In the ‘Financial Times’ of 23 May, there was an interview with Harlan Coben (author of 32 novels, including the Myron Bolitar series and whose novel ‘The Stranger’ has been turned into a TV series for Netflix). In the interview he explains that he went to Amherst College in Massachusetts where ‘they taught critical thinking and writing, so that’s where I started to develop my craft’. This link between fiction writing and critical thinking highlights the central place of creativity within critical thinking.
Critical thinking needed for success
In a recent publication by the Brookings Institute, ‘Competencies for the 21st century’, the importance of these competencies has been stressed. As it explains, ‘The