This is an article I'm working on for my local newspaper. I am hoping to eventually make a living as a writer. Feedback and constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated! Anyone who excels at writing and would be willing to proofread similar articles and provide helpful advice on how to improve, please send me a DM!
Part 1: Finding Wisdom Through Social Media
I have a very unique relationship with social media. It is, strangely enough, the primary means by which I developed the critical thinking skills that were never taught to me in any class, any seminar, or any lecture I have ever attended in my life. Whereas in school, I was taught what to think, told to memorize it as thoroughly as possible, and then demanded to recite it back as accurately as possible, online I discovered a free exchange of thoughts and ideas.
By posting my viewpoints on contentious issues, usually contentious political issues, and then engaging in debates with those who disagreed, I learned how to defend the logical validity of my arguments. I also learned how to quickly and efficiently find relevant evidence to any argument I was making and then cite that evidence to bolster my argument. However, far more importantly, debating others online taught me that I am fallible. That is, it taught me that I am capable of being wrong. As Socrates famously said, "I am wise because I know that I know nothing."
There have been many occasions when people have commented on my posts, or I have commented on their posts, a debate emerged, and the person I was debating proved to me, with reason, logic, facts, and evidence, that I was entirely incorrect in my current viewpoint. And THAT is an often neglected but highly fundamental aspect of critical thinking skills. If you can never admit that your previous research conclusions were erroneous, you can never experience intellectual growth. You will always remain static in your worldview, and likely ideologically possessed.
The purpose of critical thinking skills is to be able to distinguish between truth and falsehood. However, you cannot learn to do that if you are never forced to admit when you are wrong about an opinion you hold by facts, reason, logic, and evidence presented to you by another human being. With the exception of debate clubs and law school, this is something that is completely and utterly absent in our education system. Sure, there are the very rare classes with the extremely rare teacher or professor that make engaging in debate, with the intent to learn rather than to win, a central part of their curriculum. However, they are few and far between. At the very least, I know I have never attended such a class, nor, in my reading of over fifty books on education, have I ever once stumbled upon the existence of such a class. I am certain they must exist. However, they are certainly not the norm.
As a result, since people are never taught to debate with the intent to learn rather than to win, they only debate to win and rarely, if ever, dare to openly admit to having been "wrong." To admit that you are "wrong" would be to “admit defeat.” Most people take it as a blow to their self-esteem to have to admit that one of their thousands of opinions on thousands of complex issues could possibly be erroneous and in need of revision. Even scientists are not immune to this all too common problem: the Semmelweis Reflex. However, I never thought this way. I have never once been dismayed at finding out I was wrong about something—whether it was through reading a book, listening to a lecture, or engaging in a debate. Instead, I was… THRILLED!
I had discovered something new! I had been freed of unnecessary ignorance. My understanding of the world had become more accurate and less filled with falsehoods and misconceptions. And this meant that I could navigate the world more effectively, more intelligently, more wisely. And I knew that, because I was never afraid to admit when I was wrong, I was actually capable of evolving intellectually whereas it seemed others simply could never manage to do so. So admitting I had come to an erroneous conclusion, paradoxically, increased my self-esteem as I felt proud of myself for being capable of constantly updating my worldview as I encountered new evidence, logical fallacies in my current reasoning, and new perspectives I had never considered before. Whereas others remained forever static and unchanging in their viewpoints, my understanding of issues constistently grew more accurate, more comprehensive, more nuanced, and more sophisticated in nature.
Unlike so many others around me, I did not cling to an ideology and then let that ideology confine my thoughts and ideas for the rest of my life. I refused to engage in groupthink, as I repeatedly encountered it among those I debated online, and I began to intuitively understand how dangerous such cognitive biases were to developing a sophisticated understanding of complex problems; and, that only through truly understanding all the dynamics of a highly complex problem, like poverty, can one find or develop the most effective solution possible. Thus, I approached every contentious issue within every subject, including, but not limited to politics, as a mystery to be solved, and then later, as an ongoing research project in which I could study the opposing viewpoints on the issue, evalute the validity of the relevant arguments, analyze the evidence, and only thereafter could I dare arrive at any sort of opinion on the matter I could share with others. And I have always kept these opinions, these research conclusions, provisional; that is, they always remain subject to change based on further research and analysis, discussion, debate, and dialectics.
That is, of course, how a critical thinker properly engages with the world in the Information Age. This is the approach to knowledge that I wish to proliferate through my writing and through my podcasts. Now that homeschooling is exploding in popularity across the globe, and parents are increasingly going online to look for guidance on how to properly educate their children, I feel I finally have a chance to have a truly significant and global impact on the realm of education. However, that is a story for another day. Regardless, it was through social media, primarily, that I cultivated critical thinking skills. And I hope that I can help teach millions of other people, adults and children both, to utilize social media in a similar fashion: as part of the joyous hobby of spending time researching, reflecting on, discussing, and debating fascinating topics with others as part of the ongoing process of developing an increasingly sophisticated worldview.
Stay Tuned for Part 2: How to Find a True Sense of Connection on Social Media
Teachers: Do you think my criticisms of what I believe to be a rigid education system are too harsh? Do you feel able to teach in the manner you find most effective or are you told what to teach and how to teach it? Do the effects of NCLB and "teaching to the test" still linger? How could I improve the article to be more appealing to fellow educators?
Anyone with a great deal to say, please feel free to DM me with your phone number and we'll have a chat! I know I'm likely not conveying my message in the most effective manner possible. For that, I apologize. Please be kind and understanding of the fact that I know I am fallible and require constructive criticism.
Submitted September 10, 2021 at 08:13AM by EruditePolymath https://ift.tt/3tCY5Vx
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