CRITICAL THINKING FOR SMARTIES

THAT'S ARGUABLE

Think back to the four things Scott Berkun claimed you've got to do when preparing for a speech—specifically number four: "Know the likely counterarguments from an intelligent, expert audience." (Berkun, 61)

How exactly do you figure out what the likely counterarguments will be? The best way to do it is to take on the role of intelligent, expert audience during the invention phase.

How to Be Intelligent

No matter the source of the information you gather—from primary or secondary research, the internet or a book, your own life or someone else's—you've got to be on the lookout for arguable claims. This means noticing every time someone makes an assertion about the truth of something that could be reasonably disputed.

(We threw that "reasonably" in there because we acknowledge that there are some claims that are technically arguable but that you can safely just accept without disputing. When someone claims, "I've always preferred cookies to cake," you technically could dispute the truth of that statement, or you could accept it and move on with your life.)

Let's say your town is deciding between two proposals for how to develop a prime piece of real estate in the downtown area. One option is expand the public library, which is next door. The second option is to turn the space into a giant trampoline park.

You're planning to give a speech at a community event in favor of the trampoline park, because what community is complete without one?

During your research, you come across this quote from a city official: "Trampolines are great exercise! Studies have shown that communities with trampoline parks are fifty percent healthier than communities without them."

This is the perfect quote to include in your speech, and you'd really like to use it. But because you're no dummy, you're not just going to copy it down and repeat it. You're going to think critically about it.

First, you note that the quote contains one two arguable claims, although only one is actually reasonable to dispute. (Trampolines may not be great exercise for everyone, but the last time you were on one, you were sore for a week, so you're going to accept that first claim and move on to the next.)

The second claim is the one that would really help your case, but it's also the one that's reasonable to dispute. You ask yourself the two questions you should always ask when you come across this type of claim:

• Why did he say that?

• Why should I believe it?

You don't know much about the city official who actually said this, so the only way to answer those questions is to do a little more research. You decide you better find out which studies this guy is referring to, and find out a little bit more about the guy, too.

Unfortunately, your investigation turns up some pretty discouraging information. No matter how much you look, you can't find the studies the city official mentioned. What you do find out is that the city official is the first cousin of the owner of the trampoline park franchise, and it's possible he even owns a stake in the franchise.

You can't help but answer your original questions as follows:

• Why did he say that?

  • Because he stands to make money if the trampoline park wins out over the library.

• Why should I believe it?

  • I shouldn't, because he's given absolutely no evidence that would allow me to.

Dang. You decide not to use the quote in your speech and to continue researching the benefits of trampoline parks until you find some good, solid evidence.

Back It Up

Let's imagine the trampoline park scenario a little differently. Say this was the city official's quote: "Studies have shown that communities with trampoline parks are fifty percent more healthy than communities without them, mostly because trampolines are great exercise and they're lots of fun."

This is still a claim that's reasonable to dispute, but it's a little better because the official gave you a reason to believe the claim. (Trampolines are great exercise and they're fun.) Still, you do some additional research.

You come up with the same answer to the "Why did he say that?" question. (Because he stands to make money from the venture.) But this time, you find that the study he mentions actually exists, is totally legitimate, and backs up the claim that "trampoline parks are fifty percent more healthy than communities without them" with solid statistics from over a hundred other towns across the nation.

(Note: the trampoline example is fake, and so is this silly statistic. But you're a smartypants and probably already realized that.)

In this case, it's okay to use the quote in your speech because the official backed up his claim with solid reasons and evidence. Those are the two things that an intelligent expert like yourself requires in order to believe an arguable claim. You also decide to mention and quote the original study, too, to strengthen your whole argument with even more evidence.

Types of Evidence

When you're looking for evidence to prove the truth of an arguable claim (whether it's a claim that will help or hurt your argument), it helps to be familiar with what exactly counts as evidence.

In general, there are four main types of evidence to look for behind any arguable claim:

• Specific instances: Examples, case studies, and narratives.

• Statistics: Raw numbers, averages, statistical probabilities, and statistical trends.

• Eyewitness testimony: First-hand reports from a person who witnessed or directly experienced some event.

• Expert testimony: Any kind of information (narrative, statistics, etc.) that comes from a person with formal training and background in a subject.

Since you'll want to make liberal use of the four main types of evidence in your speech, it's helpful to make sure you're using each kind effectively. Here's what to keep in mind:

• Specific instances: Besides asking if it's believable and/or logical, ask yourself if it's relevant and representative of your main idea.

• Statistics: Make sure your statistics are objective, authoritative, and factual. Be prepared to provide the source of any statistic you use.

• Eyewitness testimony: First, do your best to verify the truth of eyewitness testimony. Second, don't rely entirely on eyewitness testimony to support a claim. It's better to make sure you can back it up with another type of evidence.

• Expert testimony: Make sure any expert you cite is actually qualified to speak on the topic. (Don't just take their word for it—do some of your own research into the person's credentials.) (Source)

Of course, even a critical-thinking genius like yourself can occasionally be fooled by bad evidence. How do you work against that? Don't fall for fallacies. We'll talk about how to do that in the next lesson.