"Reading and Thinking like a College Student" Supplemental Content: Discussion Questions

• Proof by Contradiction: Is creative thinking applied in mathematics? What about science? Does one engage in creative thinking when studying foreign languages? Or philosophy? How about an accounting class? Surely there must be something that doesn't involve creative thinking. Take a moment to try to find a field or scenario that requires no creative thinking whatsoever. With a partner, share your findings. Try to disprove your partner's claim. Point out instances where creative thought occurs in your partner’s scenario. Keep discussing until someone discovers a situation that involves zero creative thought. Can you find one? (Afterwards, read "The Signature Assignment" by Anita Slusser--how do you see creativity play out in the disciplines mentioned in the essay? How do you see creativity developed within the Signature Assignment?)
• Interpretation: What possible ways are there to approach, interact, and interpret a work of art? Due to its subjective nature, one could easily say the number is equal to the number of viewers, as each person will relate in their own way. Alice looks at a vase and has one experience; Bruce looks at the same and has a different one, and Charlie still has a distinct impression of the same vase altogether. Reread "Lateral Thinking: On Love and Impermanence," by Dmitri Peskov, and independently assess the art within that chapter--the paintings, the creative nonfiction essay, and the short story. Assess their meaning, purpose, and worth--what do you find?
• What is Art: Feeling brave? Tackle the grand debate of how we define art. In open discussion, write a definition on the board, and allow any student to modify, edit, or reframe it as they discuss and explore the many aspects and facets of art. No devices or google allowed. Are actors, dancers, and musicians artists if they only perform someone else's art? Is Architecture art? What about other functional structures like highways or sewers? Propaganda? Commercials and advertisements? Campaign slogans? Preschool crayon drawings? What about art that is created but never seen? Or creations made by animals? Is everything art? Can anything be art?
• Analytical Decision Making: regret can alter a physician's behavior relative to their treatment of patients. For example, if a physician had a patient die due to a lack of treatment, that physician is more likely to apply the treatment in the future even when it is clearly unnecessary. It has been shown that physicians who use empirical data in their decision-making (aka evidence-based medicine) are less likely to succumb to this behavior. Write about how regret affects your decision-making and how you might use data to alter your behavior (Djulbegovic, et al., 2015). 
• Deductive/Inductive reasoning: sometimes sentence structure affects our ability to analyze a statement. Consider the following statement: "Either John is intelligent or else he is not rich. John is rich." What does this statement say about John's intelligence? Do you see deductive or inductive reasoning to analyze the statement? Can you rewrite the statement so that another member of your class can come to the correct conclusion more easily? (Wason & Johnson-Laird, 1972)
• Do you think it is important to own knowledge? Why or why not? 
• Do you think it is important to rely upon others telling you what is factual? Why or why not? 

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