Critical thinkers are in short supply and high demand in the work world, worth thinking about for students and teachers both.

So I think I’ve told you about my young student physicist friend. He ended up not really loving physics, but he gutted out his master’s degree and got his thesis published in a professional journal. Then this past year he went on to work on an MA, which he’ll finish soon.

A few weeks ago, he contacted an employment recruitment firm and practically had to beat off good job offers with a stick.

Living in England where the employment market is in the tanks right now for young people, he landed a high-paying job at a firm renowned for treating its workers very well, and he got stock options too. Doing work that has nothing directly to do with either of his degrees.

The recruiter told him his critical thinking skills, as evidenced by his published paper and general academic career, made him an extremely hot commodity.

Which may testify to a more general lack of critical thinking among the larger population.