The most heart-wrenching phrases used in reporting tragic stories involving loss of human life: “In hindsight we could have,” or “We should have,” or “We didn’t think this would ever happen to us.”
In my critical-thinking seminar, I try to convey to students and engineering professionals the importance of critical thinking in anticipating possible implications for every important situation in life. American history is rife with stories of tragic accidents that could have been prevented during the planning phase had people, including designers, engineers and medical staff, been properly trained to think critically about problems.
Where was the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after an Ebola patient first entered the U.S.?
Critical thinking should be taught as required courses throughout every curricula, including medical and engineering. Only when our nation develops a task force of critical thinkers will we learn to anticipate potential problems before they occur.
Critical thinking is a life-long skill development process that has the potential to help us avert future tragic mistakes and the senseless loss of lives. There are no awards given out for hindsight, only for better critical-thinking skills that instill wisdom and a sense of perspective that will guide us in the right course of action.
— John Kula, Mount Prospect
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