Do Your Own Research By Linda Stowe
Over recent years, we have heard a lot of noise from people who conclude a disagreement by suggesting, “Do your own research.” Most often this comes from people who seek to dismiss scientific evidence or question the expertise of authorities. A few years ago, such people, after doing their own research, proclaimed they knew the pandemic was a hoax. I wonder what constituted this research they did. Did it involve going to college classes or reading scientific journals? Was it evidence-based, systematic, and informative?
Maybe the next time someone states an opinion based on their research, I’ll ask them more about that research.
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Polly here.
Research. As the noun form is defined, it means “the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.”
The problem with a lot of people conducting their own “research” comes in three little words above:
“To establish facts.”
This leads us to the word, another noun, “fact.”
And “fact” is defined as “a thing that is known or proven to be true.”
Which, of course, leads to “true.”
True: “In accordance with fact or reality. Accurate or exact.”
However, certain people often claim that something is factual or the truth only if it supports their beliefs. It has all become quite tricky to know what is what.
When we were kids, we used to watch Walter Cronkite on the evening news. And that was that.
Now, I source many major media outlets, from NBC, CBS, ABC, NPR, BBS, Reuters, AP, The Guardian, The Telegraph, USA Today, and a few more. They all seem to be in agreement about what the “true” news is.
The only one that I sometimes check on gives a completely opposite version. And that is FOX News. So, the scientist in me looks to the majority that are in agreement. It seems logical to believe their reporting since they all have found the same things to be happening in the world.
And that is the truth by which I view the current events in our world. (And sometimes our histories, too.)
Do Your Own Research By Linda Stowe
