Divergent Thinking

     Who says that you can’t have fun while learning? Typically when I think of fun and the classroom, I do not associate the two at all. In fact, they seem like two completely different concepts. However, a few weeks ago in ethics class we had a fun activity in which we had to trade out cards with other classmates. Each of the four cards in our hands represented our personality traits and--as we later found out--our dominant mode of thinking. Each person has a dominant mode of thinking, and some modes are in harmony with each other while others tend to clash and object. As there are four main modes of thinking as represented in the F.I.R.E. model (factual, insightful, rational, and evaluative), no person truly fits into just one category. 

     Each group of people which makes up the F.I.R.E. model have their own particular ways of thinking. Factual thinkers gather all information necessary to solve whatever problem is at hand, and are typically extremely honest, blunt, and sometimes impatient. They usually like to work alone, striving to get from one task to the next as efficiently as possible. Factual thinkers often have a one-track mind. In contrary, insightful thinkers are the least likely to be understood as their minds are constantly looping around in different areas, essentially coming up with different ideas. These thinkers typically work best by bouncing their ideas off of each other in groups and assist each other in problem-solving and expanding in knowledge. 

     Much like the insightful thinkers, evaluative thinkers usually excel when working in groups. Evaluative thinkers are very people-oriented and engage in constant evaluation to insure a solution which most improves life. In comparison to evaluative thinkers often making decisions based off of their emotional drive, rational thinkers think absolutely everything through and utilize their 3D perspective to come to a conclusion. They believe that it is not about who is right, but rather what is right. 

     Some people may find it very easy to determine which mode of thinking is their dominant, while others go back and forth between two, three, or even all four ways of thinking, trying to see which best suits them. For example, when I was faced with the task of determining which group I fit in best, I kept changing my mind. I ended up going with evaluative, seeing as I often make up my mind based off of how I am feeling about a person, place, thing, etc. However, during discussion which our groups, I realized that maybe I was more of an insightful thinker. I then requested to transfer over to the “insightful group,” and began my journey on finding what mode of thinker I am. 

     I eventually came to the conclusion that I am not an insightful thinker; nor am I an evaluative thinker. In contrast, I am neither a rational nor factual thinker. I am none yet I am all. In a way, I am a divergent thinker. I work well with each mode of thinking, yet cannot accomplish a task with only that one. I must utilize what I can from each category in order to come to a proper and hearty conclusion. I firmly believe that everyone works this way, some more intensely than others. One may come to the conclusion that they are a factual, insightful, rational, or evaluative thinker. However, he or she is most certainly not confined to that one particular mode.