Thinking is one of man's productive exercises and ideally should form the core of one's being on top of doing the actual daily chores, having fun, and dreaming.  In my mind, aside from the obvious concrete vs. abstract kind, there are 3 main types of thinking that we generally engage in as we go thru the aging process:

1. Retentive or repetitive thinking: which is the type of thingking that we do after having learned the fundamentals and assume a sort of rote routine when faced with similar scenarios later; 

2. Reactive thinking: wherein we adapt or react to what external stimuli (including others and environmental factor) initiate or present; and

3. Proactive or creative thinking: wherein we reach the "zone" or "A game" of our ingenuity in developing novel ways of doing things, such as inventions, innovations, or simply a better strategy or plan to navigate life's serious journeys and fun safaris. Also possibly falling under this would be what has been called as "heuristic" (derived from the Greek word for "discover" or "invent") thinking.  Perkins in his 1981 book The Mind's Best Work (Cambridge MA, Harvard Univestiy Press) had alluded to heuristics as: "a rule of thumb that helps in solving a class of problems, but offers no guarantees". Creative thinking in general and heuristic thinking in particular may serve us well, especially now that there is so much information available. 

Even if you start from scratch, if you really do your own reading and research, you may learn something about a subject matter, as for example, a newer version of Joomla! 1.5 (an internet-based open-source content management system platform for web project development) vs. the earlier versions.  However, there will times when you will encounter "roadblocks". Internet forums or books are or can be helpful, depending on your level of familiarity with the topic and prior technical background.  Sometimtes you would want to go to a "brick and mortar" school but then either work-, time-,  or income-related constraints may prevent you. Then we realize that the paradigm of seeking knowledge has changed, as the formerly hierarchical and rigid model has morphed into a "fluid" model of improvisation and self-reliance. Learning has  become both easy and hard but in the final analysis it is your option whether to think, do something, or not do anything at all and "just enjoy". In summary, creative thinking is anchored on careful observation of things around us, discernment of associations, attention and analysis of any points of differentiation, and experimentation and development. 

Whatever level or type of thinking we do most depends on our attitudes, goals, and current resources, plus our inherent gene-related attributes. However, if you really want to be the best and apple of the eye of everyone, you would identify your strenghts and develop your own niche. Keep that mind sharp!