in reply to When I want to check the accuracy of some widely held belief, I use:

I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time debunking things that have been passed on to me either through E-Mail, Facebook or some other source.

Places I avoid looking for accurate information: CNN and Fox. They are polar opposites and prone to error for decidedly different reasons. I can't stand extremists of any color.

Places I do look: Snope and just a good old Google. Especially if someone claims "politician A" said "so and so." If I can find a You Tube of them saying that then I'll believe. Even then you have to be careful that it wasn't taken out of context.

One thing that bothers me based on my experiences with recent college grads. Critical thinking doesn't seem to be taught either in the K-12 or college education system. "Where did you hear that?" is something I ask all the time followed quite often by "OK.. where did they hear that." Telephone game didn't stop when we were children.

Peter L. Berghold -- Unix Professional
Peter -at- Berghold -dot- Net; AOL IM redcowdawg Yahoo IM: blue_cowdawg
  • Comment on Re: When I want to check the accuracy of some widely held belief, I use:

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re^2: When I want to check the accuracy of some widely held belief, I use:
by wjw (Priest) on Jun 02, 2014 at 16:23 UTC

    Have found that if I want quality news about the US, NPR does a reasonable job, supplemented with BBC, and a few other foreign news services. Anything outside the US the NY Times does a fairly decent job along with other foreign(to me) sources. As a middle ground conservative, I find it ironic that those sources actually report 'some' news, as compared to blatantly attempting to sell it to me.

    That critical thinking observation is accurate in my experience, though more broadly than just college grads. It is a bit disturbing. So many seem to single source info....

    ...the majority is always wrong, and always the last to know about it...

    Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results...

    A solution is nothing more than a clearly stated problem...otherwise, the problem is not a problem, it is a facct

    wjw
[reply]

      I have my suspicions about NPR having seen them report on things that I was personally privy to and get it wrong. I suspect in their case it is a case of not doing a full job of fact checking.

      For instance they reported on the capabilities of the Spruance Class destroyer. I served as a Plankowner on one between 1979 and 1982 so I know a thing about the class and in particular the USS Cushing DD985. They reported capabilities that the ship flat out did not have. (Interestingly some features they reported on did come along later in SpruCan lifetime)

      Right on about BBC. I find they put out more fact and less spin than other news organs.

      Peter L. Berghold -- Unix Professional
      Peter -at- Berghold -dot- Net; AOL IM redcowdawg Yahoo IM: blue_cowdawg
[reply]
Re^2: When I want to check the accuracy of some widely held belief, I use:
by ww (Archbishop) on Jun 02, 2014 at 20:03 UTC

    "Critical thinking? Among the secondary school and college-age cohort? Hah!

    /methinks that rather, they are inculcated with the propensity to believe two, mutually-contradictory propositions at the same time (...in any case where they find it possible ...and most of the time, at that).

    To paraphrase a senior Monk's sig, /me go back to the fossil bed, now.



    Quis custodiet ipsos custodes. Juvenal, Satires

[reply]

      I'm pretty sure "Critical Thinking" stopped being a "thing" back in the 70s, of course, "your mileage may vary".

[reply]

In Section Past Polls