Written by Xiao Wei, 2021 Cohort
In the 5G era, explosive information makes it harder for us to find practical information accurately. I reasonably feel that the “searching quotient” (rather than EQ, IQ, AQ）is the most essential quality in 21 century. Our brain should spend the most time thinking instead of memorizing.
There is a formula: SQ=M (s) X IQ X EQ.
The M (s) in this formula means Mind (sourcing). It refers to search awareness, and we can see that the search quotient is proportional to IQ and EQ, but even more critical is the need for search awareness, which is a way of thinking and even more a method of studying.
There are so many articles discussing how to improve one’s SQ. From my perspective, the first thing we need to master is critical thinking. Under searching for information circumstances, critical thinking benefits us a lot. Because we face tons of information every day, most of them are rumours created by unethical media for stirring up public emotions to get their site traffic. To cultivate our critical thinking in strengthening our ability to distinguish various information will be our moat of SQ.
I would like to recommend a CER model when using critical thinking in distinguishing information:
C( Claim) Where is the source of this information? Is it reliable?
When we read an article. We need to identify what are the facts of the article and what are the author’s opinions. In terms of the fact, a question that should be asked is where is the source of this news?
E(Evidence) Is the evidence leading to the conclusion reliable?
After we figure out the source of the fact/evidence, we also need to trace it back to see if it is reliable.
R(Reasoning) Is the process of reasoning reason-able?
This is related to the author’s opinions. We should not accept every conclusion from the author. What I believe is most of what people say is only to represent their own interests. Different people hold different grounds, different interests, views naturally different. So, we should always ask why: “Why does he deduce this conclusion? Are there any exceptions? or is it just to stir up public emotions? ” When we think about the reasoning process, we introduce critical thinking into our brain, then we go back to being rational again.