Idea 15: Hallmarks of a good analytical mind
How do you spot a good analytical mind in a team member or in someone applying for a job? First, we have to define what we mean by analytical ability.
Many people think of analysis more or less in its original literal meaning of simply taking things to bits, like a child dismantling a toy. But in the conceptual realm of the mind it is much more than that – when analyzing you are looking for something, rather like dissecting a dead fish to inspect its backbone. What your intellectual quarry actually is will depend on the nature of the case, but you may, for example, be seeking to:
- Establish the relationship of the parts to each other and to the whole.
- Find the true cause or causes of the problem.
- Identify the issue at stake, the ‘either–or’ on which a decision must rest (what a good trial judge does).
- Discover a law in nature.
- Search for the principles behind experience.
These general points can be illustrated by examples drawn from particular fields:
| Chemistry | The resolution of a chemical compound into its elements and any foreign substance it may contain. |
| Optics | The resolution of light into its prismatic constituents. |
| Literature | The critical examination of any production, so as to exhibit its elements in simple form. |
| Grammar | The determination of the elements composing a sentence or part of it. |
| Mathematics | The resolving of problems by reducing them to equations. |
| Philosophy | The breaking down of complex expressions into simpler or more basic ones. |
Ask yourself
Can you call to mind one individual you have worked with who impressed you with their analytical ability? Can you identify what distinguished them?