Information Evaluation and Free Inquiry

One of the most critical skills for survival in the Information Age is the ability to use and evaluate information efficiently, and to have a proactive and responsible view toward freedom of thought, self expression and inquiry.

Never has there been such a powerful explosion of information before. Leaders and policy makers everywhere must take into serious consideration the huge impact information plays when they make strategic decisions. No state nor government can obstruct the flow in the information universe. If for any reason the government should intervene, then the intervention must be temporary, and have a good cause for long term benefits of the majority. In my view, there is almost no reason to control the information flow on the Internet. Transparency and democracy are on the rise, and must be well respected. And beware that, as always, honesty is the best policy.

Information access and use must be fair to all people, the rich as well as the poor. Everyone needs information literacy, and should know their rights and responsibilities in the virtual world. They should also have freedom of thought and expression on the Internet. What the underprivileged and the disadvantaged actually need is education, especially about information-related issues. Education is always the key for any social betterment. Information evaluation and freedom of expression and inquiry cannot go far without good training and education. As long as there is ignorance, there are crimes, corruption, manipulation, tyranny, and even unequal democracy. Thus the fundamental revolution should begin with the education of the individual. Good education leads to good characters and behaviors, which in turn bring about better social changes.

Another issue related to beliefs and information source evaluation was mentioned in the Kalama Sutra. According to the Buddha, there are ten sources which a person should not rely on to accept a teaching without verification:
1. Oral history: because it is repeated again and again;
2. Tradition: because it belongs to some tradition;
3. Rumor: because of some rumor;
4. Scriptures: because it is from the scriptures or religious texts;
5. Suppositional reasoning: because it is a hypothesis;
6. Philosophical reasoning: because it is self-evident, or widely accepted
7. Common sense: because one uses one's own reasoning;
8. Opinion: because somebody has such an opinion;
9. Authorities: because the authorities said so;
10.The teacher: because one's master said so.

Only when a person finds a teaching skillful, blameless, praiseworthy, advocated by the wise, and leading to happiness to the many, should the person accept that teaching as true and practice it. In other words, observe, examine, and test a teaching or an instruction with a critical mind, before you decide to follow or accept it.

Similarly, with any information you retrieve from the Web, don't blindly accept it immediately. Research and compare, and use your experiences and knowledge to test the value of the information before you use or discard it. Very often you will see more trash than useful stuff on the Internet.