Thinking Critically

                I like to send links of random things to my sister and my husband.  Last week, I sent my sister an article about how Leah Messer miscarried.  I was only mildly surprised that, two days post-miscarriage, this information was floating around the internet.  Apparently, my sister was a bit more shocked.

                “Where do you find this stuff?” she asked me.

                “The interwebz.  It’s full of information from people willing to share too much.”

                It was that statement, along with a controversial blog post that roamed around Facebook and other blogs a few weeks ago, that made me want to discuss thinking critically.  We all do it to some degree every day.  I have to do it every day at work… “Did I address this variable correctly?”  “Did the author really make their case?” “What isn’t being said in this presentation that I need to figure out before I decide if this speaker is completely full of it?”

                It’s exhausting.  My head is tired.  My husband wants to put on the Republican debates at night and I beg him to turn them off – I can’t listen to any more people who need their true meanings deciphered or read between any more lines.  

                The internet is full of information.  Some of it is contained on really awesome websites.  Some of it is on sites overrun with flashing advertisements.  Some of it comes from pretty little blogs with flowers while some comes from simply designed sites with one random black and white picture.  Some of what is written is fact, some is opinion, some is one person’s idea of fact and another is the same story from a different perspective.  Some information is meant to inflame feelings in readers while others are simply meant to inform.  If one story has 4 likes and another has 447 likes, neither one is necessarily more correct than the other.  If one blog has 2 followers but another has 2061 followers, the second blog isn’t necessarily posting more accurate information.  Deciphering which website means what is an interesting and daunting task.

                A few weeks ago, a blog post from an irate mother circled the web.  The story was picked up by other blogs and written about.  One blog with well over 2000 followers picked up the story and wrote an equally impassioned story agreeing with the mother and begged readers to sign a petition.  As is common in the blog world, I commented on her lack of information from the other side of the story.  I wasn’t alone – several people commented in suit.  Sadly, never once did the blogger acknowledge our protests, admit that perhaps she jumped the gun, or say anything other than to promote her own blog and her own viewpoint.

                This kind of writing is dangerous.  Not the opinion piece – everyone has their right to an opinion – but the fact of where it was written, the position the original writer was in, and the actions of the readers she influenced.  Critical thinking failed everyone in that situation and the result was a huge amount of misinformation being spread like a cancer over the internet.  Many people went for the easier, kinder, knee-jerk reaction instead of stopping and thinking "Some of this story isn't really adding up, can I ask a question?"

                Why am I writing about this? 

                Because I’m going to lay my cards on the table now: I strive for excellence, fairness, and accurate passage of information with my blog.  All my posts are referenced for a reason – I want what I write be transparent, questioned and researched further if anyone feels that I’ve stated something incorrectly.  My credentials are placed on this site not so that people will blindly parrot everything I say, but so that I can be taken more seriously and perhaps encourage those who want to learn more about various scientific topics.  I beg you to read both my blog and all information with a critical eye.

                I’m going to promise my readers a few things:

One. I have a good understanding about the things I write and I am not “winging it.”

Two. If you feel I have inaccurately posted something, tell me.  I’ll happily fix my errors or discuss with you the issue.

Three. I will always post sources for my posts that are not from questionable sites.  I pull a lot of from The Mayo Clinic, PubMed, textbooks, and my own background.  

Four.  Opinions creep in no matter how hard I try to stay unbiased.  However, some things just rub me the wrong way or inspire me and you will see that reflected in my words.  But, should I post about any flat out controversial topic, I will be sure to state as such at the beginning.  I welcome opinions from the other side on those matters.

                My blog will be turning 1 on February 7^th.  I’m so proud and happy of this site that I can’t even describe it to you.  I hope you stick around and I hope that if you have any suggestions for topics that you will pass them along to me.

--  Amedeo

Here’s a picture because I think all my posts need at least one little picture…

 It’s soooo fluuuuufffy!!!

-Coffin and Renaud. "Despicable Me" (2010).