During a recent masterclass I attended on critical thinking, as part of a virtual internship for third-year quantitative students, one of the interns asked this question in the chat: “What is the difference between thinking critically and overthinking?” As someone who identifies personally as an overthinker, I thought it would be interesting to explore how we think about these two ways of thinking. What do we really mean by them, and how do they impact us as we navigate a world that is increasingly driven by (mis)information, data, and knowledge work?
Month: February 2022
Stay “Soft”: Openness and vulnerability in the service of lifelong learning
My reflections on the value of staying open and vulnerable in order to stay flexible and adaptable - in short, to be a lifelong learner. This was inspired by participating in a virtual internship for a group of just under 200 South African third-year university students in the quantitative fields, which introduced them to careers in financial services but also to the Four C's of 21st Century Learning.
Saving People’s Sanity, One Basic Query at a Time
I know that the stereotype of the IT team spending most of their time answering the phone with “Have you tried turning it off and on again?” must be based at least loosely on reality (and of course I know they made a series around it). I know it must also be a genuine pain when responding to the same basic and often dumbfounding queries takes up most of one’s working life. But for what it’s worth, I would like to point out that, besides helping people fix problems that they might often be able to sort out themselves, support staff are adding potentially much more value to their clients’ lives.
All & None of the Above 