Critical thinking
This topic shows you how to think critically, find hidden contexts and read between the lines
Accuracy of the information
We should always verify whether the facts or assumptions included in the information are logically right. They should be accurate and related to the argument, they support. To find out if they are alike, we should assess them and think how they were interpreted.
Example:
“All Swedish are very rich. No poverty, only pure luxury. You would not find any homeless people there. When I was there last year for a weekend, I saw only expensive cars in the streets, everything was absolutely clean and in order.”
We have a statement that all Swedish are very rich. Is it likely that we would not find any poor or homeless people in Sweden? Certainly not. Statement that the author have not met any of them, does not mean there are none of them at all. Moreover, official information from Swedish National Committee of Health and Welfare says that there is 34 thousands of people without home in Sweden.
And does the information that there were expensive cars only, means that all Swedish are rich? No. Maybe the author of the statement was accommodated in diplomatic quarter, and maybe most of people there lease these cars and they do not own them. Not to speak about the relative poverty, they can be are rich in worldwide context, but it does not mean they are rich in Sweden.
And finally, after one weekend spent somewhere in Stockholm, the person could not assess the whole country and its inhabitants. Person could certainly see only partial non-representative segment of the reality.
Questions to reflect on
- Where do we get our information from?
- Do you believe everything you find on the web?
- How do you decide what to believe and what not?