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It says that older people are worse at deciding if a statement is a fact or an opinion. Well, we suspected all along that young people are smarter, right? So this is not news. Another victory for age discrimination! Fire everyone in your company who is over 50.
But wait ... was the research fair and unbiased? Or was it contrived to "prove" something?
Here is one of the statements the researchers consider an opinion:
"Immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally are a very big problem for the country today."
61% of the over-50s knew that's an opinion, while 74% of the under-50s knew.
Well, OBVIOUSLY, that statement is considered a fact by a lot of conservatives, but not many liberals. And WE KNOW that older people are more likely to be conservative.
There are similar problems with most of the other statements.
So WHY is this research reported as if it shows what it supposedly shows?
And WHY is the PEW research center trying to inspire age discrimination?
I don't know if it's about younger people being smarter. It's more likely that people dig in our heels more on our own opinions the more years we've had them, and they're going to influence how we see the world. Actually, they always do, but it stands to reason that after years and years we'll be more certain of where we're right (so to speak), where we're wrong, and a zillion details about the world. Those must color what we see as "factual."
In reality "factual" is probably loosely represented here, I agree with you there. Nevertheless, I do think what I've stated here is true, in a general way, at least from what I've seen.
I'd question who they questioned, and where those people lived. If they interviewed seniors in the last village I lived they would show very different results, as opposed to the nearby town that predominantly votes conservative.
While I generally like Pew Research, I don't always take what they report as fact, since how a survey is done can be subjective or asked in such a way to support a hypothesis (even when not intentional) .
I'd question who they questioned, and where those people lived. If they interviewed seniors in the last village I lived they would show very different results, as opposed to the nearby town that predominantly votes conservative.
While I generally like Pew Research, I don't always take what they report as fact, since how a survey is done can be subjective or asked in such a way to support a hypothesis (even when not intentional) .
It's hard to say if that research about older people getting more liberal is valid. As you said, there are so many problems with survey research. For one thing, it's awfully hard to define "liberal" or "conservative." It seems that they mostly based it on race relations, and just about everyone in America has become more liberal regarding that.
But it's pretty obvious that young people tend to be more "liberal" in certain areas.
My opinion (based on the fact that I have experienced it, which is a qualifier for labeling this as fact...)
Is that many older people, college educated or not, may not have been exposed to or required to take classes in the areas that help people determine fact from myth, formal ways to develop Critical Thinking Skills.
Quantitative and Formal Reasoning/ Scientific Reasoning / Analytical Reasoning/ Quantitative reasoning/ Philosophy logic, etc.
This is something that is noticeable around CD. There are a lot of opinions, but not a lot based on fact. A person has to be able to determine what is a fact, before they can decide if they're "right". A fact isn't proven merely because someone 'read it somewhere.'
A fact is: An Event, item of information, or state of affairs existing, observed, or known to have happened, and which is confirmed or validated to such an extent that it is considered 'reality.'
My opinion (based on the fact that I have experienced it, which is a qualifier for labeling this as fact...)
Is that many older people, college educated or not, may not have been exposed to or required to take classes in the areas that help people determine fact from myth, formal ways to develop Critical Thinking Skills.
Quantitative and Formal Reasoning/ Scientific Reasoning / Analytical Reasoning/ Quantitative reasoning/ Philosophy logic, etc.
This is something that is noticeable around CD. There are a lot of opinions, but not a lot based on fact. A person has to be able to determine what is a fact, before they can decide if they're "right". A fact isn't proven merely because someone 'read it somewhere.'
A fact is: An Event, item of information, or state of affairs existing, observed, or known to have happened, and which is confirmed or validated to such an extent that it is considered 'reality.'
I agree that not everyone has studied logic and statistics and the scientific method. Most probably have not. HOWEVER, even the most educated people are very likely to be biased. One person's fact is another person's myth. No amount of scientific reasoning can change this.
I don't know if younger people had more scientific education. Maybe, since going to college is more common now.
Either way, I have noticed that the most educated people sometimes have the least common sense. There is a lot of indoctrination in college. I have a lot of education, but I also did a lot of studying on my own. I saw smart people having crazy ideas, because I had information aside from what they taught.
I agree that not everyone has studied logic and statistics and the scientific method. Most probably have not. HOWEVER, even the most educated people are very likely to be biased. One person's fact is another person's myth. No amount of scientific reasoning can change this.
I don't know if younger people had more scientific education. Maybe, since going to college is more common now.
Either way, I have noticed that the most educated people sometimes have the least common sense. There is a lot of indoctrination in college. I have a lot of education, but I also did a lot of studying on my own. I saw smart people having crazy ideas, because I had information aside from what they taught.
So really, education does not cure human nature.
You're right, that's not what I meant, I think recently educated people may have had more exposure to critical thinking skills classes though. I went to college in the 80s and again in the 90s and lastly for 2 more years in 2007-8, only in the last decade was this type of class a requirement for me.
The one thing constant though, is a fact. Something either is a fact, or is not. I think there are older people who may have a tendency to not consider that as easily, due to the amount of experience they have with believing something that cannot be proved as factual. Old wives tales, etc. My mother in law lived by this "that's how its always been" attitude, and there was no convincing her that rubbing butter on a burn is not a remedy, or rubbing gold on a sty takes it away. Wasn't dumb, either, it was baffling, I learned not to argue, but obviously those are not facts.
Here is one of the statements the researchers consider an opinion:
"Immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally are a very big problem for the country today."
Regardless of political allegiance, people should know that statement is an opinion. The phrase "very big problem" is subjective and therefore not unbiased.
A factual statement would be, "The number of immigrants who have entered the US illegally has decreased and stabilized since 2009."
Whether someone thinks that fact is a problem is their opinion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Good4Nothin
And WHY is the PEW research center trying to inspire age discrimination?
It says that older people are worse at deciding if a statement is a fact or an opinion. Well, we suspected all along that young people are smarter, right? So this is not news. Another victory for age discrimination! Fire everyone in your company who is over 50.
But wait ... was the research fair and unbiased? Or was it contrived to "prove" something?
Here is one of the statements the researchers consider an opinion:
"Immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally are a very big problem for the country today."
61% of the over-50s knew that's an opinion, while 74% of the under-50s knew.
Well, OBVIOUSLY, that statement is considered a fact by a lot of conservatives, but not many liberals. And WE KNOW that older people are more likely to be conservative.
There are similar problems with most of the other statements.
So WHY is this research reported as if it shows what it supposedly shows?
And WHY is the PEW research center trying to inspire age discrimination?
I just find it very ironic that you prove Pew's study correct, lmao.
Anyone who has worked with the scientific method knows that data can be manipulated to prove whatever the person with the hypothesis wants to prove within reason. You can also exclude data from your random sample until you collect enough random sample data that sways your hypothesis into the direction you want the conclusion of your thesis to go.
Interestingly enough, this whole study is based pretty much entirely on opinions.
The only facts are whether the participants belong to a political party, and whether the participants have any interest in the news - provided that all participant's answers are truthful answers, which might as well be an opinion because another group reproducing the same study could draw participation that answers completely the opposite of the participants in this published report.
Whether they consider themselves to be politically aware, or digitally aware, or have faith in the quality of news they receive are all just their own personal opinions.
The conclusion of this particular PEW Research presents an opinion about opinions based primarily on the opinions of its participants. How factual is that??
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