All thinking is a process of identification and integration. Man perceives a blob of color; by integrating the evidence of his sight and his touch, he learns to identify it as a solid object; he learns to identify the object as a table; he learns that the table is made of wood; he learns that the wood consists of cells, that the cells consist of molecules, that the molecules consist of atoms. All through this process, the work of his mind consists of answers to a single question; What is it? His means to establish the truth of his answers is logic, and logic rests on the axiom that existence exists. Logic is the art of non-contradictory identification. A contradiction cannot exist. An atom is itself, and so is the universe; neither can contradict its own identity; nor can a part contradict the whole. No concept man forms is valid unless he integrates it without contradiction into the total sum of his knowledge. To arrive at a contradiction is to confess an error in one's thinking; to maintain a contradiction is to abdicate one's mind and to evict oneself from the realm of reality.
BY AYN RAND- FROM GALTS SPEECH AND REPRINTED IN FOR THE NEW INTELLECTUAL.
I will add having language helps for without words you cannot think. I mean what would you think about if you could not identify anything, so you see words are important when it comes to thinking.

Tell your kids to "think for yourself" and "question everything". It may be the best way to counter the Socialist Democrat Party indoctrination preached in the educational system. Students today are educated in what to think, not how to think.

Grammar Police time!

Check the Ayn Rand Lexicon, where you will find the word "causal" (relating to causes) rather than "casual" (relating to relaxing and possibly loafing).

So much for those who claim spelling is unimportant. I get similarly bothered by those who spell definitely as defiantly.

Thinking is one thing; critical thinking (that is, thinking as a judge thinks) is another.

taking the time and making the effort to analyze reality, exploring ideas, making connections and rational outcomes. This takes the ability to judge, question, and notice your surroundings. (If only more people had the ability...).

I will ponder this more but I would say in this context the word process comes to mind.

rand says thinking is the process of identifying and making casual connections. i understand what you are saying. but what im trying to understand is the root of thinking, root of mental capacity. what is mental capacity? your minds ability to think? think what?

I would say yes but do think it goes deeper than using facts. It is using a persons mental capacity to determine what is fact and fiction. And then in an essence, engineering new data to help determine outcomes. I am a believer that all there is to any and everything has not been discovered yet. A thinker can make anything new. Hope this makes sense. Hard to put into words and I can say this is the first time I have had the opportunity to define what thinking is.

so gaining an understanding, then using facts to predict an outcome?

Good question. I don't personally believe it is following a treads. For me it has more to do with being able to process information within an individuals own mind to determine an outcome that best suits that person.