Facts Opinions and Ideas We often come across someone citing a fact expressing an opinions or offering an Chapter 2 Pages 45 54 idea Any of these may play a role in a persons reasoning and decisions making When we think of facts we think things or events know to be true o This covers actual occurrences and actions Also induces concepts that can be proven true as seen in science and math Facts are actually the case known by observation or authentic testimony as opposed to what is inferred conjectured or invented o We think of facts as empirically verifiable true by definition or by o Empirically based facts can be proven by means of our five senses sight mathematical proof smell touch sound taste o Mathematical definitions axioms and proven theorems operate as facts treated as true by definition or derivation o Tend not to question what is presented as fact o That s not always wise as we have seen with the cases of journalism who fabricated details in news articles Factual Judgments often treated as facts inferences drawn from earlier observations at least one step away o Rule of thumb Factual judgment is not normally as strong as fact as it is o Consequently an inference drawn on basis of the fact cannot be assumed to be true but must be scrutinized Opinions fall into three major categories 1 Conjecture can be see in the following Practicing verb drills is a drag a Opinions are often based on perceptions individual taste or emotion relative to the point of view of the person voicing the opinion b Public opinion is synthesis or shared point of view of the people the collective c Usually obtained by statistical studies or polls 2 Reasoned speculation Difference between this category and the first is that here evidence could be cited and some agreement might then be reached with the listener a Ex Mad cow disease must have jumped to other species because b There is no such expectation in those opinions that are relative to 3 Leal opinion opinions may be expressed as a formal statement ruling or of the animal feed taste or perception considered advice becomes law a Ex Court opinions function as an explanation for a decision that b Courts are widely studied for heir significance and likely consequences for future cases c Reasoning of the judges or justices can guide future police and decision making and may act as a precedent for years to come Facts and Opinions Fact analysis and opinion are often linked though opinions may or may not have a factual basis When people set out the reasons for an opinion we now have an argument The issue of what is fact versus what is opinion should not be taken lightly Help to see why clarifying fact and opinion matters Ex Criminal Law o Fate of a defendant could rest on how credible we consider the testimony concerning the fingerprints found on the weapon or at the scene of the crime in determining guilt or innocence o Court challenges are calling for a reassessment Speculation Form of guesswork Normally use the term speculation to apply to either 1 Hypotheses that have little if any evidence to back them up 2 Unsupported claims However reasoned speculation can be a powerful tool in medicine and the sciences People speculate all the time Some speculation borders are ludicrous such as the born of unfounded assumption When we fail to scrutinize evidence or jump to a conclusion we mat end up far from Some speculations can act as catalyst in problem solving Person speculation may be well versed on topic but missing pieces of the puzzle When we don t have all the pieces but want to offer an explanation or a theory we Speculation is guesswork however informed it may be Keep in mind that as you offer your own tentative explanations or examining those the truth often speculate of others Ideas and Hypotheses Ideas take the form of possible solutions hypotheses intentions plans of actions and theories More commonly now we use the term to refer to insights purposes or recommendations data Some ideas are creative leaps some in the form of visions or mental images connected by the finest of threads Other ideas are mental constructs we generate from out observations or from factual Some ideas are narrowly focused others are broad and sweeping Everyone can have an opinion not everyone can have an idea much less a good idea