Disruptive thinking in progress

[Bill Moore]

Posted by Davidbfpo
Is:
Quote:
disruptive thinking

the same thing as critical thinking?

Prompted after attending a CT-related conference where an academic asked why the threat and reality of terrorism which killed so few got such attention when medical incompetence or mistakes killed 42,000 per year in the UK. Safer to fly, than go to hospital!

In my opinion, critical thinking only becomes disruptive thinking if it forces a paradigm shift or reframing of the problem. Using your example, I suspect the politicians focus on terrorism because the media focuses on terrorism and if the politicians downplayed the threat, other politicians would portray them as weak and putting you at risk. Right, wrong, or indifferent, fear is an effective emotion to manipulate people.

I think the reason that politicans are ignoring excessive medical incompetence is that it isn't a major media issue and organized groups are not demanding action, so in this case I think the politicians are using critical thinking as relates to elections (what do I need to focus on to get re-elected). They are not applying critical thinking on how to best allocate government resources based on the reality of the threats. In this case it is not disruptive, it is politics as usual. Political reality is a constraint that frequently limits paradigm shifts.

[ganulv]

I think the reason that politicans are ignoring excessive medical incompetence is that it isn't a major media issue and organized groups are not demanding action, so in this case I think the politicians are using critical thinking as relates to elections (what do I need to focus on to get re-elected). They are not applying critical thinking on how to best allocate government resources based on the reality of the threats. In this case it is not disruptive, it is politics as usual. Political reality is a constraint that frequently limits paradigm shifts.

A lot of the completely unnecessary deaths associated with medical treatment happen in the interstices (infections related to less than scrupulous handwashing, charts being misread at some point and the wrong or no medication being given to a recovering patient, &tc.) so they are harder to “see,” as it were. And frankly, most people just don’t understand the basics of human health and health care. Well, most people don’t understand the basics of terrorism, either, but they see enough pictures and hear enough talking heads on cable news to feel otherwise.