Where do you suppose people obtain their knowledge?
An example is the internet, and such sites or models as this FunQA.coms.
As for myself I love to hear what people think about things, though I never come to an agreement until I see all the facts. This involves reading very long, and boring government documents, and numerous books - most importantly, the books with the little numbers next to information (you go to the notes section in the back of the book and can then read where they are quoting that source from).
I think it is important to do your own search on matters pertaining to large-scale, ecologically tethered issues, and to look for all the politics involved.
Belief: authorities, minority or majority? Oratory? Peer?
Answer:
The foundation of my technical knowledge is from my college education, a degree in chemical engineering from UC Berkeley. Most of my general knowledge is from reading. I have read books at the rate of one or two a week ever since I was about 10 years old. I probably have read several thousand books in my life time. There is a great deal of wisdom in books even just entertaining paperbacks. I have greatly expanded my technical knowledge through my work experience over the past 20 years of working in a variety of technical jobs. In my opinion most peer reviewed technical writing is too technical for anyone but a specialist in the field to understand fully so for information outside my field I focus on review literature such as popularizations like "A Brief History of Time" and publications such as Science News. To get very specific information I now tend to use the Internet a great deal. However, you have to be able to discern the difference between real information and misinformation. I have decades of experience and a rigorous engineering education that allows me to do that. Unfortunately most people do not and they are vulnerable to unscrupulous providers of misinformation. The anti-global warming crowd and the kind of crap they push on FunQA.com is a good example of that sort of thing.
Here is a hint: If you ever read the words "junk science" in a sentence I suggest you treat whatever else that author has to say with a great deal of skepticism.
you're right, i think people are too quick to accept the things they hear as fact without checking to find out that they're facts. probably half of things we "know" aren't 100% true.
very reasuring to hear that at least one guy looks deeper than gossip.
i read. i listen to news. i don't confuse fauxlies with news.
as for GM foods, it's mostly, but not all good. StarLink corn might be a good example. not approved for human consumption, but got into the food supply. Or, grain that has antibiotic in it. probably okay to eat. but is it good if it goes wild, and causes natural selection to insure that all of the remaining pests are resistant?
as for your claim that you "see all the facts . reading very long, and boring government documents, and numerous books - most importantly, the books with the little numbers next to information" i truly don't believe you. if there were only one topic, i might let you get away with it. but there are numerous controversial issues, and there is no way that you can be current on them all. if you claim that you are, then you cannot be believed on any of them.
are there politics involved? definitely. follow the money. if there's profit versus your well being, that's rather a no brainer.
I told my dad once that I know for a fact that Kennedy was killed by our own government in a joint operation with Fidel Castro, the American Mafia and the USSR. I just finished watching the entire series called "The Men That Killed JFK".
My dad, who lived through the assassination said I was a crazy idiot.
The problem is that the evidence they show were based of faulty science and flat out wrong information, and in some cases, intentional mis-information. I didn't find this out until years later in a new documentary that completely debunks the other.
We must be careful of Conspiracy Theorists that are driving a political agenda. It is scary how many Americans believe that the WTC was imploded by the Bush Administration in order to drum up support for a war. I even saw a video that "proves" that there really were no planes that hit the buildings. It is insane.
I get the majority of my information from peer reviewed journals. I believe they are the best available source of information that is easily accessible to most people. Try your local university library. And never trust what you read in the papers. Always consider the agenda of the author/publication.
Also, be wary of commercial sources of information and take the time to look into who sponsers what research. Government bodies, and NGO's are generally alright, but be wary of big business with the dollars to throw round to fund research.
I obtain my knowledge from a combination of reading, research and personal experiance. And yes it is very important for all of us to learn to think for ourselves.
ecogeek.com
From the library, of course.
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