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Exam 12: Skepticism: Becoming Critical Thinking Speakers and Listeners

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One of the hallmarks of true belief is a passionate desire to self-correct, to correct erroneous claims.

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When individuals hold strong beliefs, presenting lots of contradictory evidence that challenges those beliefs is highly likely to change their minds.

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True believers are hucksters looking to con a gullible audience.

Research shows that fake news is 70% more likely to be retweeted than real, substantial news.

Claims based on plausibility require you to make a logical case for your claim even though the evidence may not be substantial.

Research reveals that it takes truth ten times as long as misinformation to reach 1,500 people.

Generalizing from a highly unusual event is an example of

"According to recent studies, taking 500 mg of calcium per day improves bone mass by 5%, and taking 1000 mg of calcium per day improves bone mass by 10%. Even though the studies haven't been done yet on higher doses of calcium, it makes sense to take 5000 to 6000 mg of calcium per day to get even better results in bone mass." This claim is principally based on

"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof." This means that

When a speaker asserts that an event or phenomenon is "impossible," that speaker is demonstrating

Flu shots typically have about a 60% effectiveness rate in preventing vaccinated individuals from getting the flu. Skeptics, therefore, should reject getting vaccinated because it doesn't even approach 100% effectiveness.

Skeptics are doubters by definition, naysayers looking to find fault with the claims of others.

Based on data from the Hubble telescope, astronomers now estimate the age of the universe to be between 8 and 10 billion years old, not 15 billion as previously thought. This is an example of

You challenge a speaker to prove his claim that owning handguns prevents home invasions. The speaker responds, "Prove it doesn't." This is an example of

Shifting the burden of proof means inappropriately assuming the validity of a claim unless it is proven false by another person who never made the original claim.

Claims that rest on plausibility alone

Skepticism is persistently finding fault with the beliefs and opinions of others.

A cynic is someone who

You believe in the power of Therapeutic Touch. You see a program on the Discovery Channel that shows examples of TT in action. You are now even more convinced than ever that TT heals people. Another program on PBS, however, announces that it will show TT is a fraudulent therapy. You won't watch this program because it casts doubt on your belief. This is an example of confirmation bias.

You can still be a skeptic by respecting another person's point of view without necessarily agreeing with it.