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Critical thinking is essential to understanding and working to solve wicked problems because it forces us to reflect on and question what we think we know about a particular issue. Furthermore, it gives us the skills to develop sound arguments as we try to advocate for a solution. Design thinking can be particularly useful in solving wicked problems because of the ambiguous nature of wicked problems.  Part of the design thinking process involves gathering data to clearly define the problem, which is an important aspect of addressing wicked problems because the definition of the problem is not always clear at the outset.