Top 10 Thinking Strategies

Let's consider how we humans use our brains to engage with the world.

What kinds of thought processes do we use to make sense of things, to solve problems, and to make art? I’ve been assembling a list.

The Thinker, by Auguste Rodin

Here are 10 different thinking strategies or cognitive styles. As you review the list, consider which mode you like to be in most often:

1. ANALYTICAL THINKING: Systematically breaking down a complex problem or issue into its constituent parts, evaluating each part objectively, and weighing the pros and cons of different alternatives or solutions.

2. ANALOGOUS THINKING: Drawing comparisons or finding similarities between seemingly unrelated concepts, objects, or situations to gain insight or develop solutions through metaphorical reasoning.

3. DIALECTICAL THINKING: Exploring an issue or problem by considering multiple perspectives, often opposing viewpoints, and synthesizing them into a coherent understanding or solution.

4. LATERAL THINKING: Approaching a problem or situation from an unconventional, indirect, or unexpected angle, often by applying ideas or principles from completely different domains or contexts.

5. NARRATIVE THINKING: Constructing a story, parable, or narrative to communicate an abstract concept, problem, or solution in a more relatable and engaging way.

6. PRACTICAL THINKING: Applying hands-on, experiential, or observable actions and materials to solve a problem or understand a concept in a tangible, concrete manner.

7. SYSTEMS THINKING: Considering the interconnectedness and relationships between various components or elements within a larger system or context, and how they influence and interact with each other.

8. DESIGN THINKING: An iterative, human-centered approach to problem-solving that involves empathizing with users, defining the problem, ideating solutions, prototyping, and testing.

9. CRITICAL THINKING: Applying logic, reasoning, and objective analysis to evaluate the validity, reliability, and credibility of information, claims, or arguments, and identifying potential biases or flaws.

10. MUSICAL THINKING: Exploring the kinds of ideas (usually emotional ideas) that can only be expressed in patterns of sound.

I asked the AI model called Claude, “Which of these thinking strategies comes closest to the way you, Claude, "think" as a large language model?”

Claude replied: “As an AI system without human cognition or subjective experiences, I don't truly "think" in the same way humans employ different cognitive strategies. However, some of the thinking approaches you listed resemble aspects of how I process information and generate responses:

ANALYTICAL THINKING seems closest to how I break down queries, evaluate the information in my training data, and logically combine relevant pieces to formulate an appropriate response. I systematically analyze the components of the input.

CRITICAL THINKING is also highly relevant, as I aim to provide factual, well-reasoned responses by evaluating my training data sources for validity, checking logical coherence, and avoiding cognitive biases where possible.

SYSTEMS THINKING represents how I contextualize queries within my broad base of knowledge about various domains and their interconnections.

LATERAL THINKING occurs when I make creative analogies or combine disparate concepts from my training in unexpected ways to enhance my responses.

I then asked Claude, "What aspects of human thinking are hard for you to replicate? How can we as humans style our mental life so that it remains out of reach of AI to duplicate or replace?"