8 Lessons in Critical & Adaptive Thinking from Playing Cards at Grandma's House
As a boy, Sundays were at grandma's house. As soon as the dinner table was wiped clean, we played card games. Later, as a young policeman with a hectic court schedule, I often opted to stay by her house - quieter and closer to the station than where I was living. Inevitably, she and I played cards. I learned more than the rules of the game. Critical thinking is the ability to pick apart a problem or opportunity from many perspectives (think: critic !). It requires one: gather information from a variety of sources, crunch the data into useful intelligence, apply concepts and principles, analyze variables and relationships, predict potential outcomes, and develop theories or hypotheses. In many ways, adaptability is the capacity to think critically in the pursuit of solving complex problems or seizing new opportunities. Adaptability is an organism's ability to timely and appropriately respond to change. It requires maintaining an awareness, processing new