The words “critical thinking” have lost meaning and have become cliche.  There are a lot of public speakers claiming to “critically think” however, many people mistake thinking and disagreement for critical thinking.  Critical thinking has nothing to do with criticizing issues or claims we do not agree with.  Critical thinking requires a specific analysis performed in a specific order to identify self-serving conclusory statements, opinions, and arguments and separating them from factual assertions.  So many people present their opinions and arguments as facts.

If you have never undertaken an analysis that begins with separating factual assertions from opinions and conclusions then you have never engaged in critical analysis. 

This analysis is performed to identify and test the factual assertions.  If the factual assertions are not supported or do not comport with the evidence, a credibility concern arises that may even invalidate the opinions and arguments.