To think people have lost their power of critical thought

[TheClaws]

I’ve noticed a tendency of people across social media to respond to posts without any critical thought or analysis. Eg. Someone tweets ‘There was no quid pro quo: the sham is over.’ The replies to this tweet are primarily ‘AGREE!’ ‘We need to make arrests’ etc. DISCLAIMER: this is just an example. Please don’t jump on this content. If you do, you’re somewhat proving that point.

Regardless of political affiliations, this reluctance to think frightens me. I see over a range of subjects, not just politics - though in the political arena, it is dangerous, as we run the risk of being used by others. (By this I mean misleading social media posts could be made and commented upon as above by unwitting people.)

My point is this: before you comment on something, research it, even just a little bit. Use more than one source. Learn what sources are trustworthy and what are not credible. This process doesn’t take much time and soon becomes second nature.

I do, but I also pick my battles!

@bubblesforlife. "I do, but I also pick my battles!"

But then they win and the nonsense prevails. I'd urge you not to let them get away with it.

Thanks for a good thread OP!

@Abraid2 raises an interesting point.

OP: My 4 year old son...............

Next post: How old is your child?

Just basic reading and comprehension would be a start.

That's a classic example, yes!

Also the threads whereby after a few posts somebody recognises the OP from a different thread and the information from that completely puts a whole new light on it. Still you get people popping up to tell the OP she wasn't unreasonable basing it on the half facts in the OP without having read the thread.

Devereux1 You're preaching to the converted. But I work in a corporate environment and pointing out someone's stupidity would not get me very far with my colleagues.

But also, sometimes I don't have the answers, so I've little to add. I like conversations where I gain/learn something from, a new perspective, a new insight, new information.

I love this old saying: 'When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. When you listen you learn something new'. (well you might learn something new...)

I think critical thought just doesn't come naturally to the majority of people. It is a skill that has to be learned and practiced, and it isn't taught in the majority of schools.

@bubblesforlife Devereux1 You're preaching to the converted. But I work in a corporate environment and pointing out someone's stupidity would not get me very far with my colleagues.

I do too. But you might just be suprised how effective, short, nonsense-free arguments are. It's not pointing out others stupidity, it's expressing opinion in a convincing way.

I agree.

Everything is reduced to punchy sound bites, and ridiculous half-truths are used as titles of articles that are rarely read, or if they are, actually dispute the content of the title. My husband is ripe for these - totally reactive on reading something awful, showing me with a shocked face without even reading it. He’s better now than he used to be, probably because he hates being drawn into conversations where I’m right and he is wrong

I use social media for some things, I don’t lack critical thinking skills because I use a handy format to keep in loose contact with some people.

A beneficial side effect of being gender critical has been that my critical thinking skills have been honed against the many and varied assertions made by trans rights activists. You get to really know your stuff.

It helps to have some idea of what to look for in terms of scientific and medical research. For example one claim of high rates of suicide among children with GD sounds dreadful until you discover that the sample size was tiny (26 people) and it was all self reported (so no external verification).

Later, when you discover that the only NHS gender clinic for children says suicides are very rare, no higher than in other children with MH issues, the suicide claim starts to look like dishonest manipulation of a vulnerable group.

It's a real eye opener, but - as I said - great for your critical thinking skills.

@Abraid2 raises an interesting point

OP: My 4 year old son...............

Next post: How old is your child?

Just basic reading and comprehension would be a start

Excellent example of this is the Christmas jumper thread - so many people getting aerated because OP is a ‘joyless bore’ - when she is quite clearly saying the drive to buy and wear something particular for a charity day is awful as you’re potentially spending £20 on something then donating a quid.

Critical thinking isn’t a “power”, it’s a skill.

Agree that media of all types is often not helping us develop and practice it.

@Devereux1 because then you’re just perpetuating the same thing you’re complaining about on this thread. All people who are critical thinkers think X (apparently they all think social media is bad?) and everyone who disagrees is a Y.

Some of the “in my day, everyone was an intellectual” on this thread is just as bad as the sound bites being railed against. It assumes all young people or all social media users are one way. That simply isn’t true.

@astridfarnsworth - I don't get your comparison. This thread is about critical thinking and the lack of it. Your post was saying we shouldn't create "us" and "them". But some people do not critically think.

I'm not sure where your bit about young people and social media comes into it, did I miss a linking post?

I think social media (Facebook) emboldens the stupid into thinking they’re better informed than they are AND into thinking that if anyone questions or challenges that opinion then they’re actually personally insulting the author.

The example I’m thinking of particularly is someone who pops up on my locality Facebook page ranting about Brexit. And his “answer” to the Irish border question is “Britain voted leave, get over it.”

I’m by nature, quiet and bookish but this makes me want to go round to his stupid house with its stupid St George flag outside and kick his fucking face in, the dickhead.

You are right of course, I have seen many posts on sm where commenters have ploughed in with agreements on emotional posts of misleading claims, some of which get followers really fired up. It is difficult sometimes to find balanced and reliable information amongst the vast amount of opinions available online, but the sources are there. Unfortunately there has always been those who prefer sensationalisation to hard cold facts.

@Devereux1 that is my point, that deploying “us vs them” thinking indicates a lack of critical thinking. So even as people on this thread are asserting themselves as critical thinkers (by what standards, I wonder?), they are demonstrating a lack of critical thinking by smugly dismissing the “them”.

I should’ve linked but there is one post on this thread that has equated using any social media with lacking critical thinking skills and another that claims that one cannot have conversations anymore except with “older people”. Rather grand claims with little evidence to back them up...

@astridfarnsworth " @Devereux1 that is my point, that deploying “us vs them” thinking indicates a lack of critical thinking. So even as people on this thread are asserting themselves as critical thinkers (by what standards, I wonder?), they are demonstrating a lack of critical thinking by smugly dismissing the “them”. "

Yes, I know that's your point. But why is it? Why is recognising a natural state of us and them lacking critical thinking, when it's a logical outcome?

Brexit: Some voted remain, some voted leave. That's us and them in so far as the vote. That's logic.

@Malteserdiet I too think a-level history and methods set me up for a life time of critical thinking. I would love to see this as a compulsory subject. Instead we have a push towards STEM subjects as the holy grail of education.

I’d also love to see much more poetry in education. Can’t remember the exact quote by WB Yeats but something a long the lines of rhetoric being arguing a point with others and poetry arguing a point with yourself (ie critical thinking). It’s the arts that make us human, STEM subjects are at risk of turning us into robots. I always wonder whether AI is becoming more human or whether humans are moving more towards machines.

Obviously history THEORY and methods -doh

@Devereux1

To use your own example, some people have changed their mind since the referendum. Others have complex reasons for their choice. So it’s foolish to conclude that all remainers believe X and all leavers believe Y.

The assertion on this thread has been that critical thinking involves recognizing nuance and complexity. Concluding that a certain group of people lack critical thinking based on a faulty premise (eg they use Facebook) is the opposite of nuance.

Is it all linked to reading? Not just articles but books too. Fiction and non fiction. Many people only read social media.

A lot of the knee jerk harsh responses on social media seems to be linked to a lack of empathy and understanding, which is often linked to the lack of reading.

@astridfarnsworth

Some have changed their minds, others are convinced that they are really inside the minds of others and think they didnt know what they were voting for, some haven't changed their minds etc, yes. But all those who voted remain, voted remain, and all those who voted leave, voted leave. I know it's a very basic example, but in life there really is a basic us and them sometimes. It doesn't lack critical thinking to recognise this.

As for the social media thing, I haven't commented on that. I'd agree with you though, thinking that everyone on Facebook lacks critical thinking would be foolish.

But for me to think that anyone who feels the urge to publish semi-naked photos of themselves on instagram and who complains when people give them opinions they don't like, is a bit of an idiot, is a pretty fair assumption for me to make however.

This is such a horrible, superior, thread :(