"The Critical Thinking Community" at www.criticalthinking.org says that the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking defines critical thinking, in part as "the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action."

It's hard to say for sure if critical thinking is endangered, because it changed direction with Generation X. Before the computer age, knowledge was acquired very differently. Either a trip to the library was necessary or a child had to ask their parents many questions, or they possibly experimented in different ways. In schools they were taught to memorize their ABCs, memorize the history of the United States, memorize math principles, and memorize the mechanics of language. Memorization isn't critical thinking, so how was it taught? It probably developed naturally in some people, and they were labled geniuses. Has that changed much? Yes!

Computers changed the availablility of information. Now any curious person can find the information they want with a simple computer search. Does this aid or inhibit critical thinking?

Most people are good at information gathering, but can many apply the concepts learned to new areas of life? This turns into a nature vs. nurture debate. Wanting to learn is primarily a personality difference. Those who are curious will tend to develop better critical thinking skills. Those who are merely interested in learning something to complete a task may not have critical thinking skills. The people that gravitate towards the sciences may have more opportunity to develop a specific set of critical thinking tools because it is a degree requirement, thus their environment nurtures critical thinking. Others are born with a genetic predisposiion for higher intelligence and with that comes better critical thinking skills.

In the end, critical thinking is no more endangered than it was before everyone had computers.