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  3. How much data do you require before you accept something as "fact"?

How much data do you require before you accept something as "fact"?

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  • R [email protected]

    Reading it once on social media

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    wrote on last edited by
    #9

    Hearing it in a YouTube short linked by a one day old account

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    • C [email protected]

      It isn't quantity. It is the quality and logical reasoning.

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      wrote on last edited by
      #10

      I would argue that quantity is just as important as quality and logical reasoning. The Triforce of Science, if you will.

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      • M [email protected]

        It is itself extremely biased, you believed an authority that isn't neutral.

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        wrote on last edited by
        #11

        How so? Seemed reasonable enough for the few things I checked.

        M 1 Reply Last reply
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        • F [email protected]

          If I can find three reputable sources that say the same thing, I feel pretty confident in accepting it as fact. The real trick is finding reputable sources. Media Bias Fact Check is really helpful for this.

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          wrote on last edited by
          #12

          Have you ever tried the 1 Left, 1 center, 1 right source when looking into something? I try to do this myself when I have the time and can find the articles.

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          • M [email protected]

            It is itself extremely biased, you believed an authority that isn't neutral.

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            wrote on last edited by
            #13

            To my knowledge they have been criticized for being biased, but from what I can find their ratings don't differ drastically from other providers.

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            • H [email protected]

              If we're talking about things that are easily quantifiable, not very much at all.

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              wrote on last edited by
              #14

              What would you classify as easily quantifiable?

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              • A [email protected]
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                jackbydev@programming.devJ This user is from outside of this forum
                jackbydev@programming.devJ This user is from outside of this forum
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                wrote on last edited by
                #15

                One datum

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                • A [email protected]
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                  wrote on last edited by
                  #16

                  It takes a lot for me to accept something as fact, but I'm okay with living my life on a combination of likelihoods, reasonable plausibilities, and vibes

                  antlion@lemmy.dbzer0.comA 1 Reply Last reply
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                  • A [email protected]

                    Have you ever tried the 1 Left, 1 center, 1 right source when looking into something? I try to do this myself when I have the time and can find the articles.

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                    wrote on last edited by
                    #17

                    How do you define the centre? Do you account for existing wide-spread social biases? E.g. systemic racism, or the neoliberal belief that we can have infinite growth on a finite planet?

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                    • A [email protected]

                      What would you classify as easily quantifiable?

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                      wrote on last edited by
                      #18

                      Things that don't very much over time, like your height.

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                      • A [email protected]
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                        typewar@infosec.pubT This user is from outside of this forum
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                        wrote on last edited by
                        #19

                        I remember there was one fact I was really beating my head on; A dishwasher should always have some food or other gunk on the dishes before starting the machine, otherwise the detergent will attack the coloring on the dishes instead.

                        How has no company solved this problem? It makes no sense. Many people do wash their kitchenware so it doesn't stink up the entire dishwasher if it has been sitting for a while... idk.

                        I would be happy to hear if anyone can help confirm or dismiss this.

                        S spankmonkey@lemmy.worldS A E 4 Replies Last reply
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                        • A [email protected]
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                          wrote on last edited by
                          #20

                          Depends how interesting or important or complex the thing is. If you tell me that your foot is 25cm long, I'll believe you without question. If you tell me it's 52cm, then you're going to have a hard time convincing me (unless you've already convinced me that you're a talking kangaroo).

                          This is why it's much more important to be skeptical of people's views on political issues too, because the situations are always complex, and important to different people in different ways.

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                          • A [email protected]
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                            wrote on last edited by
                            #21

                            is it a fun fact that impacts nothing? i'll accept it as fact immediately and without question

                            is it a fact that has some weight to it? i'll probably double check and if i find a reliable source that also claims it to be fact i'll accept it (if i'm reading about it from a reliable source i will accept it immediately)

                            is it a fact that contradicts my current beliefs/understanding of the world? i'll do some research on it, check if there's any recent articles like "that thing you thought was right? is not!", and depending on the nature of the fact think about why it's been debunked and how that changed my perception on the world

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                            • typewar@infosec.pubT [email protected]

                              I remember there was one fact I was really beating my head on; A dishwasher should always have some food or other gunk on the dishes before starting the machine, otherwise the detergent will attack the coloring on the dishes instead.

                              How has no company solved this problem? It makes no sense. Many people do wash their kitchenware so it doesn't stink up the entire dishwasher if it has been sitting for a while... idk.

                              I would be happy to hear if anyone can help confirm or dismiss this.

                              S This user is from outside of this forum
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                              wrote on last edited by
                              #22

                              I'm going out on a limb and saying untrue.

                              How would the dish soap not "attack" the pigments on the crockery not covered by gunk, do you need to make sure that the plate is covered in an even spread? It's a desurficant, iirc, with hydrophobic molecules to get into molecular scale sized spaces. Maybe unvarnished crockery could lose the colour... But eating off that and washing it wouldn't be the best choice either.

                              Also, most dishwashers instruct you to rinse the worst off in the sink before loading. And we've followed that and most of our china still has good colours, the one that doesn't I know was left in direct sunlight for over a summer.

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                              • A [email protected]
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                                wrote on last edited by
                                #23

                                That's the great thing about science.

                                Things that are considered facts in today's world can be disproven by new experiments and observations (recreated through experimentation and after adequate peer review).

                                So for me, it depends on what is being evaluated. 2+2 is a fact. Exact age of the moon might be up for more debate.

                                U A 2 Replies Last reply
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                                • typewar@infosec.pubT [email protected]

                                  I remember there was one fact I was really beating my head on; A dishwasher should always have some food or other gunk on the dishes before starting the machine, otherwise the detergent will attack the coloring on the dishes instead.

                                  How has no company solved this problem? It makes no sense. Many people do wash their kitchenware so it doesn't stink up the entire dishwasher if it has been sitting for a while... idk.

                                  I would be happy to hear if anyone can help confirm or dismiss this.

                                  spankmonkey@lemmy.worldS This user is from outside of this forum
                                  spankmonkey@lemmy.worldS This user is from outside of this forum
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                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #24

                                  Sounds like bullshit.

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                                  • R [email protected]

                                    Reading it once on social media

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                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #25

                                    I think this applies to vastly more of us than are comfortable admitting

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                                    • L [email protected]

                                      That's the great thing about science.

                                      Things that are considered facts in today's world can be disproven by new experiments and observations (recreated through experimentation and after adequate peer review).

                                      So for me, it depends on what is being evaluated. 2+2 is a fact. Exact age of the moon might be up for more debate.

                                      U This user is from outside of this forum
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                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #26

                                      2+2 is a fact

                                      In some sense, if every single human thought that 2+2 equaled 5, it would become true

                                      (I'm not smart enough to come up with this lol, got it from Orwell's 1984)

                                      Q halcyoncmdr@lemmy.worldH 2 Replies Last reply
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                                      • H [email protected]

                                        If we're talking about things that are easily quantifiable, not very much at all.

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                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #27

                                        yeah that makes sense, like a math proof

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                                        • L [email protected]

                                          That's the great thing about science.

                                          Things that are considered facts in today's world can be disproven by new experiments and observations (recreated through experimentation and after adequate peer review).

                                          So for me, it depends on what is being evaluated. 2+2 is a fact. Exact age of the moon might be up for more debate.

                                          A This user is from outside of this forum
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                                          [email protected]
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #28

                                          How is 2 + 2 a fact?

                                          How do you know, through new experiments and observations, that we will never determine the exact age of the moon?

                                          Q 1 Reply Last reply
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