Dr. Sean Mullen
I’ve been thinking a lot about how to cultivate critical thinking in kids. Not “getting the right answer.” Thinking. Curiosity. Skepticism. Generating explanations. Noticing uncertainty. Asking what evidence would change your mind. Look—you can’t just lecture children into becoming curious. We have to let them watch us be curious. So I’m starting a tiny morning ritual with my daughter. Seven minutes. Phones away. I bring one question I’m genuinely curious about. “If spin makes the ball curve, would a spinning tennis ball still curve in outer space?” Why do songs get stuck in our heads? Why does hearing something repeatedly make it start to feel true? Why do people sometimes become more confident even when they don’t have more evidence? And then we DON’T immediately Google it. First, we think. What do we notice? What are a few possible explanations? Which explanation seems most likely? How could we test it? What evidence would change our minds? How confident are we….30%? 70%? 95%? Then, and only then, we investigate. The objective isn’t to reward being right. For my daughter, I want this exercise to make it increasingly comfortable to say: “I don’t know.” “My first explanation might be wrong.” “Here’s another possibility.” “I was too confident.” “That evidence changed my mind.” “Now I have another question.” And I especially want her to see me doing it. “I’ve believed that for years, but I have no idea where I learned it.” “I think I’m falling for confirmation bias here.” “That new information doesn’t fit my original explanation.” “I was wrong.” Because children learn something important when adults openly revise their beliefs: Changing your mind isn’t losing. It’s thinking. And maybe once a week, bring social media into the exercise. Pick a viral video, headline, advertisement, health claim, sports take..whatever. Don’t ask: “Is this true?” Ask: “What exactly are they claiming?” “What evidence did they actually provide?” “What are they implying without demonstrating?” “What information is missing?” “Who benefits if we believe or share this?” “What would convince us that we’re wrong?” Now the phone has changed roles. Instead of being a machine that constantly supplies things to think about, it becomes something we think about. And perhaps this isn’t only for children. A lot of adults could probably use the same ritual. Before checking the feed tomorrow morning, spend five minutes wondering about something. Make a prediction. Come up with competing explanations. Estimate your confidence. Then investigate. Curiosity isn’t something we lose with age. It’s something we stop practicing. And maybe one of the best things we can give our kids is the chance to watch us start practicing it again. You can start anytime. “Don’t believe everything that you breathe…” Maybe even that.