, if any get some of it. The rest do not." - David Apollo
Those with an effective enough Critical Thinking Personality Spectrum Ensemble are drawn to and often can entertain situations that they have an earlier familiarity with, but in different, novel, out-of-the-box perspectives. Sometimes those novel perspectives can lead to a more accurate, more truthful comprehension of what is "really going on." Many times ... not.



How this May Work

The impact of the Critical Thinking Personality Spectrum Ensemble, depending on how effective its "setting" is, will be seen as enabling a spectrum of behaviors leading to the development of "new comprehension," "new discoveries," and "innovated understanding and solutions." It is itself made up of an ensemble of influential components and traits. Some of these are touched on in the Multiple Filters in Play section of this chapter.

Additional discussion of three other ensembles:
  • the Cognitive Aptitude Personality Spectrum Ensemble
  • the Innovation Personality Spectrum Ensemble, and
  • the Likelihood Recognition Personality Spectrum Ensemble)
can be found in the Big Picture section of this chapter.



→ The Preface was last updated 06 Jul 2017 18:55 PDT ←




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