Imagination and Critical thinking

Imagination and critical thinking was brought up last class. Even though imagination, creativity, and art in the curriculum is going to be a topic of discussion with in the following weeks, I want to further touch on how Imagination is important for critical thinking skills.

Thinking imaginatively lets one think beyond what is real and is not limited by what is logical and possible. Thinking Critically lets one think analytically within what is logical and possible.
Imagination and critically thinking seem to contradict themselves in the way I described them. Yet, they are more like teammates. When thinking critically one might first imagine and then cancel out what logically cannot be. Children have such great imagination because of how their brains are developmentally. Critical thinking skills are not developed until later on. Surely a great imagination is fuel for growing a critically thinking mind. Too much desk work in the earlier years can have an averse effect on a child's cognitive abilities. Imagination and critical thinking both have their roles in everyday life; they are equally important.

Albert Einstien said , "Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there will ever be to know and understand.” Coming from the man who is known as the smartest person who ever lived, this quote is surly not a fallacy of false authority.

Question: What is the relationship between Critical thinking, imagination, and knowledge?