Critical thinking is very significant for our lives. It helps us keep open minds about statements and claims. When we critically think, we can solve problems and find solutions or hidden truths.
However, we should be careful when we critically think. Sometimes we even have to critically think after we already did the critical thinking. That actually sounds confusing. XD Anyways, I have an example for what I'm referring to which was part of our reading.
According to Chapter 2 for our Group Communication book, it states there are "Critical Thinking Traps" that we should look out for. One of the traps listed there was "Making false assumptions." Basically, False Assumptions are conclusions that people may think of when something happens out of coincidence. Sometimes, assumptions can be true but there are chances (maybe high) that they are flawed and unrealistic.
For example, I remember my friend and I wanted to randomly visit an old friend. We actually haven't talked to him for more than half a year so we weren't very updated of news about him other than ones posted on Facebook (which turned out to be not very reliable xD). When we arrived outside his house, my friend called him and asked if he could go out. He told my friend that he had a visitor over and his parents would probably not allow it since it was already late at night. However, he said that it would be nice to have some visitors over so he invited us. As my friend and I were walking to his door, we saw him and his "visitor" go outside. Surprisingly, his friend turned out to be my best friend. When my friend and I saw her we were really surprised.
At this point, we did some critical thinking. We discussed that both of us see my best friend and our guy friend writing on each other's Facebook walls. They were always updating each other with their latest news rather than just posting, "So, how was your week/summer?" From our Critical Thinking (which had flawed and not very reliable evidence), we concluded that they probably liked each other and have been hanging out together.
However, this is where we have to use Critical Thinking again. Was my best friend over at our guy friend's house because they liked each other? If we were to use Critical Thinking again, we would probably consider that they were just very good friends and nothing more than that. Maybe we would also consider the fact that they both loved the video games BlazBlue and Super Smash Brothers Brawl, and wanted to play against each other in person. There were many other possibilities that we could take into account.
Eventually we found answers and concluded that they didn't like each other in that way. Right now, both of them are dating different people but they still update each other like good friends do.
After my experience, I learned to avoid assumptions more because as our communication book said, they can be "Critical thinking traps." It looked like my best friend and our guy friend liked each other because they have been writing on each others Facebook walls a lot and hanging out with each other. However, our faulty Critical Thinking led us to our False Assumption. It also played a role in group communication because our group (my friend and I) convinced each other that they both liked each other. If one of us was not assuming, the other could probably still convince the other to assume.
- Pink Bean
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
2) Musical Lyrics can be Vague
As I was listening to my music play-list, one of my favorite songs played. The song I was listening to was called, "Cue the Sun," written by Daphne Loves Derby which is an amazing band. If you have not heard of that song or that band, you can look up the song or band on YouTube or MySpace Music. Anyways, I will be talking about this song because the lyrics are Vague. When something is Vague, the meaning cannot exactly be confirmed unless there is some sort of solid proof to really back it up. However, when something is Ambiguous, it means that few meanings can apply to simple sentences, phrases, or lines. Comparing to Vague, Ambiguous sentences are more solid and straightforward.
For example, below is part of the chorus of "Cue the Sun" by Daphne Loves Derby.
"And if I don't come home tonight,
Just know I tried my best to fight.
Please don't think I plan to lose to the night."
Just know I tried my best to fight.
Please don't think I plan to lose to the night."
(Daphne Loves Derby, 5-7)
I honestly had to listen to the song more than once because the lyrics were not very straightforward. In fact, as I was listening to the song on repeat, I imagined many scenarios that could apply to these lyrics alone. If you read these specific three lines enough, you can think of many different interpretations and meanings. I came up with a few but there could be many more.
One scenario is a person that needs to be home for dinner, or tonight. However, he or she cannot make it home on time because he or she is having a problem with his or her boss at work. The boss wont let the person leave work early for dinner despite how much effort the person gave to convince the boss. In these lines, the person wants to tell his or her family that he or she tried his or her best to come home by nighttime. The person does not guarantee he or she will be home on time. However, the person does not plan on giving up hence, explains why he or she is says, "Please don't think I plan to lose to the night." The person needs to be home by nighttime!
Anyways, another scenario can describe a dilemma a person is facing. Maybe someone is having a fight with his or her best friends. The person might be in a situation where he or she would eventually pick one friend over the other friend. In result, a friendship will be completely broken either way. In this case, the word "home" in those three lines can represent peace, happiness, or no worries or stress. Because of the person's hardship, he or she may still be bothered by the situation. The next two lines then explain that the person is trying to "fight" through this hardship. He or she does not "plan to lose to the night." The night can mean pessimism because the night is dark, and darkness may sometimes represent negativity.
My last interpretation is what I really think this song is about. I think this song describes a person that is dying, specifically on a hospital bed. To fill in some blanks, the person was part of a car accident on his or her way home. The person suffered many fatal injuries and was rushed to the emergency room immediately. While this person thinks that he or she may die on the hospital bed, he or she wants his or her family to know he or she is fighting the pain and is trying to stay alive. When he or she says, "Please don't think I plan to lose to the night," shutting his or her eyes means he or she sees darkness or in other words night, and has passed away.
To sum it up, different meanings that I and many others probably thought of shows that these lyrics are Vague. The difference between Vague and Ambiguous is Vague sentences cannot have confirmed meanings which leads to thinking of numerous meanings. On the other hand, Ambiguous has multiple meanings but the meanings would probably be more specific than Vague sentences because Ambiguous sentences are clearer. If I were to say these three lines were Ambiguous, that means that the interpretations I provided were most likely correct, but we do not know that for sure because we do not have feedback from the artist of this song. In this case, I think they are Vague because many distinctive meanings can cycle around just those three lines of lyrics. It does not only have to be a fight with a boss, drama with friends, or a person dying. It could also be a child going through his or her parent's divorce or a fire fighter during 9/11. Various meanings rely on the reader's perspective. As long as there are multiple meanings that can apply to the lyrics, and can be supported at the same time as well, the lyrics are considered Vague.
- Pink Bean
Anyways, another scenario can describe a dilemma a person is facing. Maybe someone is having a fight with his or her best friends. The person might be in a situation where he or she would eventually pick one friend over the other friend. In result, a friendship will be completely broken either way. In this case, the word "home" in those three lines can represent peace, happiness, or no worries or stress. Because of the person's hardship, he or she may still be bothered by the situation. The next two lines then explain that the person is trying to "fight" through this hardship. He or she does not "plan to lose to the night." The night can mean pessimism because the night is dark, and darkness may sometimes represent negativity.
My last interpretation is what I really think this song is about. I think this song describes a person that is dying, specifically on a hospital bed. To fill in some blanks, the person was part of a car accident on his or her way home. The person suffered many fatal injuries and was rushed to the emergency room immediately. While this person thinks that he or she may die on the hospital bed, he or she wants his or her family to know he or she is fighting the pain and is trying to stay alive. When he or she says, "Please don't think I plan to lose to the night," shutting his or her eyes means he or she sees darkness or in other words night, and has passed away.
To sum it up, different meanings that I and many others probably thought of shows that these lyrics are Vague. The difference between Vague and Ambiguous is Vague sentences cannot have confirmed meanings which leads to thinking of numerous meanings. On the other hand, Ambiguous has multiple meanings but the meanings would probably be more specific than Vague sentences because Ambiguous sentences are clearer. If I were to say these three lines were Ambiguous, that means that the interpretations I provided were most likely correct, but we do not know that for sure because we do not have feedback from the artist of this song. In this case, I think they are Vague because many distinctive meanings can cycle around just those three lines of lyrics. It does not only have to be a fight with a boss, drama with friends, or a person dying. It could also be a child going through his or her parent's divorce or a fire fighter during 9/11. Various meanings rely on the reader's perspective. As long as there are multiple meanings that can apply to the lyrics, and can be supported at the same time as well, the lyrics are considered Vague.
- Pink Bean
Sunday, August 29, 2010
1) Objective and Subjective Claims
First, I will talk about Objective Claims. An Objective Claim is basically a statement that can either be a fact, or the opposite.
For example, a simple Objective Claim is that I play video games. Playing video games is one of my hobbies. In fact, the last time I played video games was today. I can also say that the Titanic sank or that Las Vegas is in Nevada. A couple of decades ago, Titanic did sink and Las Vegas is geographically located in Nevada when you look at a map. Therefore, my claims are proven to be a fact or in other words, Objective Claims.
Another Objective Claim that is false is I am not Pink Bean writing this right now. I am merely an impostor student that got a hold of Pink Bean's log-in information and decided to hack and write this post. hehehe. Anyways, I'm just kidding. I am the real Pink Bean writing this post. Going back on topic, saying that I am a Pink Bean impostor is a false statement, but it is still considered an Objective Claim.
In contrast, a Subjective Claim is focused more upon opinions, meaning that statements can vary and not be the same.
For example, I am a Sanrio fan, which is a company that stars famous characters such as Hello Kitty, Keroppi, Pom Pom Purin, and many others. As a biased fan, I can state my Subjective Claim. I think that Hello Kitty is really cute. However, my boyfriend on the other hand dislikes Hello Kitty. I recently asked for his opinion on Hello Kitty. Instead, his biased Subjective Claim is, "Hello Kitty is girly." Our claims are very different but that is because they are opinionated.
Another example is when I was playing guitar at a birthday party. A skilled friend guitarist complimented and said that I am very good at playing guitar. However, I disagreed with him because I only knew basic things about guitar and was playing from that knowledge. Even though I said that, he still insisted that I keep playing because I did well. From this day, I still think I am not that skilled at guitar. He was stating his opinion while I was stating my own. These opinionated claims are Subjective Claims because they are not facts. Our claims are our own opinions.
- Pink Bean
For example, a simple Objective Claim is that I play video games. Playing video games is one of my hobbies. In fact, the last time I played video games was today. I can also say that the Titanic sank or that Las Vegas is in Nevada. A couple of decades ago, Titanic did sink and Las Vegas is geographically located in Nevada when you look at a map. Therefore, my claims are proven to be a fact or in other words, Objective Claims.
Another Objective Claim that is false is I am not Pink Bean writing this right now. I am merely an impostor student that got a hold of Pink Bean's log-in information and decided to hack and write this post. hehehe. Anyways, I'm just kidding. I am the real Pink Bean writing this post. Going back on topic, saying that I am a Pink Bean impostor is a false statement, but it is still considered an Objective Claim.
In contrast, a Subjective Claim is focused more upon opinions, meaning that statements can vary and not be the same.
For example, I am a Sanrio fan, which is a company that stars famous characters such as Hello Kitty, Keroppi, Pom Pom Purin, and many others. As a biased fan, I can state my Subjective Claim. I think that Hello Kitty is really cute. However, my boyfriend on the other hand dislikes Hello Kitty. I recently asked for his opinion on Hello Kitty. Instead, his biased Subjective Claim is, "Hello Kitty is girly." Our claims are very different but that is because they are opinionated.
Another example is when I was playing guitar at a birthday party. A skilled friend guitarist complimented and said that I am very good at playing guitar. However, I disagreed with him because I only knew basic things about guitar and was playing from that knowledge. Even though I said that, he still insisted that I keep playing because I did well. From this day, I still think I am not that skilled at guitar. He was stating his opinion while I was stating my own. These opinionated claims are Subjective Claims because they are not facts. Our claims are our own opinions.
- Pink Bean
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)