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Each of us is individual in his own way and, due to personal characteristics, gravitates towards a specific type of thinking. Such predispositions are very easy to determine, because They manifest themselves in behavior, action strategies, worldview, attitude towards what is happening and the people around them. You can read more about thinking in psychology (and if you are interested in the development of thinking, then we have something on this topic), so we will just remind you that scientists currently identify five main styles of thinking, namely:

Idealistic type;
Realistic type;
Synthetic type;
Pragmatic type;
Analytical type.

There are no people who belong to any one type, but for everyone one always prevails. Today, various methods, tests, etc. help to establish the leading type. In this article, we want to talk specifically about what the analytical type of thinking is and how analytical thinking is formed, as well as present several exercises and recommendations on this topic.

What is analytical thinking

First of all, we note that the analytical type of thinking is closely related to the logical one. Often, although this is not entirely true, the analytical is identified: how they differ from each other is the topic of another article, but note that the first is responsible for analyzing the data obtained, comparing them, etc., and the second is based on searching and establishing cause-and-effect relationships. Analytical thinking also involves the ability to perform logical analysis and synthesize information. Thus, its features are manifested in the fact that a person quite painstakingly studies a problem or situation or builds detailed plans, simultaneously analyzing all the data and weighing all the advantages and disadvantages.

The operating principle of analytical thinking is based on two basic processes:

The creative process accompanied by the search for new knowledge and information;
A formal process accompanied by analysis and synthesis of data, as well as conclusions and consolidation of the final result in the mind.

The formal process is built mainly on the laws of physics and mathematics, because if based on them, then everything material has common properties, similar characteristics and structure (logic is more evident here). And the creative process is characterized by the fact that it is responsible for everything that is either not related to material laws, or goes beyond the knowledge and experience of a particular person (in this case, it is involved).

Based on all this, the task of the analytical type of thinking is to systematically and comprehensively consider questions and problems posed by objective criteria. At the same time, this style is characterized by a methodical and thorough manner of working with problems and difficulties, focusing on details.

Why develop analytical thinking?

The development of analytical thinking is a very important issue, because Analytical skills themselves are required by each of us in order to better understand, remember and assimilate information, draw conclusions, and make decisions. If you try to find some common denominator, then the formation of analytical thinking is required for:

Quick determination of the main and secondary;
Solutions to complex everyday, life and professional problems and tasks;
Searching for advantages and disadvantages in current events;
Identifying limitations and opportunities;
Analysis of the experience gained;
Creation of reasonable conclusions and conclusions;
Making decisions based on statistical data;
Planning your work and activities based on real goals;
Competently dividing the process of achieving goals into stages.

The formation of analytical thinking (as, in fact, in general) is useful for a person in his everyday life. Everyday life, both in studies and in professional activities.

Development of analytical thinking

In this block of our article we will present several ways to develop analytical thinking. Among them there will be several exercises, descriptions of some methods and a number of effective recommendations. Regardless of whether you have the ability to think analytically or not, this information will be extremely useful to you.

So, let's start with what methods generally exist for training analytical thinking.

Ways to train analytical thinking

The development of analytical thinking is possible in the following ways:

If in this moment you receive an education and study, for example, at a university, it will not be difficult for you to practice more in solving mathematical and physical problems, as well as problems in other natural sciences.
At least once a week, do exercises that stretch your brain: solve crosswords, solve puzzles and charades, puzzles and riddles, play mahjong, etc.
If time permits and there is an opportunity, play educational computer games, for example, quests (including object searches) or strategies.
Watch the news. Yes, that's exactly what we mean. Despite the fact that in some cases they simply clog the brain, in others they can be a cool way to train analytical thinking. When watching news on TV, do not simply perceive it from a critical point of view, but conduct your own analysis of the facts, search for cause-and-effect relationships, draw conclusions and even develop your own.
Read books. Moreover, more attention should be paid to detective and fantasy literature, for example, the works of Robert Heinlein, Earl Gardner, Agatha Christie and other authors.
Unravel all kinds of codes and ciphers. This activity will also serve as an excellent training for analytical thinking. And you can find these codes and ciphers on the Internet or by playing the same quests on the computer.
Collect puzzles. They are also very good for training the mind. Today you can find a great variety of puzzles with a wide variety of parts in bookstores. Better yet, make your own puzzles, which will also train your creative thinking.
Play Board games. Even the most familiar traditional board games will help you in your studies. But you need to choose among them those where you don’t just need to roll the dice and make the given number of moves, but think through your next steps, develop tactics and think strategically. An excellent option would be “Millionaire” or “Monopoly”. Besides general development analytical thinking, you will specifically develop the skills of recognizing the actions of other people and understanding the logic of their actions, foresight possible solutions and choosing the most design options reactions to the actions of opponents.
Play . An excellent example of one of these is the game “Scrabble”, which helps to train rapid analysis and evaluation of data and develop skills the right choice formulations of a particular concept.

Note also that people who naturally have the ability to think analytically love to play games on a subconscious level, and also prefer to participate in activities where one way or another requires the use of logic and analysis. However, the rest cannot be neglected, because logical and analytical competence is extremely important in life and activity. Don’t forget that thinking needs to be developed in principle, for which it is very useful to master new thinking techniques (by the way, you can get acquainted with more than a dozen interesting techniques).

Exercises to develop analytical thinking

Here we bring to your attention four good and effective exercises:

Simulation of situations. Performing the first exercise is very easy and simple, because... all you need is some free time and your mind. The idea is that you need to come up with a specific situation, or several goals, and develop an effective method to achieve it. Let your goal be, for example, to fly into the orbit of the Moon. To implement these ideas, you will either need to participate in some kind of space program, or find a certain amount of money to buy a ticket to a space tour. Among other things, if you have some problems with your health, just poor physical fitness, or due to your age you are no longer fit for a person in full bloom, you have only one option - buy a ticket.

So: start developing this idea, come up with all sorts of ways out of the situation, analyze what you know, and develop an action strategy. And if you don’t want to waste time on fantasizing, try, trip around the world or purchasing an expensive car - the main thing is to create conditions for activating analytical thinking.

The second exercise also concerns modeling situations, but it is performed in a slightly different way. First, come up with some not very difficult or just ordinary situation for yourself, and then try to resolve it as quickly as you can. Develop several options for action, but keep in mind that implementing them should not require much effort or time. Once the situation is ready, analyze it, determine why it arose in the first place, think about how it could develop in the future and what its negative or positive consequences could be. Only after carefully weighing all the pros and cons, make a decision.

By and large, you can perform such an exercise not only with imaginary, but also with real situations, although it is applicable only in those cases (at least for training) where there is always some time to think, otherwise you can make a mistake .

In this exercise you will need to conduct several thought experiments. You can learn more about them, as well as the most popular ones, by reading. We only want to say that they are based largely on the question “What will happen if...?” So, you can conduct your own thought experiment “Mary's Room” (substitute your name for “Mary”).

Imagine that you are a talented and capable researcher. You sit in a special room and look at the world through special glasses designed so that the world appears to you in black and white. You, of course, know about colors and light waves, but your information is purely theoretical. Have you ever gone out and observed real situation of things. Think about what will happen if you do leave the room? What will happen when you are presented with real world? Can you tell which color is which? The point of such an experiment is for you to analyze the situation and develop and justify all possible options for color recognition.

You've probably heard about the Turing test, but if not, then read it. Do a similar test with yourself and one of your friends. You will need an interlocutor and a couple (or at least one) people on the jury. Start with your opponent on some topic. First, listen to your opponent’s arguments, then analyze them, and then apply them in your speech in such a way that none of the jury members will guess who the true author of the argument is - your opponent or you.

This exercise will allow you to practice your skills in analyzing opposing positions and will also help you good fun for the whole company. In the same case, if you consider yourself a great scholar, you may be interested in finding answers to unresolved scientific questions, for example:

Is a person, in principle, capable of being objective, and if so, in what life situations?
Does man have free will, or is he something like a programmed being, and is not even aware of it?
What actually gives each of us the right to claim that he and the world around him are real and not illusory?
For what reason is the human brain a collection of atoms, but consciousness, which is considered a product of the brain, has nothing to do with atoms?

Remember that even today there are questions that no one can answer: neither philosophers, nor scientists, nor ordinary people. And any such question always excites the mind, and even a simple attempt to realize and perceive its depth will involve you in the game of the mind, stimulate you to search for an answer and force your brain to work to its fullest.

Recommendations for every day for developing analytical thinking

Here we are unlikely to “discover America”, because... These tips are truisms that each of us should follow:

Try to at least partially systematize your life in order to be able to analyze what is happening;
Always strive to see patterns in everything;
, developing the brain, for example, counting in the head, reading, comparing, consciously drawing conclusions;
When reading books or watching films, imagine yourself in the shoes of the characters, determine the reasons for their actions and think about what you would do;
Analyze all your actions and actions, as well as the actions of those with whom you encounter in everyday life;
Look for the reasons for the events, victories and defeats happening to you;
Before you say or do anything, think ahead: what the consequences may be;
Learn from your own and others' mistakes so you don't make them in the future.

By following these recommendations, you will notice that your mind has become more flexible and has strengthened its tendency to analyze, and you yourself have become much better able to understand why things happen in your life. We also advise you to develop not only analytical thinking, but also thinking in general, and the first step towards this can be mastering the twelve thinking techniques we have collected in.

Remember that you don’t often meet good analysts, so systematic training, even if it’s just games or simple exercises, will help you become significantly more skilled in this regard. We wish you success and a flexible mind!

Most employers highly value candidates' analytical ability, and for some positions, having this quality is a primary requirement. Not everyone is born with an analytical mindset, but everyone has analytical abilities to one degree or another, and, if desired, they can develop them independently.

In the “Personal Qualities” column of their resume, applicants quite often indicate the presence of analytical abilities/an analytical mindset. Moreover, they do not always realize what difference exists between these two concepts. Analytical abilities - a person’s tendency to identify significant connections and relationships between various elements of information. An analytical mindset is an ability of the human psyche that allows him to demonstrate and develop the ability to analytically perceive the surrounding reality. Anna Luzina, company HR manager RU-CENTER, believes that analytical abilities presuppose a person’s ability to analyze a specific situation and build a holistic image of it, and for people with an analytical mindset, the process of analysis occurs constantly, which is why they most often have a technical education.

All people are capable of analysis to one degree or another; this is a property of our thinking.

Any ability, innate or acquired, is, first of all, a person’s predisposition to something, certain inclinations. From this point of view, all people are capable of analysis to one degree or another; this is a property of our thinking. But at the same time, not everyone has an analytical mind. Scientists have found that if the right one is dominant of the two hemispheres of the brain, then the emotional sphere predominates in a person, and if the left one is dominant, the analytical one. This is a congenital trait.

According to Pavel Tsypin, HR manager of the agency Vanguard PR, the analytical mindset is a more global and “psychological” phenomenon that characterizes a born scientist, analyst. Analytical abilities are something local, something that almost every person has and differs only in the degree of development. You can talk about low, medium or high analytical abilities, but you either have an analytical mind or you don’t.

“Catch” the recruiter’s attention

You can determine to what extent a person is capable of analysis already at the stage of getting to know his resume. As a rule, people with an analytical mindset can clearly see the structure of their resume, all logical connections are spelled out, there is a certain “order” in the presentation of information, and there is no “extra” information in any section. Everything is directed and sharpened to achieve a single goal - to attract the attention of the recruiter and receive an invitation to an interview.

In the cover letter that is attached to the response to the vacancy, such applicants, having analyzed and correlated the description of the open position and their own competencies, competently present their professional achievements and skills, mentioning in passing their weaknesses. This allows them to stand out from other candidates.

Do you have analytical skills? Prove it!

The process of interviewing applicants in most companies follows this pattern: first, the candidate’s compliance with the minimum requirements of the vacancy is confirmed, then his professional skills and competencies are clarified. “The analytical mind is very difficult to define, let alone measure. It can be confused with erudition, or it may not be noticed at all due to the applicant’s anxiety,” states Elena Gubanova, business trainer 3R Recruitment Company. During an interview, some specialists may present themselves ineffectively. Therefore, to identify an analytical mindset, recruiters use a number of special tools:

conducting an assessment

Candidates are asked to solve a non-standard problem or play out a situational case, and then are asked to explain how they came to the final solution, that is, they conduct a short assessment.

A person can have synthetic thinking - both communication and analytical abilities are well developed.

Tatiana Fedorova, HR Director Moscow School of Management "Skolkovo", asks candidates to solve a typical problem. Based on the answer, you can check several aspects of having an analytical mind or analytical skills. Firstly, what type of data does the applicant choose for analysis, secondly, how does he structure it to obtain a result, and thirdly, what conclusions does he draw based on this information. Ivanova Yulia, consultant recruitment agency "VIZAVI Consult", says: “The most common way to test a candidate’s analytical abilities during an interview is the Case Interview. Case types are standardized. When a candidate answers questions, it is necessary to pay attention to the sequence of construction of phrases, the structure of conclusions and conclusions, and the presence of “stucks”. You can ask the candidate to solve several logical problems, and then ask him to explain the options for solving them. Thus, we will be able to trace the candidate’s logical chain of reasoning, evaluate the vision of the task as a whole, the ability to sort things out, the absence/presence of a holistic vision, and so on.”

use of various tests

Some recruiters use tests in their work to identify the analytical abilities of candidates (for example, the Amthauer test (for intelligence level), highlighting an extra word in a chain, etc.). However, not all employers are inclined to trust the results of test tasks. According to Nadezhda Bobrova, director of the human resources department of an international automobile holding "Atlant-M"(St. Petersburg), firstly, tests cannot give a 100% forecast, secondly, the candidate at the interview is in a state of stress (to one degree or another), therefore, he will not be able to fully demonstrate his abilities, which will be revealed, for example, during an internship.

psycholinguistic analysis

Maxim Lukichev, executive director of an IT company "Prime Group", says: “The presence of an analytical mind and analytical skills can be tested by asking the candidate to talk about his previous work experience: his previous position and responsibilities can clearly demonstrate the presence of these qualities.” Some recruiters closely monitor the applicant’s speech, the sequence of phrase construction, the structure of conclusions and conclusions, highlighting defining moments of the career path, reaction to “inconvenient” questions, as well as the speed of answers to questions and the pace of speech. Thus, they use psycholinguistic analysis to identify the candidate’s ability to analyze the situation as a whole, set priorities and systematize information.

Communication or analytical skills

There is an opinion that people who are prone to constant analysis suffer from a lack of communication skills, since before expressing their opinion on something, they need some time to build in their minds several options for the possible development of events in order to choose the most, in their opinion, suitable. And conversations with people, especially with clients and partners, require quick reactions and “lively” communication.

Employers highly value applicants' analytical skills.

Pavel Tsypin, like most experts, believes that from a psychological point of view, communication skills and analytical abilities are not mutually exclusive qualities. Communication skills can be developed - it is enough, for example, to take a course in rhetoric. Svetlana Giatsintova, HR director of the company "I-Teco", says: “Of course, a person may have more pronounced either analytical or communication abilities. But this does not mean at all that if you have analytical skills, you lack communication skills. In modern psychology there is a concept - synthetic thinking, which means that a person has highly developed both qualities.” A striking example- marketers who, along with the ability to collect, analyze and process information about the market, need the ability to effectively communicate with the public and clients. Or recruiters, who, on the one hand, must analyze information about the labor market and its individual sectors, and on the other, interview candidates and negotiate with client companies.

According to Nadezhda Bobrova, if a person has good communication skills and knows how to establish positive connections with the external environment, then he often also has analytical abilities, since he knows how to identify and select the necessary and significant (to achieve specific goals) methods of communication. The expert believes that “it is more likely to separate analytics and creativity, since these are polar categories. When thinking outside the box, we can talk about the creativity of the employee. An analytical mindset presupposes the presence of administrative abilities, which is contrary to creativity, and analytical abilities are also present in creative people, but to a lesser extent.”

Who needs analytical skills?

Employers highly value applicants' analytical skills. In many job advertisements, this quality is required along with mental flexibility, attention to detail, a systematic approach to work, observation, and high organization. According to experts, all these qualities are most valued among managers, specialists working in the field of sales, in particular sales development, IT specialists, marketers, economists, analysts, logisticians, and consultants.

Svetlana Giatsintova believes that analytical skills are required, first of all, for specialists working with large volumes of information. These people must be able to collect, structure and analyze data, predict and model various situations, taking into account the influence of various components, and assess their significance for any events. However, intuition plays a very important role, that is, the ability to use accumulated experience.

An analytical mind means more communication with computer programs, paper documents than with people. It also happens, however, that a person has worked in client-oriented positions for many years, and then realized that this is not exactly what he wants to do. As well as vice versa.

A career without analytical ability

Most managerial positions require managers to have analytical skills and a penchant for long-term planning. If you want to achieve career heights and take a leadership position, then you simply need to develop them.

However, Pavel Tsypin believes that career growth is possible without pronounced analytical abilities, for example, in the humanitarian field. But, of course, not where they are primary: in top management or in the financial field. In addition, with some effort, you can develop these qualities in yourself - if you have motivation.

Svetlana Giatsintova is of the following opinion: if a specialist does not have analytical skills, but strives for career growth, he should consider positions where the manager is required to be able to take responsibility, quickly make decisions, quickly switch from one task to another, and so on.

As a rule, if you want to achieve career heights and take a leadership position, then you simply need to develop analytical skills.

“Career growth in itself implies professional improvement, which means a conscious need to master new areas and develop new competencies. So why not develop your analytical skills? Of course, you don’t need to sit down to textbooks that are distracted from business. There's simply no time for this. But it’s enough just to accustom yourself to think about the causes and consequences of this or that action or decision every time, says Anastasia Shupletsova, recruitment consultant, recruitment agency Delogys Group. - Even if you do not have a penchant for analytical skills, career growth is still possible; when positioning you, you need to focus on other personal qualities. And it’s unlikely that you will want to engage in strategy and analysis, because we usually like what we do best.”

How to develop analytical skills?

Experts say that if you have enough desire, you can “move mountains.” Developing the ability to analyze incoming information is a completely realistic and achievable goal. At the moment, many training centers offer programs for the development of analytical abilities, but it often turns out that life itself becomes the best “teacher” in their development. According to Maxim Lukichev, “to develop the ability to analyze, you need to immerse yourself in various situations and try to find ways out of them.”

Tatiana Menshova, business coach at 3R Recruitment Company, believes: “If a person managed to obtain a financial and economic specialization and began to manage first one and then several parallel business processes, this means that he is actively developing his thinking process. Playing checkers, chess, computer games, mastery of complex musical instrument, studying foreign language, especially English, presuppose the presence of analytical thinking and contribute to its development.”

James Rollins

sand devil

Dedicated to Katherine, Adrien and ARG, the new generation

* * *

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Directorate of Advanced Planning for Defense Research and Development

Case No. Alpha-42-PKR

SQUAD "SIGMA"

Part one

Fire and rain

British museum

London, England

Harry Masterson was to die in thirteen minutes.

If Harry had guessed this, he would have smoked the last cigarette of his life right down to the filter. However, he put out the cigarette after three hasty puffs and hastily pushed the smoke away from his face. If he was caught smoking outside the break room, that son of a bitch Flemming, the museum's security chief, would give him a hard time. Harry had already been put on probation a week ago for being two hours late for duty.

Muttering a curse, Harry put the extinguished cigarette into his pocket. You can finish it during your next break. If there is any respite at all tonight.

Even through the thick brick walls the rumble of thunder could be heard. The winter storm began shortly after midnight with a furious cannonade of hail, followed by a deluge that threatened to sweep London into the Thames. Lightning like multi-pronged pitchforks slashed the sky from edge to edge. According to the BBC's weather announcer, this storm was one of the worst in a decade. The outrage of atmospheric electricity left half the city without electricity.

Fate decreed that darkness covered precisely that part of London in which the British Museum stood on Big Russell Street, where Harry Masterson was on duty at that hour. Despite the fact that backup generators immediately started working to provide emergency lighting, all security personnel were urgently called in to further protect the museum’s valuables. They will arrive on site within the next half hour. And although the surveillance cameras remained active, Flemming ordered the entire night shift to patrol the museum's two and a half miles of corridors. To do this, the guards had to split up.

Taking the flashlight, Harry directed the beam deeper into the corridor. He hated night tours when the museum was in twilight. At this time, light penetrates only through the windows from street lamps. However, now due to a power outage they have gone out. The museum was plunged into an ominous darkness, only here and there specks of reddish light flickering from dim emergency lighting lamps.

Harry desperately needed a dose of nicotine to calm his nerves, but he couldn't stay cool for long. There was a job waiting for him. Occupying the bottom rung of the night shift hierarchy, Harry was ordered to tour the halls of the north wing, the part of the museum furthest from the basement where the security office was located. But this did not mean that the path could not be shortened. Turning his back to the long corridor leading into the darkness, Harry walked to the door leading to Queen Elizabeth II's Great Court.

This two-acre space was surrounded by the four wings of the British Museum. In the very center stood the large copper dome of the Round reading room- one of best libraries peace. On high altitude the entire two acres were covered by huge vaults designed by Norman Foster, creating the largest covered area in Europe.

Unlocking the door, Harry dived into the belly of the courtyard. Like the museum buildings, darkness reigned here. Rain drummed on the glass ceilings somewhere high above. But nevertheless, Harry's footsteps echoed loudly in the void. The sky was torn apart by a spear of lightning again. For one blinding moment, the glass roof, divided into thousands of triangular panels, was illuminated. And immediately the museum was again drowned in darkness, filled with the sound of rain.

Sigma Squad - 1

Dedicated to Katherine, Adrien and ARG, the new generation

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Directorate of Advanced Planning for Defense Research and Development

Case No. Alpha-42-PKR

SQUAD "SIGMA"

Part one

Fire and rain

British museum

London, England

Harry Masterson was to die in thirteen minutes.

Muttering a curse, Harry put the extinguished cigarette into his pocket. You can finish it during your next break. If there is any respite at all tonight.

Harry desperately needed a dose of nicotine to calm his nerves, but he couldn't stay cool for long. There was a job waiting for him. Occupying the bottom rung of the night shift hierarchy, Harry was ordered to tour the halls of the north wing - the part of the museum that was furthest from the basement, where the security office was located. But this did not mean that the path could not be shortened. Turning his back to the long corridor leading into the darkness, Harry walked to the door leading to Queen Elizabeth II's Great Court.

This two-acre space was surrounded by the four wings of the British Museum. In the very center stood the Round Reading Room, one of the best libraries in the world, with a large copper dome. At a great height, the entire two acres were covered by huge vaults designed by Norman Foster, creating the largest covered area in Europe.