ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

critical reasoning

Critical reasoning is like being a detective! You know how sometimes in cartoons or movies, the detective has to solve a mystery by looking for clues? Critical reasoning is kind of like that, but instead of solving mysteries, you use your brain to figure out if something is true or not.

Let's say you're trying to figure out if your friend's story about a flying unicorn is real. You can't just believe everything your friend says, because sometimes people make things up or get confused about what really happened. So what do you do? You use critical reasoning!

First, you use your observation skills. You might ask questions like "What color was the unicorn?" or "Where did you see it?" This helps you get more information about the story.

Next, you use your thinking skills. You might say something like "Well, we know that unicorns aren't real, but maybe there's a way to explain what you saw without it being a real unicorn." Maybe it was a bird flying in the distance, or maybe your friend dreamed it.

Finally, you use your judgement skills. You remember some of your friend's past stories and decide if they seem trustworthy or not. If they've lied to you before, you might be more skeptical about this story.

Overall, critical reasoning is about being curious, asking questions, thinking logically, and using good judgement to figure out what's true and what's not. It's an important skill to have in life, whether you're trying to solve a mystery or make a decision about something important.