Dr. Zechman, classmates of CVEN 665, and everyone else out there:
My name is Ian Hudson. I am originally from northwest Houston, and I have been studying at Texas A&M University since 2004. I completed my undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering in December 2008, and am now pursuing a Masters of Engineering in Civil Engineering with a focus on Water Resources Engineering.
I am enrolled in Water Resources Systems Analysis because of my dual interests in water resources and technology. At the most fundamental level, my passion for water resources derives from the benefit it serves to society. Many other professions, especially in engineering and science, can raise political questions and discord, but the good deed of managing life's most vital resource is virtually unquestionable. My appreciation for technology is a reflection of my place in the last pre-internet generation. Although I do remember life without the internet, I was luckily born late enough such that my environment has always consisted of rapidly-evolving technology. Because of these two factors, I feel that my peers and I possess a unique combination of appreciation and skill that will be absent in later generations.
By the end of this semester, I hope to have an understanding of a programming language with which I have little or no prior experience. My undergraduate education at Texas A&M gave me a thorough understanding of MATLAB, which is a perfect tool in certain situations, but I would like to be familiar with other options for instances in which they would be more appropriate.
Critical Thinking
My name is Ian Hudson. I am originally from northwest Houston, and I have been studying at Texas A&M University since 2004. I completed my undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering in December 2008, and am now pursuing a Masters of Engineering in Civil Engineering with a focus on Water Resources Engineering.
I am enrolled in Water Resources Systems Analysis because of my dual interests in water resources and technology. At the most fundamental level, my passion for water resources derives from the benefit it serves to society. Many other professions, especially in engineering and science, can raise political questions and discord, but the good deed of managing life's most vital resource is virtually unquestionable. My appreciation for technology is a reflection of my place in the last pre-internet generation. Although I do remember life without the internet, I was luckily born late enough such that my environment has always consisted of rapidly-evolving technology. Because of these two factors, I feel that my peers and I possess a unique combination of appreciation and skill that will be absent in later generations.
By the end of this semester, I hope to have an understanding of a programming language with which I have little or no prior experience. My undergraduate education at Texas A&M gave me a thorough understanding of MATLAB, which is a perfect tool in certain situations, but I would like to be familiar with other options for instances in which they would be more appropriate.
Critical Thinking
According to the English philosopher Francis Bacon, critical thinking is defined as a "...desire to seek, patience to doubt, fondness to meditate, slowness to assert, readiness to consider, carefulness to dispose and set in order; and hatred for every kind of imposture." One quote can obviously not encompass the concept of critical thinking, but Bacon's interpretation is a good start.
What strikes me as most true in Bacon's quote is a "patience to seek". In order to think critically upon a subject, one must have a measurable interest in the matter, as the mind will always naturally gravitate toward the subjects which it finds most interesting. Foreign language is an excellent example. Learning a language requires an enormous synthesis of information, word roots, relationships to other languages, and so on. If a student with no interest in learning Spanish is placed in a Spanish classroom, he or she may have sufficient performance, but will not ever critically think in the way that is necessary to master a language. On the other hand, a student whose goal is to become fluent in Spanish will inevitably immerse themselves in the subject and thereby notice more relationships, patterns, and nuances. The student with an interest in Spanish may not be as intelligent as the first, but due to the critical thinking which is spawned by their drive, the interested student will ultimately become a more proficient Spanish speaker.
I also agree with Bacon's emphasis on the time that critical thinking takes - "patience," "slowness," and "carefulness" are the three virtues which tie into this theme. By almost any definition, critical thinking cannot take place within a short period of time. In many cases, a person will devote their life to a subject, thus making their critical thinking process a culmination of lifelong knowledge. In a way, critical thinking is a continually dynamic process with no "beginning" or "end", so long as the conditions and information which influence one's complex web of critical thought are changing.
In the end, the breadth of critical thought is too great to be covered in one book, much less one blog entry. I am interested to see the thoughts of others!
Sources
http://www.criticalthinking.org/ (homepage)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Bacon
What strikes me as most true in Bacon's quote is a "patience to seek". In order to think critically upon a subject, one must have a measurable interest in the matter, as the mind will always naturally gravitate toward the subjects which it finds most interesting. Foreign language is an excellent example. Learning a language requires an enormous synthesis of information, word roots, relationships to other languages, and so on. If a student with no interest in learning Spanish is placed in a Spanish classroom, he or she may have sufficient performance, but will not ever critically think in the way that is necessary to master a language. On the other hand, a student whose goal is to become fluent in Spanish will inevitably immerse themselves in the subject and thereby notice more relationships, patterns, and nuances. The student with an interest in Spanish may not be as intelligent as the first, but due to the critical thinking which is spawned by their drive, the interested student will ultimately become a more proficient Spanish speaker.
I also agree with Bacon's emphasis on the time that critical thinking takes - "patience," "slowness," and "carefulness" are the three virtues which tie into this theme. By almost any definition, critical thinking cannot take place within a short period of time. In many cases, a person will devote their life to a subject, thus making their critical thinking process a culmination of lifelong knowledge. In a way, critical thinking is a continually dynamic process with no "beginning" or "end", so long as the conditions and information which influence one's complex web of critical thought are changing.
In the end, the breadth of critical thought is too great to be covered in one book, much less one blog entry. I am interested to see the thoughts of others!
Sources
http://www.criticalthinking.org/ (homepage)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Bacon
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