Finding good information today (Part Four)

In this section, we’ll see how to keep a critical view. If we want a method for keeping a critical view (without becoming cynical), we should say that critical thinking isn’t skepticism but a form of structured curiosity. 

Here’s a simple method we can apply to any issue; let’s call it the “The 5-Question Filter”. When we encounter a piece of news, let’s ask ourselves 

• “Is this important or just urgent?” 
• “Is this new information or recycled garbage?” 
• “What long-term trend does this connect to?” 
• “What would change in my life if I ignored this?” 
• “What is the strongest argument against the position presented?” 

If a story fails questions 1–3, we can safely let it go and ignore it. Then, use the “two sources, two perspectives” rule, for any issue we want to understand: We begin by reading one mainstream source, then we read one outsider or contrarian source. 

We read one left-leaning analysis, followed by one right-leaning analysis. We don’t do it to “balance” but to triangulate. Finally, we learn the “slow opinion” principle in which when an issue is emotionally charged we wait 48 hours before forming an opinion, as most early takes are either wrong, incomplete, or manipulated. 

If that sounds like luxury, it is as I don’t have quite that time at my disposal! In the next blog we’ll discover a method for forming sound opinions, so we’re not done yet.