You Will Never Look Shallow After Leaning This
If we don’t want to come across to others as shallow, we must become more selective with our sources of information and more deliberate with our declarations of truth.
Level of Information
When ingesting information from various sources, it is best to remember that the information products presented exists at 3 levels – surface, moderate, and specialized; the goods at each level provide its consumers with an increasing level of detail and dependability on a given topic. Information from newspapers, radio, TV, and general magazines are considered popular press (i.e., surface level). Popular press is designed for general consumption. Accordingly, it is mostly journalistic interpretation as opposed to factual detail. Trade and business publications, on the other hand, provide more comprehensive information and are focused more on practice than on theory. It is meant for consumers that range from moderately informed to highly specialized in a given area. The third level consists of specialized literature or journals from professional associations meant for practicing professionals. This level of information describes the latest studies written by the researchers and they are scrutinized by scholars for accuracy and objectivity.
What It Means
That being said, reading the most in-depth information does not make one right; it does not make the author(s) right. At best, it makes the consumer informed. Why? There may not be a right answer. Experts may disagree or they may be mistaken in their conclusions. (Sometimes, it may take years to find out their conclusions were incorrect.)
In Practice
Therefore, it is best that we speak with caution when discussing a given subject. Speak in a way that shows others that we understand the topic and we understand the goal of conducting research. The aim of conducting research is NOT to show that we are right. The aim of conducting research is to find an answer that stands the best chance of being right! And, along the way, we worked to develop a balanced and informed conclusion.
Otherwise, we risk the listener forming a negative opinion about us, our knowledge of the topic, our understanding of research, and our level of intelligence. Furthermore, we may come across as a person who seeks the most comforting and or most convenient answer.
What do you think?
