Critical thinking Cognitive load theory assumes that, for example, critical thinking is biologically primary and so unteachable. We all are able to think critically if we have sufficient knowledge stored in long-term memory in the area of interest.
A car mechanic can think critically about repairing a car. I, and I dare say most of you reading cannot. Teaching us critical thinking strategies instead of car mechanics is likely to be useless.
— John Sweller
This is very much wrong, and I'm saying this as someone who largely trusts car mechanics. A car mechanic will have certainly a vast body of knowledge about the inner workings of a car, just as a doctor will have a vast, vast body of knowledge about medicine.
So lets say I go to a doctor with a cough one day; clearly, at least in theory, it could indicate a billion different ailment. Coughing might be a sign of bubonic plague or AIDS, but a doctor who is hopefully able to critically think doesn't just thrust his entire encylopedia of conditions at me and instead is about to critically reason that it's most likely a seasonal cold and check for that first before moving onto bigger, rarer ailments.