How do You Know What You Know is True?

There are two necessary components to gaining knowledge: information literacy and critical thinking skills. Information literacy consists of knowing where to find information and how to evaluate information sources for usefulness and veracity. Thinking skills are how we use the information to guide our opinions and actions.

There are many ways to get information. Some of it comes from simple observation or conversation. Whenever possible, you want to get information from primary sources. In many situations, we do not have the opportunity to observe a phenomenon that we need or want to learn. The people we associate with might not have direct experience with the subject either. In these cases, we need to research. If you want to get to know a person talking to that person will help you understand that person better than asking a friend or relative to describe them. If you want to know what goes on at a church, the best way to find out is to visit said church. If you want to know something about a particular company, they probably have a public website. We can learn pretty much anything by consulting an expert, visiting the library, or searching the internet. These are all risky propositions. Many people are claiming to be experts who have limited expertise. Some books may be outdated. Sometimes a mentally unstable person will create a professional-looking website to push a false agenda.

It is crucial to be able to tell the difference between real and phony experts. A fake expert will often tell you what you want to hear or charge you large sums of money for services that you don't need. Genuine experts often have good-paying government jobs. One of the principal duties of these jobs is providing citizens with free information. If you want to know something about taxes, the IRS has reliable information free of cost. This same principle applies to a variety of topics. The official United States website has accurate information about most things a typical American might want to know. There is statistical information, health guidelines, help securing grants and loans, and assistance with starting a business. Your state and city are also likely to have official websites full of helpful information about health, education, sanitation, and other services. If you need information about your country, state, or city, that place's official website is the first place you should look. If you don't see the information listed, you can look for a phone number and call the department you need.

Websites affiliated with educational institutions are usually reliable. Media that depend on advertising revenue may contain biased information. Telling the whole truth could offend some companies. In some online communities, hyperbolic nonsense is the rule rather than the exception. Publications that consistently have spelling and grammar errors are likely to have factual errors as well.

If you can't judge a book by its cover, how can you evaluate it?

Genuine experts also provide information in the form of books. Authors with appropriate education and experience write the most helpful non-fiction books. To decide if a book is worth reading, look at the contents and the list of sources. There may also be an index and information about the author. Worthwhile books will likely have all of these sections if the subject is complex.

Please don't rely on popular media. It's easy enough for an entertainer to invent a fun way to teach children the alphabet. Still, it takes considerable effort to develop media that is both interesting and educational for adults. Such content does exist, but it is seldom commercially viable. Magazines and popular television shows contain limited information and plenty of dubious opinions. Local newspapers often contain legitimate news, yet many details are missing because they have to meet deadlines and are partially dependent on commercials.

Everyone should have learned the difference between fact and opinion in elementary school, but some of you were busy talking to your friends. So here is a review. A fact is something that exists or happens independent of how anyone perceives it. An opinion is a statement of how a person feels about something. An assertion that can be proved false is not an opinion that is either a lie or misinformation.

Company A is hiring right now; it is an example of either fact or misinformation. This fact can be checked easily by looking at the companies website or contacting the human resources department.

You should apply for a job at company A is an example of an opinion. This opinion may be reasonable, but being rational does not make it a fact.

Being able to recognize fallacious thinking is an essential component to building one's critical thinking skills. A person who has good thinking skills can evaluate information systematically. To be believable, it should be clear, supported by evidence, and take all relevant factors into account. If something is true, it will make logical sense.

Suppose someone tells you not to put your computer in a particular spot because the roof leaks; this is a reasonable warning. If someone tells you to move the computer because the FBI will spy on your online activity, you might ask for more information. You don't have to believe or disbelieve the claims about the FBI. You can seek more details to determine if the statement being made is consistent with the laws of nature and likely given the circumstances. The situation will be easier to analyze if you know something about the FBI and have a good understanding of the environment.

There are many barriers to good critical thinking, including narrow-mindedness, egotism, and reliance on cliches. Logical fallacies are worse than the others because they often sound perfectly sensible on the surface. They can distract people from genuine problem-solving. Logical fallacies can be divided into three main categories.-Fallacies of ambiguity, fallacies of relevance, and fallacies with unwarranted assumptions.

Fallacies of Ambiguity include:

Equivocation- The participants in a discussion disagree on the meaning of one of the words or phrases that is a key component of the discussion.

Example 1: "Don't buy that pineapple juice. It's been unsweetened."

Amphiboly- This is when the grammatical structure allows it to be interpreted in more than one way.

Example "That image is so disturbing I can't even finish my polenta"

"What is it?"

"It's an Italian side dish made of cornmeal."

The fallacy of accent- the point of what is being said changes according to which word is emphasized.

Example: "I told you not to play with matches!"

"I wasn't playing with them. I was using the matches to burn down that abandoned building."

The fallacy of division- a form of stereotyping where you assume that each member of a group has characteristics of the entire group.

Example: Cleveland has a high poverty rate, so that guy from Cleveland must be impoverished.

The fallacy of composition- a form of stereotyping where the whole group is assumed to have the characteristics of one member.

Example: My friend from California loves skateboarding, so everyone from California must be into skateboards.

Fallacies of relevance include:

Ad Hominem- a personal attack

Example: "How is gonna tell somebody what to do when she smells like onions"

Appeal to force- scare tactics

" Example: you don't know what you're talking about. If it weren't for me, you would be living on the street."

Appeal to pity- Using one problem to get out of another problem.

Example: "Please give me an extra week to finish the paper, my boyfriend dumped me"

Popular appeal-bandwagoning

Example: Everybody knows communism is terrible.

Appeal to ignorance-Saying something is automatically true because it hasn't been proven false or the opposite.

Example: "I don't know anybody from Nebraska. That state doesn't exist."

Hasty Generalization-Making a conclusion based on a small sample size.

Example: "I have three boyfriends, and all of them cheat: therefore all men cheat.

Straw Man-Arguing with someone about something they never said in the first place.

Example: "I think genetically modified food should be labeled as such."

"But if we stop farmers from using GMO crops, we might have food shortages."

Red Herring-Bringing up a different issue to sidetrack an argument.

Example: "I don't think welfare breaks up families"

" So you don't believe in racism."

Fallacies involving unwarranted assumptions include:

Begging the question-circular reasoning

Example: We need to end world hunger because everyone around the world should have adequate nutrition.

Inappropriate appeal to authority-Using the opinion of an expert that is not an expert in the subject.

Example: "Dr. Martin Luther King said Ford is better than Chevy."

Loaded Questions-A question with a built-in assumption.

Example: What kind of birth control do you use?

False Dilemma- Reducing a complex situation down to 2 choices.

Example: We can either keep the minimum wage at $7.25 or raise it to $15.

Questionable Cause or post-hoc-Assuming that one thing causes another without evidence.

Example: School lunches have gone down in quality since Joe Biden got elected.

Slippery Slope-Asserting that if one thing is allowed that soon worse things will be allowed.

If we continue to tolerate abortion, people will start demanding the right to commit infanticide.

Naturalistic Fallacy-Assuming that natural things are automatically better than artificial ones.

Example: Weed doesn't cause brain damage. It's natural.

There are many ways to be stupid besides mindlessly believing what people tell you. Mindlessly disbelieving what people tell you can be just as bad.