Critical thinking, in a nutshell, is the facility by which the mind is receptive towards new ideas. Yet, that doesn't stop there. Critical thinking goes beyond the acceptance of facts. Instead, this will lead you towards the channels of thinking that would take one piece at a time.

Say, if one concept is proposed on you, you will not accept this concept as it is. With critical thinking, you will take this concept from its general form and transform it into specific issues that create the map towards the bigger picture. This way, you will see flaws and good points and thus, understanding of the general to the specific ideas will be realized.

Critical thinking is a relatively profound idea. But central to this is the ability to discern what is valuable information from not. And from this, one can draw a concrete conclusion that can be applied to the demands of the condition.

Critical thinking itself is a discipline that aims the processing of information through effective and methodological methods, conceptualization and application of the concepts, creating thesis, synthesis and anti-thesis to transform an object of inquiry to its final and well-studied form, evaluation of the information with respect to the source, experience, observation, correct reasoning and data gathered. All these are applied depending on the needs of the certain situation. While these can all be used for a single inquiry, varying conditions don't often require one to manipulate information and therefore, learn in the process, many problems require the minimal use of the ideas as covered by critical reasoning.

As you might have noticed by now, critical thinking is an interweaving of thinking processes which in themselves are complex grounds to deal with. To complete the process, one must also consider the evaluation of certain precepts, elements of reasoning such as purpose of studying the problem, the problem itself, and the assumptions and the previous concepts as covered by the object at hand. To make things more complicated, one must also integrate concepts that deal with the various forms of thinking which include the scientific method, mathematical reasoning, the moral and ethical concepts and the philosophies that surround the inquiry.

However to simplify critical reasoning, one must have basic knowledge on correct logic because it is basically "logic". Don't be deceived though since sometimes, logical reasoning (if used incorrectly and not within the scope of the study of logic itself) may be very manipulative and deceiving.

Critical thinking has two major components:

One is the raw information and the well-established beliefs generated through the intellectual processing skills. The second is the intellectual commitment and the habit itself of thinking with minimal subjectivity and maximum objectivity. As common perception would tell us, critical thinking is not actually the mere gathering and retention of data and information, but should include the process by which this information are found and eventually treated. It is not also the possession of thinking skills alone but the actual application of these skills.

Critical thinking is not thinking alone. It is unique and free flowing but never tied to the primitive concepts of what thinking is. That is- simplistic approach to the processing of information.