Who Should You Believe?
Is the swimming pool open on Saturday? Three people tell you three different things. A classmate says, "No, I heard it's closed." The lifeguard, when you call the pool, says, "Yes, open from 9 to 5." And an advert for a new water park says, "The old pool is closed for good - come to us instead!" Whom should you believe?
Some people are better to learn from
In the What Others Tell You lesson we saw that most of what we know comes from other people. Anyone or anything that tells you something - a person, a book, a sign, a website - is a source. And sources aren't all equally good. A source that is usually right is called reliable.
Three questions
To tell a reliable source from an unreliable one, ask three questions.
1. Were they in a place to know? The lifeguard works at the pool and has the week's timetable in front of her. Your classmate "heard" something - from whom? The best sources saw for themselves, or have the record.
2. Have they been right before? A friend who always gets the homework dates right is a better source on homework than one who is often wrong. A source's past is evidence about its future.
3. Do they have a reason to mislead you? The water park wants you to come to the water park. That doesn't make its advert false, but it gives it a reason to say the old pool is closed even if it isn't. A source with nothing to gain or lose is easier to trust.
The lifeguard passes all three. Your classmate fails the first: she only heard it. The advert fails the third. So the lifeguard is the source to believe - and you can always check the sign on the pool door.
Reliable is not perfect
A reliable source can still be wrong now and then. The lifeguard might not know the pool will close because of a broken pipe tomorrow. And an unreliable source can be right by luck, the way Tara's guess was in the A Lucky Guess lesson. The three questions don't tell you for certain who is right. They tell you whose word is a good reason to believe.
Try it at home
- Think of something you were told this week.
- Ask the three questions about whoever told you.
- Is there a more reliable source you could check it with?
Words to know
- source - anyone or anything that tells you something: a person, a book, a sign, a website
- reliable - usually right
- reason to mislead - something a source could gain from your believing it, true or not
Big idea
Not every source is equally good. Ask: were they in a place to know, have they been right before, and do they have a reason to mislead you? A reliable source's word is a good reason to believe - not a guarantee.