Fact or Opinion Assignment

[kwashburn]

1. The deepest part of the ocean is 35,813 feet deep.

Fact. This sounds like a fact as it’s providing a specific and likely factual number.

2. Smoking is bad for your health.

Fact. This was a tough one because the statement itself sounds like an opinion, but I am going with fact here. Most if not all studies show that smoking is bad for your health. The adjective bad is a subjective word so what one person may think is bad another may not, but in this case I don’t think there is much argument here and this statement is factual.

3. 85 percent of all cases of lung cancer in the US are caused by smoking.

Fact. This is a statistic that has been proven by various studies.

4. One out of every hundred American citizens is color blind.

Fact. This statement sounds like a fact as well because it sounds like a real statistic.

5. Two out of ten American citizens are boring.

Opinion. Stating something or someone is boring is an opinion and what one person considers boring another may not. Boring is an adjective which is very subjective. There is no factual information or statistics that would make this statement a fact.

[Roque Gerald]

Thank you for responding. Looking at your rational, it looks like "fact" for you is based on scientific research, or other proven statistical method and validating the statement. During my first year of statistics in graduate school I was exposed to what some may refer to a "shoddy statistics". This refers to a conclusion based on the statistically significant relationship between two variables that suggests that one causes or results in the other. In some instances it may be an unknown third variable that really is key for example, a relationship that was quoted numerous times in my statistics class. " Road construction results in increased numbers of babies born." That is, the is a significant correlation between the two. The missing intervening variable is that babies and road construction typically occur during warmer weather being the intervening variable.

So my question is how do you determine if a scientifically determined conclusion is a "fact"? Or are there other determinants of "fact vs opinion".

[Rudy R.Racine]

Though I agree with statement # 2, and there are plenty of statistics to support the claim that smoking is bad for your health, I think statement #2 is an opinion because of the use of the word "bad". The word itself is based off of one's opinion and can be interpreted by people differently. For example, there may be casual smokers that believe that "occasionally smoking one" cigarette is not considered bad for your health. The statement just leaves a lot of room for interpretation and therefore I would classify it as more of an opinion than a fact.

Roque, you made an excellent point in your response to Kelly's post! We often see "shoddy statistics" in politics where numbers are used to support one side's stance on an issue. There are many cases where if you speak to someone on the other side of that issue they can provide statistics that support the counter argument. In these cases, I think "fact" is based on what one chooses to believe.

[kwashburn]

Yes, the "shoddy statistic." Roque your example is taking me back to the statistics class that I took in my graduate studies. I forgot I even took that class until I read your response. This certainly makes sense when considering whether something is a fact or opinion and taking into account that in some instances there could be a third variable.

Rudy, you also put some more context around this for me with the fact that both sides could possibly provide statistics that support their argument and what they believe to be fact.

[Marie Sabatino]

We had almost exactly the same answers, including #2, though I was a bit more torn on that one myself.