Glenn Beck’s rally and the subsequent furor did not catch much of my attention.
But what did catch my attention was a discussion on the estimates of the number of people who attended the rally. CBS News commissioned two independent agents to estimate the number using aerial photographs and crowd density calculations reaching a number in the range of 80,000. The numbers touted by other media organizations and Glenn Beck himself were in the range of a few hundred thousand. Supporters of the rally refused to go with the 80,000 number and claimed the number was biased.
We routinely come across cases where people choose to go with opinions as opposed to numbers or facts estimated using known scientific methods. This is just one example. If someone wants to dispute estimated facts, they should study the method used for estimation and point out the error in the method or, better yet, come up with a superior method. Simply claiming the person who did the estimation is biased and hence his or her results are incorrect is not the correct approach.
As members of a university community who are learning skills and values to last a life time and engaging in activities that push the boundaries of the existing body of knowledge, it is especially important for us to be able to distinguish facts from opinions. Given the facts, the opinions should make sense. Not the other way around.
Yes, a given “fact” can be later proved to be false. We know today the Earth is not flat and the rest of extraterrestrial bodies do not revolve around us. This rewriting usually happens when a new technological development makes it possible for us make new deductions, or when something brings previously obscure data to light. Until then, our body of knowledge, amassed through empirical observations and rigorous logic, is the best we have.
As my high school teacher would say, statements we come across on a regular basis can be classified into four categories: rumor, hearsay, opinion, and fact. Rumors are those statements with sources no one is able to pinpoint, yet almost everyone, takes for granted. Hearsay is when you hear from someone who heard someone else make a statement. You know an opinion when you hear it. And of course, facts are simply facts.
A good part of the material which comes to us from various sources in the form of rumors, hearsays and opinions, are pretty harmless. They can enrich our lives by giving us a different perspective on things. When it comes to decision making or when an action is required from our end, it is best to first categorize the information we have on hand and choose a path that best follows from the facts we have.
