Reality is based on evidence, evidence, and more evidence. There is nothing more important for the survival and continued progress of man than critical thinking (which should never be confused with the much lower quality, genetically-infused evolutionary form of logic known as common sense.) In the Mike Brown case the nine members of the grand jury received more evidence than anyone else. The process was thoroughly explained by the prosecutor and the evidence is now available to all. Critical thinking tells one to accept the grand jurys verdict, period. Ive seen many tweets, posts, replies to news articles, etc. questioning events or even claiming fill in the blanks is impossible. These comments are all legitimate in the sense that theyre actually believed, believed because common sense tells them so but common sense would also tell us the sun goes around the earth every day; it is only through critical thinking (which includes the acceptance of experts) we know otherwise. I dont think it can be overstated what a poor form of logic common sense is (a fact that ironically goes against our evolutionarily built-in common sense... thereby helping to maintain a feedback loop of stupidity.) Will critical thinking always lead to the correct conclusion? No, but it will do a far superior job than common sense will. Conclusions must adapt to new evidence as it becomes available. Isaac Asimovs easy to read and terrific essay The Relativity of Wrong explains the degrees of wrongness (a critical concept in understanding and appreciating science in particular but useful in all endeavors) thoroughly. While I consider myself a liberal in the true, or at least original sense of the word, I try to be first and foremost an evidence-based thinker with appreciation for the relativity of wrong. While many conclusions are difficult to reach, and some unattainable, there are surprisingly many that are easy to reach when the two concepts are combined. This includes the recent grand jury verdict, man-made global warming and plenty of others.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 01:07:17 +0000
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