Critical Thinking vs Lateral Thinking
Critical thinking, as listed in the Oxford Dictionary as, paraphrased: To achieve a logical conclusion from information gained through observation, or deductive thought processes. To explain, it is the ability to analyze something critically, be it an art piece, a physical situation, or a written report, is to ignore the unneeded and discover the most important aspects, is a vital and much sought after skill to have. It is basically getting right to the core and issue in a straightforward approach, without too much hussle or bussle.
Lateral thinking, by contrast, is said to be “a way of solving a problem by using your imagination to find new ways of looking at it.” If critical thinking is getting right to the core of an issue, then lateral thinking is about getting around an issue, choosing to employ unexpected solutions to problems.
Now that we’ve covered the basics, allow me to go into critical thinking a bit more.
What is Critical Thinking?
Critical Thinking is, using an efficient and disciplined understanding of applying information using one or several senses or brain processes to achieve a definite conclusion. To put it in simpler terms, the ability to think critically is using information gathered by our eyes and ears, and concluding that end using the information gained.
It is useful when you need to consider what can stay and what needs to go, a statement many authors or writers have to consider when they choose their creative craft. In addition, it’s also useful for many managers, or designers. After all, understanding what’s needed and what isn’t can save a person, and therefore their company, money. So, it’s a pretty good thing to have on your resume.
It’s also useful for day-to-day life, as understanding things critically can save you a bit of trouble when it comes to food purchases, and of course, deciding when to make a turn on a busy intersection.
Of course, to realize one’s ability to think critically, we also need to consider the ability to understand a person’s Critical Thinking Metacognition.
What is Lateral Thinking?
Lateral thinking, as said above, is to be considered going around a problem and finding an indirect solution. Such as solving a puzzle by creative means, like using water displacement to get to a cube at the bottom of a bottle. Critical thinking would probably just tell you to smash the bottle to get to the cube.
To give a few more ideas of how lateral thinking is different from critical thinking, Dr. Jon Warner on the Ready to Manage Blog has a simple list of bullet points to look over. As seen here:
- Reviewing problems and issues in terms of what might be missing
- Looking at a problem or issue from a variety of different angles
(Dr. Jon Warner).
So, yeah, lateral thinking is mostly about how to approach an issue from different angles to solve a problem. Like, for example, going around, up and down, an object to get different perspectives on it. Like approaching a statue at an art museum, you want to see it from every angle so you can admire its beauty as much as you can.
Lateral thinking also finds uses in humor, as comedy involves finding a indirect connection between two points to gain a reaction.
To make a quick summary, lateral thinking is about using your brain to come up with indirect and creative methods to achieve your goals.
What is the difference between Critical Thinking vs Lateral Thinking?
We did cover this a bit in the intro, but there are prime differences between critical and lateral thinking. The most obvious answer is that they are two different ways of approaching a problem.
Critical thinking is about taking a step back without emotion to judge and evaluate an issue or problem, while Lateral thinking is all about using emotion and creative thinking to understand a problem.
Being distant vs being personal, the two, at first, appear to be like fire and water. Two different elements, two different ways of thinking. To put it in more blasé terms, it’s like looking at a blueprint vs going with your gut feeling about completing a project.
So, all of that said, they seem pretty separate. However, that’s not quite true. While they are two different methods of thinking, they do work well together.
How critical thinking and lateral thinking relate to each other.
If lateral is how to get around, and critical is just getting right to it, shouldn’t they be at odds? Well, not really. Critical thinking is really about using gathered information to devise the most cost-effective solution, lateral thinking is primarily going around to gain new information. By this matter, they can assist each other, so it’s important to be skilled in both. That way, you can understand an issue or problem, and therefore devise the best possible solution for it.
An example of this would be found in many, many video games. In video games, a player often has to complete a puzzle, or engage in a combat situation, and in order to do so, they have to engage in both critical and lateral thinking. After all, to fight an enemy, you have to understand the way they move, or how much health they have left. To solve a puzzle, you have to start thinking outside the box to get to the desired outcome.
So if you want to train both, try your hand at a video game, the Legend of Zelda series would be a good place to start.
So, yeah, those are the primary differences between critical thinking vs lateral thinking, Critical Thinking Metacognition, and how Critical and Lateral thinking work together. I hope this article helped you understand the differences between the two.
References
“Critical Thinking.” Critical-Thinking Noun – Definition, Pictures, Pronunciation and Usage Notes | Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com, www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/critical-thinking.
Draeger, John. Improvewithmetacognition.com, www.improvewithmetacognition.com/two-forms-of-thinking-about-thinking-metacognition-and-critical-thinking/.
“Lateral Thinking.” Lateral-Thinking Noun – Definition, Pictures, Pronunciation and Usage Notes | Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com, www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/lateral-thinking#:~:text=%2F%CB%8Cl%C3%A6t%C9%99r%C9%99l%20%CB%88%CE%B8%C9%AA%C5%8Bk%C9%AA%C5%8B%2F,ways%20of%20looking%20at%20it.
Warner, Dr. Jon. “Critical Thinking.” ReadyToManage, blog.readytomanage.com/how-is-critical-thinking-different-from-analytical-or-lateral-thinking/.
