Manufacturing Cars with Virtual Reality

Manufacturing Cars with Virtual Reality Manufacturing Cars with Virtual Reality Manufacturing Cars with Virtual RealityOculus Rift, HTC Vive, Samsung Gear, Sony Playstation VR, Google Daydream View. What are the first two words you think of when you see those funky-looking headsets? First, virtual reality. Second, gaming.What was science fiction once is now a reality not only in gaming, but also in automotive manufacturing. Car manufacturers, such as General Motors and Ford, are increasingly using VR to test entwurf plans, tolerances, and safety features in virtual environments to ensure their products are evaluated at a very early phase of the process, thereby reducing the time and costs.VR has enabled us to shorten the vehicle development process in many ways, says Joe Guzman, engineering group manager, Vehicle Assembly Structure and Virtual Reality Center at General Motors. It offers the ability to very early in the development process make decisions in an accurately represented m anner in a life-like representation of the vehicle that in many years past would have required a physical property, he says.Gone are the days of clay, wood, or metal models. VR enables the designers and engineers to view the products in 11 ratio in a real setting. It can actually turn around realistic models onto one scale within a day where as if you were to build a physical prototype it would probably take up to a few weeks or months, says Joe Alef, a senior in aller herren lnder visualization specialist at GM.The use of virtual technologies allows designers and engineers to see, assess, and modify a considerable number of variants. Image General MotorsInside the CAVEThe use of virtual technologies allows designers and engineers to see, assess, and modify a considerable number of variants. The virtual data is displayed on a monitor, a large projection screen, or Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) an immersive virtual reality environment where projectors are directed to mul tiple walls of a room-sized cube.The CAVE provides an environment where designers and engineers wear 3D glasses and become completely immersed in the computer-generated graphics of the exterior and interior of a vehicle. They can then evaluate mirrors, placement of controls, and design quality, such as gaps, fits, and finishes.The CAVE solution was developed by the University of Indiana in the late 1970s so it is not new, says Guzman, who has been using the technology since it was first installed at GM in the year 2000. It has, however, undergone a major upgrade in the last three years. GEs technical center in Michigan, Detroit, has two CAVEs and two more are under construction in Europe and China.What we have here is a four-walled CAVE, smaller than the design center. Theirs is eight feet and ours is a six-foot CAVE, explains Guzman. The design center utilizes the cave for aesthetic purposes while we do for engineering and manufacturing purposes, he explains.We have done a lot of g lobal dimensioning and tolerance studies, visibility studies from the drivers perspective to detect any object variation between the wind shield and mirrors, reflection studies from inside rear-view mirrors and outside studies, says Alef.The CAVE provides an environment where engineers become virtually immersed. Image General MotorsIntegrating with DesignEvery program, vehicle, and platform utilizes VR at GM. According to Guzman, VR is being used by different groups on different days for decisions being made in the physical development process from the initiation of a program to a prototype. Its a validation of what they are seeing in the physical world translated correctly from what they had done in math on a computer model, he says.Safety is another parameter being evaluated using VR. We have taken CAE crash simulation data one of our demo math data for a vehicle that went into production last year. We took the crash data put it into 3D rendering using 3DExcite DeltaGen software. As you are developing these parts early on in the development process, you can optimize them for weight strength and how they react under crash conditions. Thats how we are making the vehicles safe, says Guzman.GM is not alone in the use of VR. Other automakers are using it for design, engineering, and manufacturing purposes. Ford, for example, also has a lab outfitted with VR technology to raise manufacturing quality.So what is its future outlook? Guzman believes the entire virtual world will become fully integrated into the design process, fostering increased collaboration between designers and engineers. The VR tools will have a place in a meeting room to collaborate much the same as it used to be when engineers and designers would meet around the car down at the shop. They are going to collaborate around these VR properties and it will be more integrated into the fabric of the design process. Every decision will be based on this. For Further Discussion The entire virtual world w ill become fully integrated into the design process fostering increased collaboration between designers and engineers. Joe Guzman, engineering group manager, General Motors

Stop Job Loss from Stealing Your Confidence and Your Identity

Stop Job Loss from Stealing Yur Confidence and Your IdentityStop Job Loss from Stealing Your Confidence and Your IdentityClinical psychologists and therapists provide insights on how not to lose your identity when you lose your job.One big challenge a professional faces when hes lost his job is that hes also lost a big piece of his identity.Being out of work is a terrible feeling, said Elizabeth Friedman, PhD, a clinical psychologist in New York. We identify at least part of our self with what we do. Hopefully its not all of our self-definition, but it is a big part of it. So we lose our grounding, our footing, in certain ways. Who am I? Where am I going? What do I do tomorrow morning at 800? Do I get up? Do I stay in bed? Staying in bed is not the right answer, experts agree. In fact, sticking to a bung and applying control when and where you can is key.Take one day to feel terrible, and then get moving, Friedman said. Its very important to keep basic routines. You cant suddenly be up all night long watching Law and Order. Get up in the morning take a shower. If youre a guy, shave if youre a woman, do your hair. Send out a million e-mails, contact all of your friends.A sense of identity loss can affect a persons relationships and family dynamics, as well.When youve lost a job, you start to question your own identity, said Kevin Skinner, who has a Ph.D. in marriage and family therapy and shares expert advice at MyExpertSolution.com. Sometimes if its an extended job loss, you begin to feel guilty, especially if its affecting your family, and maybe your wife has to go back to work. You start to feel like, Whats wrong with me? And its not about that.What it is about, said Skinner, is reaching out to others and focusing on realistic solutions.The best thing we can do in these times is get additional support, he said. You might have to turn to family for support. You might have to go live somewhere else - downgrade your home, downgrade your cars. The resilient peop le are going to say, Im going to find a solution - Im a person who finds solutions to problems.

Ten Ways to Practice Great Leadership by Taking Action

Ten Ways to Practice Great Leadership by Taking ActionTen Ways to Practice Great Leadership by Taking ActionTen Ways to Practice Great Leadership by Taking Action Berson, co-author of Leadership Conversations Challenging High-Potential Managers to Become Leaders (Jossey-Bass, 2013)At the end of the day, only action produces results. Building relationships, developing others, and making decisions lead to mora effective actions but it is the actions of you and your team, along with the outcomes they produce, that will build your reputation as a great leader.Practice great leadership with these ten steps1.Choose action or inaction wisely. Deciding when to take action is a basic leadership choice. You can lead your people into action quickly or let the energy build while they prepare for what must be done. Both approaches are appropriate at times.2.Make teamwork a priority. Even high potentials must perform as a team to be successful. Conflicting actions or complaints about difficulties in getting agreement are symptoms of poor teamwork.Fix the teamwork issues first, and other challenges will be easier.3.Hold planning conversations. The time you spend in up-front conversations will be less than the time you otherwise would spend correcting the unintended and costly consequences of poorly planned and misaligned actions.4.Ensure that the plan is understood. Ask high potentials, especially those who did not participate in planning, to describe your organizations goals and strategies. If their answers are accurate, congratulate yourself. If they are not, improve the methods you use to communicate the strategic plan to your people.5.Plan obsolescence. Look at the products and services you offer today. Which will be irrelevant three years from now?6.Create a people strategy. Invest as much in creating the people strategy for your next major change as in developing new processes and systems. People will accept change when they feel it is necessary, when their inputs are h eard, and when they believe that the process of change is fair.7.Learn from success. Looking back, would you say you learned more from your failures than from your successes? If you said yes, spend more time examining your recent successes to determine how you can repeat and expand them.8.Stretch the comfort zone. Think about your teams biggest achievement last year. What have you learned since then that could have made it bigger? Push your people into the uncomfortable learning zone and coach them to higher levels of success.9.Confirm alignment. Next time you finish a key meeting, ask each person what he or she plans to do - especially to support each other. Agreement is real only if all parties share the agreements, the actions to be taken, and the expected results.10.Get comfortable with silence. Silence can be the prelude to a big decision or decisive action. Use silence in your conversations as thinking and reflecting time.Excerpted with permission from the publisher, Wiley, f rom Leadership Conversations Challenging High Potential Managers to Become Great Leadersby Alan S. Berson and Richard G. Stieglitz. Copyright 2013.Read more in the Resource CenterFrom Alan Berson Start your Succession Planning in the bewerberinterviewLeadership Stop Bossing, Start TeachingHow to Interview Recruiting Team PlayersEmpowering Employees Get Better Results from Almost Any Team

Overconfident CEOs increase commitment of employee

Overconfident CEOs increase commitment of employeeOverconfident CEOs increase commitment of employeeWhen your CEO promises outlandish goals to the moon and back, their overconfidence shows their commitment to the company at all costs. Just look at billionaire Elon Musks all-or-nothing salary as a recent example. Musk must make sure that Tesla grows in $50 billion leaps, or else he will earn no salary.CEOs that do these risky grand proclamations are signaling that they are all-in. They do this to show their belief in the company so that we begin to believe in it too. Do we buy it? Apparently so. Confidence is infectious. A new study on CEO overconfidence found that employees and stakeholders begin to internalize the CEOs commitment to the company as their own.Overconfident CEOs cause reality distortion fieldWhen a CEO has a singular vision of what a company can do, it can distort reality as we see it. Suddenly, impossible deadlines seem doable. Looking at corporate leadership at over 1,900 U.S. companies over the past two decades, the researchers defined overconfidence as the risky personal loss of wealth. Overconfident CEOs were ones that risked losing it all if stock prices suddenly fell. When the CEO showed this kind of commitment, it increased others too. Employees became more likely to stay at the company and take more stock in it. Overconfident CEOs were able to inspire longer relationships with stakeholders.Overconfident CEOs induce more supplier commitments including greater relationship-specific investment and longer relationship duration, the study found. Overconfident CEOs also induce stronger labor commitments as employees exhibit lower turnover rates and greater ownership of company stock in benefit plans.At best, with this excessive optimism, you get a Steve Jobs situation. The late Apple CEO was famous for overpromising and willing his vision of a pocket-sized smartphone into being.Steve Jobs was known for having a reality distortion field - such confidence in his ideas and unrealistic timelines that he was able to sell them to employees, suppliers, and investors. Our research suggests that the reality distortion field is real, the researchers conclude.At worst, you get the hubris that allowed Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes to succeedHolmes is a famous cautionary tale in Silicon Valley. Her overconfidence in her ability to revolutionize healthcare with pinprick blood tests reportedly turned into bold-faced lies to investors and patients about if the blood tests actually worked, as outlined in the book on her downfall,Bad Blood Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup. This past week, Holmes was indicted on charges of conspiracy and wire fraud, accused of knowingly deceiving investors, doctors, and patients.So yes, overconfident CEOs have the ability to bend reality to their will, exaggerating and embellishing on the details to get their way. But when the core truth of a business model gets exposed as a lie, the CEOs real ity distortion field stops working and the CEO falls back down to the humbling ground of Earth.

5 ways to shine as a high-potential and be a better leader

5 ways to shine as a high-potential and be a better leader5 ways to shine as a high-potential and be a better leaderTheres never been a better time to develop your leadership skills. According toDeloittes 2014 Millennial Survey, Millennials will comprise 75% of the global workforce by 2025.Think about that statistic for a moment, because the implications are huge Within 10 years, Baby Boomers will have all but completed the handoff of leadership responsibilities to members of Generations X and Y. If youre interested in moving into management, now is the ideal time to raise your hand and take the lead.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moraWhy now?In anticipation of this global demographic shift, many companies are developing high-potential programs to accelerate thedevelopment of their up-and-coming leaders.Deloitte, for example, has a program called NextGen, which aims to cultivate fu ture leaders.I turned to Monica OReilly, a principal at Deloitte Touche LLP and Chief Talent Officer for the firms advisory practice, to learn more about NextGen and who makes a great candidate for the program.OReilly, who is a NextGen graduate herself, explains five ways to stand out andbe recognized as high-potential. Even if your company doesnt have a program like NextGen, incorporating these tips into your work life will demonstrate your abilities to the people who can take your career to the next level.1. Deliver Superior PerformanceDont just meet expectations exceed them. Every time. Being recognized as someone who possesses high potential starts with superior performance.The people selected for the program demonstrate a desire to move into top leadership roles, an interest in broadening their perspective across the business, and a strong commitment to developing themselves and others, OReilly says. But in addition to that, they usually have astrong track record of performanc eover several years. We choose those who demonstrate higher performance in serving clients and taking care of people.2. Cultivate a FollowershipDo you have the ability to inspire others to collaborate and take action? If so, you have- or are building- a followership. According to OReilly, if you want to be recognized for your future leadership potential, you should be able to cultivate a followership before you get there.People will follow a talented leader, she asserts. They want to be inspired and motivated. So learn what makes people tick as well as what qualities they respect (here are a few ideas), then begin to cultivate those traits.3. Be Boldly Self-AwareDo you know your workplace brand? In other words, are you aware of the unique impact you make in your office andhow others perceive you? If you want a management position in your future, you should.Thats because emerging leaders must possess strong self-awareness. Understand your strengths and where you can make an impact, s ays OReilly. And then, be brave enough to make that impact.If youhavent yet uncovered your brand or your strengths, try taking a 360-degree feedback survey or asking a trusted manager, mentor, or colleague to describe how he or she thinks youre perceived by others. Listen for positive traits that are referenced more than once, and then aggressively seek out opportunities to apply those strengths.4. Think StrategicallyTo thrive in an accelerated leadership program like NextGen, says OReilly, you must strive to think broadly and more strategically. Question how things could be done better and how to add value to the organization, no matter what role you are in, she recommends.For example, lets say you notice anumber of customers with similar complaintsabout your kollektivs product. Instead of reacting to each problem as it arises, try to determine the root cause or look for ways that your team might be better able to anticipate customers needs.5. Attract MentorsOne valuable element of a high-potential program is the opportunity to learn and network with others in your cohort. Youll develop an amazing network of impressive peers who will one day become your network of powerful business leaders.But dont wait for the program to start to develop that group of contacts- startestablishing relationships with leaders who can mentor and guide you now. When you meet a person you admire, ask if he or she would be open to having a 20-minute informational meeting with you to answer some career-related questions. If it goes well, ask if he or she would be willing to meet on a regular basis. If you get a yes- youve got a new mentor.When you do get the opportunity to take on a leadership role or enter a leadership development program, make the most of it. If youve been selected for any leadership program, embrace the experience. OReilly recommends. Dont be passive about it. Immerse yourself completely, so you can develop as a future leader.This article was first featured inThe Muse.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will ersatzdarsteller your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

A Startling Fact about Activities to Put on Resume Uncovered

A Startling Fact about Activities to Put on Resume Uncovered The Basics of Activities to Put on Resume That You Can Benefit From Starting Today Things to Avoid While you need your resume to be leidiced, you would like it to be for good factors. Needless to say, there are hundreds and hundreds of examples of hobbies you could put on your resume. Theres no greater time to come up with your leadership skills than in college with extracurricular pursuits. Tailoring your resume can be a rather time intensive procedure, but you are going to discover that it goes more quickly as you get accustomed to it. Controversial or potentially illegal pursuits and interest also needs to be excluded. There are a lot of websites, such as Volunteer Match, that could help you to find a neighborhood community service project thats of interest to you. With so many choices out there, all students need to be able to locate an extracurricular they want to know more about and can develop a passion for S tudents involved with activism and public service will also locate many opportunities to make an application for financial aid. If You Read Nothing Else Today, Read This Report on Activities to Put on Resume When youre adding activities, make certain you only place the ones that you actually contributed to. You dont need to bring a hobby section, but it is a good way to showcase your personality and platzdeckchen yourself apart. For instance, you might list international travel for a hobby if its something which you do regularly. There are several reasons to pursue a pastime or extracurricular activity. Hopefully, the very first rationale is that you enjoy doing a specific activity. The absolute most important point to remember when writing both is that you do not tell an employer what you would like. You most likely have a vague idea on what to include on a resume. One other important concept to bear in mind is that you have total control over what is included in your resum e. Activities to Put on Resume Options Your resumes header is a form of handshake involving you and possible employers. Infographic resumes are just a supplement. In a very competitive job market, job applicants want to go the additional mile in ensuring their resumes shine. Also, dont hesitate to list non-traditional work like volunteer jobs or freelance work, particularly if you havent held a normal job in some time. Hiring officers want to find candidates who have well-developed interpersonal abilities and can readily fit into the organization culture. Any normal activity that doesnt include things like attainment of an award, scholarship, or other means of recognition shouldnt be listed as an accomplishment because your capacity to be extraordinary has not yet been measured by means of an organization. As a result, should you not have a higher education degree, you can prevent drawing attention to the fact just by omitting the education section. You wont usually require a ny prior experience or skills (although you might require some practice to develop into a team member), so providing you place the work in, it provides a great chance to learn and develop. The above mentioned example shows several abilities and qualities that could improve your odds of being hired, including Discipline, Leadership and Organizational Ability. If you are able to feature qualities that closely match what the employer is searching for, as mentioned in the job listing. While you might have a resume thats clear, clean, and concise, it isnt very likely to stand out if it has not yet been tailored to the specific job or employer that you would like. In the event the employer is interested in seeing your references, he or she doesnt need to need to ask you for them and after that wait. You definitely dont want your prospective employer to call one of your references simply to find a lousy report on you. How to Get Started with Activities to Put on Resume? You need your resume to clearly demonstrate the employer what type of employee you will be. In some instances, the hiring manager may be scared to call you in for an interview whatsoever if you include church references in your resume, as stated by the Business Insider site. Attempt to prevent pole dancing here, particularly if youre asking for a more significant job like a barrister, for example. Graphic-based resumes permit you to lay out complex data in a simplistic way.

6 Ways to Prioritize Your Recruiting Efforts - Spark Hire

6 Ways to Prioritize Your Recruiting Efforts - Spark HirePrioritizing your work can often seem like a mundane waste of time that could be spent actually tackling the things that you need to get done as a recruiter. However, as Inc points out, time is money. If you want to be a successful recruiter, its important that you are working on the right things every day.There are 6 ways you can prioritize your days in bestellung to focus on whats closest to the dollar. 1. Tackle Easy-to-Fill Jobs Quickly.If you have a job opening with a client that you have successfully and easily placed candidates with in the past, its smart to spend time on this before a hard-to-fill or questionable job opening.When you know what you are looking for, know where to find the right candidates, and have a well developed this should be a quick placement for you.2. Dont Let the Hard-to-Fill Jobs Take Up All of Your Time.After you get the easy-to-fill jobs out of the way, dont think that its best to focus entire days on a single hard-to-fill job order. I have gotten wrapped up into this thinking in the past and its easy for anyone to do. After all, just a few more calls or searches could uncover that perfect candidate, right? Of course. However if you continue to spend whole days on one opening, your placements will suffer. In other words, you wont make money.Make sure that you spend a block of time each day on a hard-to-fill opening. This will allow you to be able to spread your time across other job orders, giving you a better chance of keeping your placement numbers up.3. platzset Aside Time for Follow-UpsAlways make sure that you set aside time each week for follow-ups with submitted candidates and clients. If you are not constantly keeping in touch with your clients and candidates, you are likely to miss out on placements.For example, if you have strong communication between you and your clients, you will know if the position has been filled or if there have been any changes in requir ements. Likewise, by keeping the lines of communication open frequently with your submitted candidates, you will know when something has changed in their interest or availability.4. Maintain a Good Database.In order to make your daily prioritization as easy as possible, its important that you are maintaining a solid database on your candidates and clients.Be diligent in your documentation in your database. Ensure that you have quick and easy ways to search for candidates when you are searching for a certain skill set.5. Create a Daily Must-Should-Could list.Take time at the end of each day to list out your priorities for the following day. Create a Must-Should-Could list that you can quickly zupflmmel up each day and know exactly what your daily priorities are. You will be surprised how easily this helps you to get on track with your priorities in the morning.6. Utilize Your Calendar Reminders.As with everything, its smart to utilize all of the tools that are available to you. Pop-u p calendar reminders on your computer and mobile phone can be a lifesaver at times.When you need to follow up with a client or candidate in a few days, having that reminder pop up on your phone or computer can be just the thing to ensure that you dont forget to make that important call.What are some other ways you prioritize your day? Please leave your tips and suggestions in the comments below.

Mayors and Rabbis Busted in Jersey

Mayors and Rabbis Busted in JerseyMayors and Rabbis Busted in JerseyI havent read Malcolm Gladwells best-selling book The Tipping Point so correct me if Im wrong but I believe, with respect to financial scandals, such a point was just reached this morning with the arrest of approximately 30 New York and New Jersey residents, includingseveral rabbis and the mayors of Hoboken and Secaucus, in connection with aninternational money-laundering conspiracy.Speaking of Gladwell, in case you missed the speech he gave a few months ago about how overconfidence killed the economy (which I previously linked to), the writers words were published this week by The New Yorker in a piece entitled, Cocksure Banks, battles, and the psychology of overconfidence. Its well worth your time.Finally, and sadly, it appears that Academy Award-Winning Spanish thespian Javier Bardem (who won an Oscar for portraying a poetic serial killing bounty hunter in the Coen Brothers film adaptation of Cormac McCarthys thri ller No Country For Old Men) will not don Armani and Herms to play an evil hedge fund manager in Oliver Stones sequel to Wall Street, the film that put greed is good and Gordon Gekko on the map. Reportedly, Bardem has opted to portray the love interest of a sappy soul searcher played by Julia Roberts in an adaptation of the best selling Eat, Pray, Love, rather than the nemesis of a young and hungry securities trader played by Shia LaBeouf.

The Deflategate Drama Offers a Few Lessons in Leadership

The Deflategate Drama Offers a Few Lessons in LeadershipThe Deflategate Drama Offers a Few Lessons in LeadershipThe Deflategate Drama Offers a Few Lessons in Leadership RossheimThe NFL couldnt havescrewed this up more if it had tried. So says lawyer John Snyder of the controversy over the New England Patriots alleged tampering with game balls in the 2014 American Football Conference championship game.A Federal judge overturned Tom Bradys 4-game suspension(appeal pending) on September 3rd. As the Patriots 2015 seasonbeginswiththeir star-quarterback back in play, here is some Monday morning quarterbacking for the benefit of employers looking to avoid such deflating developments.Repeat after me Discipline is notlage an improv act. When it comes to accusations of wrongdoing whether they involve a grace-under-press superstar or locker-room employeeswho might have under-pressured a dozen footballs its most unwise to make up a disciplinary procedure as you go along. The Patriots have sinc e asked the NFL toreinstate said Deflategate employees.To have an organization as big as the NFL hold a kangaroo court is just stunning, says Snyder, a principal with the law firm John H. Snyder PLLC in New York City. Goodell needs to stop being personally involved in discipline.Lesson for your company Stick with a disciplinary process that avoids even the appearance of conflict of interest or the exchange of favors.Dont take disciplinary actions that leave your organization wide open to challenge.Whether youre a pro league with a near monopoly on your sport or an internet player that dominates a given market, theres a dangerous temptation to play by your own rules.One key lesson is not to withhold information if theres an arbitration proceeding, and they did withhold information from Brady, says Bryan Sullivan of law firm Early Sullivan Wright Gizer McRae LLP in Los Angeles. And this happens at big companies more than we would want it to.Lesson for your company If your leadership surrounds itself with advisors who are little more than yes-men and women, its best toseek outside counsel.Dodge tackles, not issues. Toms personal preferenceson his footballs are something that he can talk about in much better detail and information than I could possibly provide. So said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick to reporters.In referring to Deflategate as a matter of preferences rather than a question of whether NFL rules were broken, Belichick appeared disingenuous. He either declined to support his top employee or nearly threw him under a bus, depending on how you look at it. The question is, was this conduct more management or leadership?Lesson for your company Topleaderstake responsibility for what they know and for what they should have known, but didnt about how their workers conduct themselves on the job.

Thinking your way to a better brain (John Dewey on how we think)

Thinking your way to a better brain (John Dewey on how we think)Thinking your way to a better brain (John Dewey on how we think)Learning how to think is hard.Thinking is the core of our being, but the world is hostile to serious thought.In an age of information overload, the depth of thinking is becoming less and less valued. Information - even good information - can become a distraction if youre elend thinking about it, evaluating it, or analyzing it.Most of us cant afford to think.And some people are okay with not knowing.Not because they dont have the capacity for thought, but because they have chosen to spend their time elsewhere.Thinking is unfamiliar.Thinking can force us out of comforting habits, and it can even complicate our relationships with like-minded friends.Thinking is slow, and thats a problem when our habits of consuming information (mostly online) leave us lost in the spin cycle of social media, partisan bickering, and confirmation bias.Most peoples thinking proce sses emerge their emotional life and moral character.And when we dont really know a subject well enough, in T. S. Eliots words, we tend always to substitute emotions for thoughts, and go with whatever idea makes us feel popular.Part of living well is thinking well because if one thinks the wrong thoughts it is hard to do the right things to get the best results.Think better. Do betterIn its loosest sense, thinking signifies everything that, as we say, is in our heads or that goes through our minds.A thinking process begins with a dilemma that suggests alternatives, and so thinking is evoked by confusion.If you consistently choose not to dig deeper, you will make plans around being wrong.Deep thinking just means absorbing important information and using that to form a decision or opinion of your own - rather than just spouting off what you hear others say.To think means, to bridge a gap in experience, to bind together facts or deeds otherwise isolated.In his 1910 masterpiece How We Think, John Dewey examines what separates thinking, a basic human faculty we take for granted, from thinking well, what it takes to train ourselves into mastering the art of thinking.The spark of thinking, Dewey argues, is a kind of psychological restlessness rooted in ambiguityThinking begins in what may fairly enough be called a forked-road situation, a situation which is ambiguous, which presents a dilemma, which proposes alternatives. As long as our activity glides smoothly along from one thing to another, or as long as we permit our imagination to entertain fancies at pleasure, there is no call for reflection. Difficulty or obstruction in the way of reaching a belief brings us, however, to a pause. In the suspense of uncertainty, we metaphorically climb a tree we try to find some standpoint from which we may survey additional facts and, getting a more commanding view of the situation, may decide how the facts stand related to one anotherDemand for the solution of a perplexity is the steadying and guiding factor in the entire process of reflection This need of straightening out a perplexity also controls the kind of inquiry undertaken. A traveler whose end is the most beautiful path will look for other considerations and will test suggestions occurring to him on another principle than if he wishes to discover the way to a given city. The problem fixes the end of thought and the end controls the process of thinking.Thinking is synonymous to believing says Dewey.To say I think that it is going to rain tomorrow is equivalent to saying I believe that it is going to rain tomorrow.When we say Men used to think that the earth welches flat, we refer to a belief system that our ancestors held about the earth - they used to think, i.e. believe, that the earth was flat.Dewey argues its not enough to simply have beliefs, but that we must also do the work required to examine them, to understand why we hold them, and to assess the consequences of holding such beliefs. To truly think, Dewey argues, we ought to consider not only the origin of our beliefs but also how they affect our actions, which they inevitably doReflective thought is the most potent antidote to erroneous beliefs, says Dewey Active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it, and the further conclusions to which it tends, constitutes reflective thought It is a conscious and voluntary effort to establish belief upon a firm basis of reasons.This basis of reasons, Dewey argues, is a relational framework for how different bits of knowledge connect to and validate one another.To think well is to construct fruitful linkagesThe function by which one thing signifies or indicates another, and thereby leads us to consider how far one may be regarded as warrant for belief in the other, is the central factor in all reflective or distinctively intellectual thinking Reflection thus implies that something is beli eved in (or disbelieved in), not on its own direct account, but through something else which stands as witness, evidence, proof, voucher, warrant that is, as a ground of belief.There is no single uniform power of thought, but the multitude of observations, memories, imagination, and common sense, that together comprise thoughts.To a better capacity for thought, we need to develop curiosity and the habit of exploring and testing.These will increase questioning and the love of inquiry which will ultimately lead to critical and deep thinking habits.Pay attention to the right details to make better inferencesDewey encourages us to embrace systematic inference to improve our reasoning. An inference is a step of the mind, an intellectual act by which one concludes that something is true in light of something elses being true, or seeming to be true.People automatically make inferences to gain a basis for understanding and action.So quickly and automatically do we make inferences that we do not, without training, notice them as inferences.We see dark clouds and infer rain.We hear the door slam and infer that someone has arrived.We see a frowning face and infer that the person is upset.We read a book, and interpret what the various sentences and paragraphs - indeed what the whole book - is saying.We listen to what people say and make a series of inferences as to what they mean.An important part of critical thinking is the art of bringing what is subconscious in our thought to the level of conscious realization.This includes the recognition that our experiences are shaped by the inferences we make during those experiences.Critical thinkers notice the inferences they are making, the assumptions upon which they are basing those inferences, and the point of view about the world they are developing.Dewey writesSystematic inference, in short, means the recognition of definite relations of interdependence between considerations previously unorganized and disconnected, this recognition being brought about by the discovery and insertion of new facts and properties.Humans naturally and regularly use beliefs as assumptions and make inferences based on assumptions (something we take for granted or presuppose.Usually it is something we previously learned and do not question. It is part of our system of beliefs).We assume our beliefs to be true and use them to interpret the world about us.If our belief is a sound one, our assumption is sound.If our belief is not sound, our assumption is not sound.Beliefs, and hence assumptions, can be unjustified or justified, depending upon whether we do or do not have good reasons for them.We need to make logical inferences based on sound assumptions. We need to understand our own point of view and fully consider other relevant viewpoints.Dewey advises us to doubt our first solution, to keep searching, and to search for much longer than expected, as this is what is required for good thinking.Better thinking doesnt end.The more knowledge you cultivate, the better youll become at thinking about it. Its navel gazing in that youre constantly thinking about thinking, but the end result is a brain that automatically forms better arguments, focused ideas, and creative solutions to problems.This article first appeared on Medium.