Facts tell us about the world. Opinions tell us about what people think about the world. There are many ways in which people try to use opinions as if they were facts, and there are also people who try to make facts look like opinions.
Both are important, but it is important to note the big difference between facts and opinions. And that's what this video will be about. This is the second video in our series, and with it you will understand the difference between opinions and facts.
Which will undoubtedly be important for the development of your critical thinking and your skeptical side. Subscribe to the channel, because here we present content that will add a lot of value to your intellect. And also activate your bell so you never miss any of our videos.
WHAT ARE FACTS Facts are claims that can be verified, tested or proven. A fact is something true and correct and only exists because there is a large amount of evidence supporting it. Fernando Henrique Cardoso was the president of Brazil; USP has almost 100 thousand students; Stevia has a much greater sweetening power than common sugar.
The truth behind these facts is beyond argument. No one can disagree with these statements because they are proven and indisputable, that is, they are facts. WHAT ARE OPINIONS President Fernando Henrique's policies led the country to grow.
USP should hire more teachers to reduce class sizes. The taste of stevia is terrible and cannot be compared to sugar. Now in these cases all these statements are opinions.
Not everyone will agree with them. There is room for disagreement. Because they are opinions, these statements cannot be proven, they are subjective and their validity will depend only on the beliefs and feelings of those who declare them.
Furthermore, the truth of an opinion differs from one person to another. An opinion is a judgment based on emotions, weak evidence or no evidence at all. It is a mere attempt to draw a reasonable conclusion from factual evidence that has little or no convincing power.
AVOIDING USELESS DISCUSSIONS As I mentioned before, while a fact can be tested, an opinion cannot. This difference has very important implications! For example, if two people reach different conclusions about a factual statement that can be proven right or wrong, such as about the shape of the Earth, then one or both of them must be wrong.
It is not possible for both of them to be correct. Either one or both of them must have made an error in the analyzes they used to reach their conclusions. In this case, those involved in the discussion must work together to examine their arguments and resolve any errors.
Now, realize that this only works when the discussions are about facts, that is, factual allegations. This does not apply to subjective feelings or value judgments. There is no objective way to resolve a difference of opinion about aesthetics or preferences, for example.
If you think that short hair is more attractive than long hair, there is no way to prove the superiority of one cut over another, neither using facts nor using logic. And this is what makes it extremely useful to identify when a conclusion contains an aesthetic opinion or any kind of subjective choice. This avoids endless and pointless discussions about a problem that is inherently unsolvable.
TRUTHS AND FACTS Note also that much of what we believe to be true about a fact today may prove to be mistaken or inaccurate in the future. The truth about the facts can change over time. The real facts themselves are perennial, they tend to remain the same.
For example, several claims about the Earth have been made before, about its shape, people claimed that the Earth was flat. Regarding her age, many thought she was no more than a few thousand years old, and regarding her position in the universe, many thought she was the center of the world. These were the truths about our planet at the time they were made.
Today we know that our planet is nearly spherical, approximately 4. 5 billion years old, and orbits a typical star in a common planetary system. CONFUSING OPINIONS WITH FACTS There is nothing wrong with having opinions.
The problem arises when people they mix opinions, without any basis in evidence, with facts. If anyone thinks that vaccines cause autism, they are expressing something really wrong, it is not an opinion. She is scientifically wrong, given the enormous mountain of evidence that contradicts her.
The mere fact of believing that vaccines cause autism does not move this misconception into the realm of valid opinion. And it's not just because a person scours the internet to find others who share the same misconception that they will convert their opinion into fact. This opinion will still be wrong and without any validity.
SCIENCE DOESN'T OPERATE WITH OPINIONS You don't need people's opinions on a fact. 25% of people don't believe climate change is real. That 25% is wrong.
These people's opinions don't change a fact. Science, on the other hand, does not operate with opinions. As we will see later in this series, it is nothing more than a process through which we obtain evidence that supports or refutes a hypothesis.
And in this sense, science does not have an opinion on climate change. She has overwhelming evidence that vaccines are safe and effective. Vaccines, evolution, climate change, and other so-called “controversial” topics are established science and weak and unsupported opinions will not change this reality.
I now want to know your opinion about the facts I mentioned in this video. Subscribe to the channel and have Scientific Verve! Hugs and see you next time!
