Critical and creative thinking are the necessary thought processes of a master thinker who has the ability to weave in and out of divergent and convergent thought patterns to arrive at an appropriate conclusion in a given situation.

Critical thinking (convergence) is the disciplined mental activity of evaluating arguments or propositions and making judgments that can guide the development of beliefs and taking action. Creative thinking (divergence) is marked by the ability to generate many, or more complex or complicated, ideas from one idea or from simple ideas or triggers.

Indicators:

• Synthetic ability – the use of divergent thinking to generate new, novel and interesting ideas. The ability to spontaneously make connections between ideas that often go unnoticed by others.
• Analytical ability – the use of convergent thinking and appraisal to analyze and evaluate thoughts, ideas, outcomes and possible solutions.
• Practical ability – the ability to translate abstractions and theories into realistic applications and to communicate one’s ideas to others.