2. The left side of the brain improves
the understanding of math and
science, as it processes the
information from a part to a whole.
Those sequences hidden in numbers,
symbols, and letters are much clearer
when arranged in logical order.
3. The logical side of the left hemisphere includes:
*Logic;
*Facts;
*Details;
*Patterns;
*Strategies;
*Words;
*Language;
*Order;
*Perception;
*Past & Present;
*Practicality;
*Safety;
*Comprehension;
4. *Logical thinkers observe and analyze
phenomena, reactions, and feedback and then
draw conclusions based on that input. They
can justify their strategies, actions, and
decisions based on the facts they gather.
*Example: A sales representative modifies a
presentation about a product to highlight its
user-friendly qualities after receiving feedback
from customers indicating that ease of use was
the primary reason that they had purchased
the product.
5. *Logical thinking skills are essential to the health of any
workplace environment. People at any level can be called and
expected to resolve problems that are inherent to the area of
their expertise. Therefore, the more logical thinking skills are
utilized in a workplace; the better will be the decision-making
process with fewer mistakes.
*Logical thinking skills helps us improve ourselves in many ways,
for example, by forcing intellectual self-improvement because
you consider hard facts even when you are assessing your own
performance. They also help you become a better team player
because you are unlikely to let you emotions, such as your ego,
cloud your judgment.
6. *They also tend to increase your capability of being
creative because you tend to make as many logical
connections, across subjects, as possible. All these
improvements on an individual level tend to translate to
organizational success eventually.
7.
8. There are two types of logical arguments -
deductive and inductive. Examples of these are:
*Deductive – This type of reasoning provides complete
evidence of the truth of its conclusion. It uses a specific
and accurate premise that leads to a specific and
accurate conclusion. With correct premises, the
conclusion to this type of argument is verifiable and
correct.
*Inductive - This type of reasoning is "bottom up," meaning
that it takes specific information and makes a broad
generalization that is considered probable, allowing for
the fact that the conclusion may not be accurate. This
type of reasoning usually involves a rule being established
based on a series of repeated experiences.
9. *All squares are rectangles. All rectangles have four sides. Logic,
therefore, tells you that all squares have four sides.
*It is dangerous to drive when it is snowing. It is snowing now. Logic
tells you that it would be dangerous to drive right now.
*All dogs have a good sense of smell. Bailey is a dog. Therefore,
deductive reasoning logic tells you that Bailey has a good sense of
smell.
*All seniors are bad drivers. Mr. Jones is 70 years old and you won't
let him drive your car because you think he is an unsafe driver.
*When it rains the trees get wet. The trees are wet this morning, so
it rained last night.
*All trees have trunks. An oak tree is a tree. Therefore, deductive
reasoning tells you that the oak tree has a trunk.
10. *An umbrella prevents you from getting wet in the rain. Ashley took her
umbrella and she did not get wet. In this case, you could use inductive
reasoning to offer an opinion that it was probably raining. Your
conclusion, however, would not necessarily be accurate because Ashley
would have remained dry whether it rained and she had an umbrella,
or whether it did not rain at all.
*Every three year old you see at the park every afternoon spends most
of their time crying and screaming. Your conclusion is that all three
year olds spend their afternoon screaming.
*Every house that burned down on the block was caused by faulty
wiring. You conclusion is that all homes on the block have faulty wiring.
*Red lights prevent accidents. Mike did not have an accident, therefore
Mike stopped at a red light. This is an example of inductive reasoning;
but, it is faulty reasoning because Mike might not have encountered
any traffic signals at all. Therefore, he might have been able to avoid
accidents even without stopping at a red light.
11.
12. Hone your questioning skills and use them everywhere.
Whatever information you have collected, whether facts
and figures or simply assumptions, verify it all. Check your
sources of information and investigate every piece of
information that you find even slightly questionable. You
must check everything for their authenticity before you
begin to evaluate the worth of any such information you
have gathered.
13. *Understand the biases you may have as a human being
by determining what exactly they are how they may
affect the way you deal with information. Be flexible
enough to look at a problem from different perspectives
even if they contradict your long-held beliefs. Accept
with an open mind and entertain any new information,
without any personal biases that you may have.
14. *Try to organize your thoughts whether by writing or by
using mind-mapping to help you clarify them first.
Examine all information you have, figure out
relationships among those bits of collected
information, and determine which ones are of highest
value. Weigh all your options once you have put them
in front of you, and then make a decision or come up
with a solution.
15. *Though it may sound silly to you, try to think in conditional
statements and find causes and consequences of small and
perhaps insignificant facts. For instance, let us assume that
every time when it is snowing, it is cold outside. The
sentence would say: “If it is snowing, it is cold outside”. In
conditional sentences, if the premise (the first part of the
sentence) is true, than the conclusion (the second part) is
true also. Try to do that with other things to (If I drop my
phone, it will be ruined; If I do not eat, I will be hungry,
etc), and see if that relationship of the premise and the
conclusion functions vice versa, too.
16. Since logical thinking is all about putting the pieces together, strategic
thinking plays a major role in that process. Being a strategic thinker will
not only supercharge your brain, but it will be a useful asset for work
related decisions and even for personal life success.
Some of the basic habits you should acquire for that purpose are
anticipating (thinking about what is ahead), critical thinking (question
everything), interpreting (seeking patterns), deciding (coming to a
conclusion), and learning (from your mistakes). Sharpen your strategic
thinking by playing strategic games (board games, card games, video
games, etc.) and designing a strategy for sports events.
Just as it is important to find your inner balance and work on your
spirituality, it is also crucial to keep your brain constantly active with
challenging games and tasks, so that you improve your logical intelligence,
which is crucial for a successful and, thus, harmonic life. Use the tips we
gave you and you will, soon enough, discover your inner Sherlock Holmes.
