Think Smarter: Critical Thinking to Improve Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills

10 What Else?

What Else Could This Be?

We've already determined that one reason to ask why is to get to a root cause. Why did something happen—or what could explain why something happened? What else is another tool used in this discovery. When ideas start to subside, asking what else stimulates lateral thinking with respect to new possible explanations. What else is a tool to prevent coming to a premature conclusion about what happened—or what to do next.

Physicians use what else often when diagnosing a medical issue. When you visit a doctor and are displaying obvious symptoms, it would be easy for him or her just to say, “Oh, you have a cold.” Asking “What else can cause these symptoms?” could lead to a blood test, strep test, or other questions, such as “Do you have any pain here?” What else continues the investigation—and allows you to discover other potential causes.

A very effective way to ask the what else question is to say “What else could possibly cause this?” The word possibly opens the door to ideas, no matter how remote, that could be a cause. In your automatic mode you might typically discard such unlikely causes, but in critical thinking you consciously evaluate them.

What else can also acknowledge a good idea while keeping the conversation going. For example, why was your product launch so successful? One response might be: “Because we had it so well organized and orchestrated.” Your response might be: “Okay, is there anything else that may have contributed to success?” ...