From Rasool Et

UNDERSTANDING OBSERVATIONS, INTERPRETATIONS FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS

(From Rasool et. al 2002)

Clarifying Terms

A good starting point for developing critical thinking skills is being able to understand what observations, facts, interpretations, conclusions and opinions are.

Observations

An observation involves having direct contact or experience with an object or event. This contact can occur through any of the senses. For example, a list of observations could include a basketball player make a three-point shot; hearing someone say, “Tun Mahathir Muhamad is a great leader”; feeling a person’s pulse; and investigating the flavour of junk food.

Interpretations

Your observations must be objective; that is, they should report the information but not your interpretation of the information. An interpretation is your explanation or understanding of events. One way of learning to differentiate observations from interpretations is to first make an observation and then develop as many interpretations as possible.

Differentiating between observations and interpretations

Distinguishing observations from interpretations requires vigilance because the two processes can happen simultaneously. We observe something and quickly decide (interpret) what it means. This technique is practiced by most mothers almost automatically. Frequently, a mother’s observation such as “My baby is crying” is followed immediately by an interpretation: “He want me to sing lullaby”. If the baby continues crying after she sings lullaby, she rejects her first interpretation and tries another one: “He’s hungry”. If he rejects food and continues crying, she may move on to any of the following interpretations:

1. He needs diaper changing. 2. He is not well. 3. He has colic. 4. He has diaper rash.

A mother who is able to generate a wide repertoire of interpretations of her child’s crying is far more likely to successfully meet her baby’s needs than a mother who can only come up with one or two interpretations. Likewise, you will be a far more effective thinker if you are able to consider many possible interpretations beyond your immediate reaction.

Practice

Make a list of three or more possible interpretations for each of the following observations. i. The bomb explosion resulted in many deaths and injuries. ii. He was having dinner with his best friend’s girlfriend. iii. He applied for a job in an American company but was turned down. iv. There are more female students in the local university than the male students

An accurate observation becomes a fact. An observation that is influenced by your perspective, your values, or your preferences, however, is an interpretation. The interpretation may be correct, but we should reserve judgment if we have no proof. One must bear in mind that interpretations that seem true can turn out to be wrong. If you are quick to accept interpretations because they are your own or because someone offers you an impressive-sounding argument, you may be erroneously perceiving interpretations as facts.

Below are several definitions of fact:

1. A “fact” is something most of us agree is true

According to this definition, the following are facts:

a. We need air to live b. Most leaves are green c. Drug abuse can be dangerous

However, look at (c). To those who live in countries with temperate climate, they will find that most leaves are really brown. When leaves die, they turn brown and fall to the ground. Green leaves represent only one year’s growth; there is at least a two years’ supply on the ground in most forests.

2. A “fact” is something that is true

a. Abraham Lincoln was a president of the United States b. The rises in the east c. 2 + 2 = 4

How do you know that the above statements are true? If you are able to find irrefutable evidence that something is true, then you are likely to accept it as a fact. Indisputable evidence appears to be a more useful definition of a fact.

3. A “fact” is something that can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt

Consider the following statement:

Columbus discovered America Information on Columbus discovering America can be found in many history texts and reference books. However, additional historical evidence suggests that Leif Eriksson, landed in North America around 1000 A.D., almost 500 years before Columbus. Some sources suggest that a group of Danes arrived in America even earlier. And think of the Native American Indians. They were there long before the arrival of European explorers.

Differences Between Conclusions and Interpretations

Generally, an interpretation is an incomplete list of facts and one’s reactions to those facts. For example, imagine you are an imprisoned felon reading a news report on police brutality. What is your interpretation likely to be? Now imagine you are a police officer reading the same article. Would you have the same interpretation of the event? The facts are the same, but the officer and the felon probably have very different interpretations.

Conclusion – The final interpretation of an exhaustive examination of all available data

In the case of police brutality incident, it is up to a court of law to gather all the facts, listen to all the opinions, combine the facts and opinions in order to arrive at a final interpretation of the incident. It is hard to guarantee that a conclusion is valid or true. New facts may later emerge to show that a conclusion is wrong. Conclusions are not necessarily facts; they are our best judgment, given what we have to work with. If later evidence demonstrates that a conclusion is wrong, we need to acknowledge it and admit that we mad a mistake in our final judgment. Practice

Refer to the advert on Yoga. Read the text carefully and identify sentences that express facts and those that express opinions.