Title: Informed Knowledge, Opinion, and Critical Thought. – SociologicalYoungster
Headings: SociologicalYoungster
SociologicalYoungster
Informed Knowledge, Opinion, and Critical Thought.
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Content: To illustrate the difference between informed knowledge and opinion I will use the example of movie ratings. If I was to watch a movie with someone and I say, “this movie must be rated among the top 50 movies of all time”, without viewing movie charts, that is my opinion; however, I would have informed knowledge if I examined the movie ratings from film critics and organizations (IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes) and saw that the movie was rated in the top 50. This is where critical thought becomes important. Anyone can form an opinion about anything including religion, global warming, human rights, among many other topics; however, challenging an opinion can transform it into informed knowledge. When I was younger, I had the belief that all apples are red because my parents only bought red apples. Some people might say that this was a reasonable belief because I had not seen any other coloured apples. Asking the question, “are all apples red?” enabled critical thinking and as I got older, I discovered green and yellow apples.