Fact or Opinion

[Lindsay Rachow]

1. The deepest part of the ocean is 35, 813 feet deep. FACT
My first thought is that this is fact – as it is measurable. But then I think, “where is this statement coming from?”. What tools did they use to determine that the deepest part of the ocean is that many feet deep? I tried to look this statement up on the internet in the most non-judgmental way – asking “How many feet is the deepest part of the ocean?” The answer I received was, “Challenger Deep is approximately 36,200 feet deep” (which was from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration”. The numbers are slightly off – but the statement states “the deepest part”, which to me is part of something - there could be another part that is a little deeper.

2. Smoking is bad for your health. OPINION
I thought this statement was an opinion because good/bad health is up for interpretation. What good health is to me may be bad health for another person. Also, smoking what? There are too many questions to be raised to conclude what this is specifically discussing.

3. 85% of all cases of lung cancer in the US are caused by smoking. FACT
At first, I thought this statement was an opinion because it generalized it by saying “all”. I decided to research and on the American Cancer Association – found this statement, “Tobacco use accounts for at least 30% of all cancer deaths, causing 87% of lung cancer deaths in men, and 70% of lung cancer deaths in women”. Based on that statement, I thought the above statement was FACT.

4. One out of every hundred American Citizens is color blind. OPINION
Upon first reading this statement I thought that it was fact, which it still could be – however I was not able to find substantial information specifically stating that one out of every hundred American Citizens is color blind to identify it as a fact.

5. Two out of ten American citizens are boring. OPINION
At times this seems factual!!! However – the definition of boring is interpretive and therefore I deemed this statement an OPINION.

[rreiter]

Hi Lindsay,
I am glad that someone else dissected statement #2 in the same way. Although I believe that the statement on its own appears to be a fact due to the definitive nature of the statement, I recognize that the statement could be false in the same type of manner that you do. I think that most people would take the statement "Smoking is bad for your health" at face value and say, "Absolutely true". But if you were to expand that statement with specifics - Smoking (medicinal marijuana to treat glaucoma to relieve pressure in the eyes and prevent loss of vision) is bad for your health, then there is some debate. Anyways, I think that is good critical thinking on your part.

[Elena Romero]

Lindsay-

I really appreciate the thoughtfulness in your responses. You took time to research each statement and I wrestled with taking this approach myself, eventually deciding not to. To be honest this activity had me a bit stumped because the longer I looked at each statement the easier I found it to see things in both categories as fact and then as opinion. Almost as if the longer I looked the harder it was to discern!