Critical Thinking Puzzles
(The Mystery of Being Great)

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”—Albert Einstein

People become great by solving the mystery of their field.
Solving a mystery using critical thinking skills has two meanings. First, it can mean using your critical thinking skills to become an expert in a field. Second, it can mean using a critical thinking method to solve a problem or discover how something works. Let’s learn about each of these.

An expert in a field is someone who has a deep and broad knowledge about his or her chosen profession. In other words, he or she is someone who solved the mystery of that field.

One of the elements to becoming an expert is embracing and internalizing a field of expertise. Extensive study, practice, observation and analysis are some of the critical thinking skills that a person applies to become an expert.

An individual who solves the mystery of a profession can frequently replicate those efforts over again. Let’s look at a few examples of prominent people who have solved the mystery of their profession.

Warren Buffett has solved the mystery of investing. His success at making money by investing in undervalued companies and then selling them for large gains is legendary. It earned him the nickname, the Oracle of Omaha (Warren Buffett was born in Omaha Nebraska).

Next, Bill Gates is a person who solved the mystery of marketing effectively. He quit college at Harvard to be in the beginning of the personal computer revolution. Today, because of his marketing savvy he and Microsoft are household names.

Third, Steve Wozniak was responsible for much of the early success of Apple Computer. He solved the mystery of making early home computers simple. For example, he found a way on the Apple II to allow the video display and microprocessor share the same memory. He also developed a floppy disk controller that only used a fourth of the integrated circuits used by other controllers at the time.1

Solving the mystery of a profession has been explained for two reasons. First, to show the power of critical thinking when applied effectively to a field of expertise. And second, critical thinking skills can help you decide on the best career for yourself; wherein you may become an expert

1 Cringely, Robert X. Accidental Empires—How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition, and Still Can’t Get A Date (HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. New York, NY 1992,1996)