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You will learn something by reading this post. I will explain why – and in part, how it helps explain why (a) some people keep doing stupid stuff, including re-elected, and (b) why those elected, are not best serving individual people or a collective nation.
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I go from reading to critical thinking, and then circle back to our currently own Ireland political situation. You might want to pause reading now, put the kettle on. Grab a cuppa – and then start reading what’s below… I genuinely think it will be worth your time – but being more honest, I’m biased!
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Information is power” – it’s a well-known, often-said statement of fact. A bigger truth is that it’s daily too much ignored, and the implications of that simple statement are either (a) overlooked and under-appreciated by too many – and (b) the implications are exploited by an underhand exploitive few.
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You may wonder what I am on about. I shall explain. I should tell you first that this post is not short. In order to better inform, to better educate, sometimes soundbites are simply not enough. I do not wish to be rude, but if you haven’t the inkling, time or for a few people, the willingness to learn something today, stop reading now and I hope you will do something that will in other ways, better progress your life. I hope you will come back to this post later. I think it will be worth your while.
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For those still reading, here are a few known and verifiable facts.
FACT – Half of USA adults read at the level of a fifth-grade child.
FACT – More than a fifth (22%), read at the level of an eight-year-old (3rd grader).
FACT – In the USA districts (3300+ in total) that have no local newspaper and there are hundreds out of which have none, USA Trump’s re-election margin of victory – in those particular areas – was in the region of 80% to 90% of votes cast. They were not reading critical examination news articles – and just relying on TV/radio dumbed-down PR pitches of Trump and GOP – who told them what they wanted to hear! They massively fell for it.
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*** This post is not about Trump. I merely use a most recent numeric example, to help explain greater, ‘bigger picture’ matters. ***
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Reading and indeed, learning, is absolutely vital to the ability to critical think. The ability to critical think, enhances a personals ability to greater differentiate between many things – including what is true and often what is a load of tried-on hogwash, be it political, a crappy sales pitch from a trader or even a tabloid newspaper and it’s sometimes biased, soundbite news clips.
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People often hear things, and this is great. They sometimes hear some bits of information – and this is great too. However, reading, beyond soundbite hearing, is actually far more important. Not many realise it, but here is why…
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1. When greater reading occurs, individuals can better control the speed at which they process information. They can skim, re-read, or pause to digest complex ideas, which can aid comprehension.
2. Reading allows for a more detailed examination of content. Readers can linger on specific passages, annotate, or consult additional resources to deepen their understanding.
3. Research suggests that active engagement in reading, such as highlighting or taking notes, can improve retention and recall of information compared to passive listening.
4. Reading can be done at any time and in various environments, without the need for specific tools beyond the text itself. This flexibility can suit different learning preferences and schedules.
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Ok, so accepting that reading is important, moving on from that, others and I say (with many studies done as backup) that reading is then vital to carry out better forms of critical analysis/critical thinking. Here’s why…
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1. Reading exposes individuals to a wide range of ideas, viewpoints, and arguments. This variety challenges readers to compare, contrast, and critically evaluate different perspectives.
2. Unlike passive activities, reading requires active engagement. Readers must decode words, interpret meanings, and infer underlying messages, which encourages analytical thinking.
3. Critical thinking depends on understanding nuanced information. Reading helps develop comprehension skills, enabling readers to identify key arguments, detect biases, and understand the context of complex issues.
4. Reading often sparks curiosity and prompts questions. For example, readers might ask: Is this argument well-supported? What are the author’s assumptions? Are there alternative explanations? Such questioning fosters critical evaluation.
5. Reading teaches people how arguments are constructed. By analyzing the structure of texts—such as premises, evidence, and conclusions—readers learn to discern logical fallacies, weak arguments, or gaps in reasoning.
6. A strong vocabulary and understanding of concepts are fundamental to critical thinking. Reading enriches knowledge and language, which are essential tools for expressing and evaluating ideas clearly.
7. Fiction, in particular, allows readers to step into the shoes of others, fostering empathy and understanding of complex human behavior and motivations. This emotional and intellectual exercise strengthens critical thinking by encouraging nuanced perspectives.
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To conclude this part, reading helps train the mind to question, analyze, and draw well-informed conclusions. These are all absolutely vital. They form core components of critical thinking.
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If you accept that critical thinking is better for you, better for your society, and better for planning a future through greater drawn-up plans – care of better-educated people, then you are not alone in that thinking.
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I stated at the start that “Information is power”. Many have heard this statement to the point that they might have got tired of it. ”Yea, yea, we know…
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However, while “Information is power”, it’s important that you are told correct information. A better ability to critical think, will help raise your suspicions as to what you might be reading, is in fact true or a load of cobblers!
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Hearing brief items as you go about your days is good – but sometimes you are indulged so much, with so bulk of information, that you have lesser time to mentally critical examine what your ears are picking up. …Thus for some, they are more easily fooled if they are deliberately or by accident, actually told not enough information or indeed, deliberately inaccurate information. By now, you should be able to see where we are going with all this.
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Here in Ireland, we are entering into the next five years of government. Some of us are thinking “O’ gawd, it’s with the same old shower!” You might think the same thing or disagree. That’s you being possibly critical. Fair enough! It’s your right – and ability.
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In Ireland, some of us have come to the conclusion that people are refusing to learn from even recent history. Yes, that brings up another well-known statement “Those that refuse to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it”.
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Well, it seems that in Ireland, we too are a perfect example of that. Maybe just like some Americans at the last presidential vote carried out? A debate for another day or post!
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We, in Ireland, have decided to re-elect back those that have year-on-year, decade after decade, ridiculously failed us repeatedly. We too, have been constant bombarded with bites of information over many years. So much so, that we often don’t have the time – or for some – the ability to stop and really comprehend what we are being told. We don’t seem to be doing – or be allowed to do – better critical analysis.
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Evil people know that if you want to fool people or better control people, keep them more stupid. The Afghanistan Taliban is banning female education. They are stopping women even communicating between themselves. They are banning arts, blowing up sculptures and more. There is a method in what appears at first glance, to be crazy madness – but then it takes a better-educated mind to see it all and then understand why they (and others) do what they are doing!
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Trump and “Project 2025” wish to attack the American school system. We have extremists in Ireland that are attacking libraries and harassing staff over books that are in fact, additionally conducive to creating empathy, greater human understanding and sharing greater information – which leads to greater understanding – which leads to greater fairness creation.
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That’s your opinion. That still doesn’t make it a fact at the same time!” – is what many are not supposed to greater realise in difference. Those out to exploit, don’t wish to have others really seeking greater fairness or equality.
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…And the evil do’ers of the world can’t be having that! No Sir! So, while extremists are also crying out about having “free speech” (such as Musk and Trump), they are using their own platforms to put out their “free speech” while same time actually limiting speech by (for example), changing social media code algorithms so that your free speech is more buried while pushing theirs, or trying to see that certain materials and books are made less accessible or banned to students who are wishing to improve their mind. The evil do’ers don’t want too many people too educated.
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Example? Dictator Pol Pot, as soon as he took power in Cambodia revolutionary (1976 until his overthrow in 1979) first tried kill off all educated people. If you were a professor when he gained power, you were not going to live long! Now, you might be starting to better understand why Pol Pot and others do this! Kill information, kill educated people, kill better ways to learn – and short story, you get to better exploit others and get away with a hell of a lot more crap.
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Yes, here too, is how the Tom Cruise backed, Scientology cult fundamentally operates, as they try to cut people off from even their own families (who can better critical think) – but you are not supposed to learn all this too – just as you might also learn that some cults even try control what foods you should eat! Certain foods help to increase mental ability to operate. See where we are going here? Anyway…
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Back to Ireland… We have (in my opinion) stupidly re-elected a mass of incompetent fools yet again. These fools are putting in office place, other fools that then know little or nothing about what they are being put in charge of. I do not joke. Political elected right now are doing this in America and In Ireland, our own elected are doing the exact same. …And don’t get me started about elected and their blatant “conflicts of interest”…
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I have called them “fools” – but with your ability to critical think, you will realise/know, that they are in fact, also not “fools”. Some of them know exactly what the hell they are doing. They are a perfect example of how to be clever on one hand, and thus able to do things – while on the other hand, be as dumb as a bag of rocks while incompetent trying to resolve housing, health and other state-important matters.
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Information is power” – and if you can control it, deny it, limit it, better spin it and more, you get to better use people, dumb more people, exploit people and yes, turn people even against themselves – while overlords sit back, laugh, profit and at times, treat us like a herd of sheep – and we then vote to let them do this. It’s craziness.
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That’s how much out unwillingness to better learn, better read, better critical examine, has in good part lead us to – and here we are present day…
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I said many years ago that my Facebook page posts are all about “Information is power” and then the sharing of better information. I hope you can now better understand why I have made this a cause in my life. If we want a better world or even a country or town, we have got to keep more people better informed. We have got to keep sharing as much true, detailed (this is important) information.
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We have got to keep reading, not just listening – and yes, we should be verifying more stuff. Not just accepting it at face value. We need to do more critical thinking.
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How do we defeat bad people and bad governments? Better education, not less. Better accurate, true verifiable information. Be it by institution or simply by picking up a book and reading. Better education helps create better societies, and helps to better see off those that are still making fools of too many people. I could go on and on about this – but by this stage you have had probably enough of this post by now. I do understand.
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My concluding plea is this. Keep people better informed with better information. Better understand that “opinion” is one thing – but “true information” is another. Make people better understand this and, just as important, understand why! When people too quickly accept “opinion” as just supposed fact, this leads to a dumber nation – and then we know where that next leads to, in a domino knocking and falling effect.
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Want to defeat bad national and local elected, better information is key. Inform and better educate. Keep at it. You won’t win all over – but bit by growing bit, we do make a difference.
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Thank you for reading.