"Burn the witches." Somebody has to pay for society's flaws.
Critical thinking begins by rejecting blind acceptance of ideas, leadership, government, or propaganda.
Our default state presumes we are right. We seldom ask "am I wrong" or "what is the evidence?" No industry is immune. Bloodletting is among the oldest medical treatments. "In the 1830s, France imported forty million leeches a year for medical purposes." Of course, we still use phlebotomy for diagnosis, for treatment of iron excess (hemochromatosis), erythrocytosis (high red cell count) and very rarely volume overload.
Socratic argument probes understanding. It recognizes that the quality of answers relates to the insight of questions.
What idiot concocted that strategy? "Resulting" presupposes that a bad outcome meant poor planning. Who picked that guy? The Tyreek Hill revelations define limits of character examination. What are his qualifications?
Six Socratic questions inform critical thinking from three point shooting to measles immunization.
CLARIFICATION
ASSUMPTIONS
PERSPECTIVE
EVIDENCE
IMPLICATION
PURPOSE
Clarification - what do you mean by that?
Half of the Rockets' shots in the 2019 playoffs are three-pointers.
Assumptions - what has to be true for that to apply? "It's a make or miss league."
Immunization less than 100 percent effective works because "in a population in which a large number of individuals are immune, chains of infection are likely to be disrupted, which stops or slows the spread of disease." We call this HERD IMMUNITY.
Perspective - what school of thought holds?
Analytics show that effective three-point shooting produces a higher number of points per possession. The Warriors (2018) had dramatic "net gain" (3NG) from shooting threes. "According to 3NG, the 2018 Warriors gained 2.03 points per game beyond the league average with Steph Curry shooting 3’s. They also gained an extra 1.84 points from Klay Thompson, and 1.16 points from Kevin Durant. Everyone in the top ten shot over forty percent."
Vaccination works. Measles was declared eradicated in the US in 2000. There is now a record spike in number of measles cases in the US (above).
Evidence - how good is the evidence?
The impact of perimeter shooting in the NBA is unmistakable with the Warriors winning three of the last four championships.
Much of anti-vaccine sentiment derived from studies of FORMER Dr. Andrew Wakefield of England. His studies misrepresented the data between immunization and autism and was judged to be SCIENTIFIC MISCONDUCT. England stripped Wakefield's license to practice medicine. Studies clearly demonstrate no association between immunization with MMR and autism.
Implications - Should we change based on the information?
The impact of three-point shooting has revolutionized the college and professional game. Go to many YOUTH games and you'll see an abomination of basketball, with airball after airball, Doc Rivers' "shot turnovers."
As a result of measles epidemics from declining immunization, multiple communities and universities have outbreaks and quarantines. Measles can cause severe disability and death in children (above).
Purpose - Why does it matter? Is this relevant?
If you have no interest in basketball, the three-point shot matters as much as bicycles do to fish. If you want to stop the Warriors and the Bucks this postseason, defending the three-point shot partly defines success and failure.
The rise of measles, especially in children, is a major domestic and global public health threat. "Measles vaccine has prevented an estimated 15.6 million deaths from 2000-2013."
Lagniappe: Our choices define us...down by the river.