What is true and what is not.

              Information today is available at the snap of your fingers. So many search engines, forums, social networks and blogs to help you get what you want. But the biggest question is, “Is that the information you want?” or is it just convincing enough to satisfy your needs. Everyone, to some extent, agrees that not all information available online is true but still continue to be satisfied with what they read. This has actually caught on elsewhere other than just the internet. Today you have popular newspapers quoting opinions and assertions I the place of facts. One thing everyone should be aware is that, you should never be afraid of facts. Facts are the truth, they are the exact interpretation of the present condition of something worthy. Say stocks or GDP or your own savings in the bank. All problem arises when you modify or manipulate facts.

             Top consultancies like McKinsey, KPMG etc. never manipulate facts. In fact, that is the only difference that separates them form the others. They work their solution around the facts. They do not manipulate nor modify nor selectively opt for those facts that prove to be consistent or enough to convincing to frame solutions. This is hard work, no wonder they charge you a bomb. Not what I intended to write on, but this is all just the beginning.

              Today’s news and information on website has hardly any fact contained in it. This blog will help you understand the difference between fact, assertion, argument, opinion and a theory (or) hypothesis.

Let me define them with relevant examples.

Fact: something which is always true.    

Ex : “Sun rises in the East.”

Simple, isn't it ?

Assertion : This is tricky. It is held to be true, but not a fact, because, it cannot be proved (or) can be disproved.

Now, A recent survey by XYZ firm (assumed to be trustworthy) reports that 1 million citizens of Delhi are over 60 years old. Is this a fact or an assertion?

An assertion, Why? A fact would look like this. A recent survey by XYZ firm, reports that 1,054,308 citizens of Delhi are over 60 years old.

All what you get in your newspapers or news channels are full of assertions unless the numbers are less than a hundred. No one actually cares nowadays. Everyone is satisfied with a rough estimate.

Argument: An argument is a bit complex. Difficult to explain in one sentence. An argument is a conclusion which is supported by reasons. It’s like winning case in the court, though not in the literal sense. An argument needs a “premise” which are basically assumptions. The premise has to be supported by reasons. Then we do some logical deductions to make it sound convincing.

Well then what is a “Sound Argument”? If these premises are facts, the argument becomes sound. It simply cannot be disproved. You come across so many funny mathematical proofs that prove 0 =1, all these have arguments as their premises and not facts. How do you disprove them? Their logical deductions are flawless. The only way to disprove them is to question their premise.

            Now we come to theory. A theory is an attempt at an explanation based on current knowledge and experience. Theories are meant to change. We knew once, there existed a theory which stated that, the earth is the centre of the earth. And how different is a hypothesis? You can say that a hypothesis is either made into a theory or is an idea that is generated which helps to govern the behavioural pattern of a group in any sense.

             Assuming all of us back then had the same intellect as we did today, everyone believed this and it sounded very convincing with whatever observation and experience they had. Until Copernicus came in and created a commotion. He basically disprove a theory. Yes, it is possibly for a theory to be disproved. Theories constantly keep changing and upgrading. Let us take Darwin’s theory of evolution into consideration. Darwin was not the first one to suggest that men evolved from apes. He is popular because he validated his premise for his argument in support of evolution based on evidence that he created from all around the world and sat down created a hypothesis on the basis of his observations. When his hypothesis was widely accepted it transformed itself into a theory. Nobody publishes theories in real life. If anyone says so, it actually means they put forth a hypothesis.

            Now let us get to the last part, an opinion. It comprises of 95% of all the articles posted on the web. It is one’s own observation and mostly uses baseless assumptions and the logical deductions can also be flawed. Any sentence starting with “I think” or “The world feels” or “The Nation thinks” or just simply uses the words “think” “feel” “presumes” and many more with a personal touch, is an opinion. As a caution, never believe opinions.

I was always wondering how many people who search on google, actually visit the second page of their search results. I tried 'Googling' about that and I found this article

 http://www.searchenginejournal.com/57-of-consumers-will-go-to-the-third-page-to-look-for-reviews/51841/

Try to distinguish between facts, arguments and opinions in this article. It’ll be a good exercise for you. If possible frame a hypothesis from your reading too. Do this and you would have finished one course in critical thinking. And yes, the previous statement was an "opinion". Good day !!