Critical thinking is about asking the right questions that help you assess the meaning and significance

of claims and arguments. Building these skills and applying them in your life makes it easier for you
to assess evidence, evaluate arguments, and adapt your thinking to stay switched on and engaged in
different situations.

Based on the first video, titled “Government Corrupts Science with Progressive Nonsense”, it is said
by a science writer, Andrew Follet that the number of people who do not trust or believe in science
keeps on increasing rapidly these days as science is increasingly untrustworthy. This is due to the
misuse of government science by politicians who just wanted to promote their agenda. They could
not even care less about what is science all about yet they just manipulated, fabricated, and shared
fake facts and self-proclaimed 'research' that is wasteful. As one of the big countries, America should
fix this kind of behavior just to make sure the development of “pure science” in that country won’t
be stopped just for the sake of the driven journalist or politicians who only wants to spread
something useless.

Based on the second video, titled “Inequality Myth”, stated that “the rich get richer and the poor get
poorer”. Well, we need to agree with the fact that the rich get richer but not most of them do and
the poor get poorer is just a myth as we can see how the poor manage to be on the same level as the
rich. Economists from Harvard and Berkeley showed that some people who were born in the top 20%
financially dropped under it and even to the bottom once they hit the 20s while some of those in the
bottom 20% rose in the middle and even some reached the very top. All in all, inequality does indeed
exist and I positively trust that we can't just go around and make everything equal. The way we live
our life is what matter the most at this point.

Based on the last video, titled “Electric Cars: Inconvenient Facts”, it is stated that the development of
electric cars is none other than to help reduce the use of fossil fuel vehicles. Well, it doesn’t make
any sense as in reality, electric cars are not that environmentally friendly just like what it mentioned
by the government. For instance, the production of electricity for these cars relies heavily on fossil
fuels and natural gas, which are also harmful to the environment. Not to mention how much these
electric cars produced carbon dioxide in their first hundred miles compared to gas-powered vehicles.
To sum up, the government initiative to reduce air pollution by using electric vehicles indeed sounds
brilliant but unfortunately, they don’t think about the consequences that are yet to come.
REMARKS WEEK 9

Based on the first video, “Electric Cars: Inconvenient Facts, Part 2”, it is stated by the president of the
United States of America, Joe Biden that the future of the car industry is electric and battery
technology. However, what he and other politicians do not mention is how electric cars and battery
technologies can still bring inconveniences to the world. First of all, batteries are getting lousier day
by day and the decision to change the usage of gasoline in cars to batteries makes the car less
productive. This is because electric cars that have batteries have less ability to store energy per
pound compared to gasoline which can store more energy per pound. Besides, converting all cars to
electric cars uses more electrical energy compared to the normal amount of electrical energy used.
Additionally, a lot more electric vehicles draw power from the grid, thus, when there isn’t enough
electricity, cities will simply turn some of the power off.

Based on the second video, “The Renewable Energy Fail”, highlighted the importance of the country
going into 100% renewable energy. It seems to be impossible as Americans only have 12 % of
renewable energy and 72 % of it comes from oil, coal, and natural gases which means that they still
depend on it real hard. First and foremost, renewable energy such as solar and wind are not always
available as solar energy can only be generated under the influence of sunlight and wind energy
under the influence of wind. The absence of a particular influence may obstruct the production of
renewable energy. In addition, the world’s attempt to switch to cleaner, renewable energy is cost-
consuming as the governments are supposed to build sort of things like solar panels and wind
turbines.

In conclusion, everything has pros and cons, but rationally our decision will change everything. We
have to think wisely before we ever make any decision so that we won’t face any consequences that
we cannot overcome later on. Electric vehicles and renewable energy are good but we have to look
at it from different angles so that we will not misjudge it.

WEEK 10 (LECTURE ACTIVITIES)

Based on the video titled, “Bad Government Brings Bad Inflation”, it is stated that the government
expert said it was transitory and they didn’t see inflation as a problem. Their way of solving this
problem is also irrelevant. Additionally, prices change because of demand and supply and the price
gouging claim is just something silly. This misconception about controlling prices has happened in
countries like Venezuela and Zimbabwe, where price controls led to severe shortages and
hyperinflation. The non-stop increase in prices will surely reduce the purchasing power as money
becomes less valuable.

1. Inductive

Premises: The price of face masks rose 2 years ago due to the spread of Covid-19
Conclusion: Therefore, the producer will produce more face masks next year and onward.

2. Deductive
Premises: Inflation makes the money less valuable
Premises: People who save money lose what they saved when the money becomes less valuable.
Conclusion: Inflation caused people to lose what they saved.

WEEK 10 (Remarks)

Based on the first video titled,” The Fallacy of Single-Payer Health Care”, states that the concept of
single-payer healthcare (which is the government's responsibility to pay for any healthcare service) is
a complex issue, with supporters arguing that it can provide equal access to healthcare services (do
not biased on anybody), reduce administrative costs, and improve efficiency. On the other hand,
opponents often raise concerns about potential drawbacks such as increased taxes and government
control over healthcare decisions. Things that are often cited in discussions about the single-payer
healthcare system are, that you have to wait around 8 hours or maybe even longer for a medical
procedure or any emergency. All in all, the government ends up spending most of the money to
those who are able to purchase their own insurance the moment they apply this single-payer system.

Based on the second video titled,” Stossel: Socialism Fails Every Time”, states that socialism like any
economics and political system has been implemented in various ways across different countries
around the world resulting in both negative and positive sides depending on how it is applied by the
government to the country. Some argue that the socialist policies should not be applied as it can lead
to economic stagnation. When there’s no money left, the government will just print more and end up
resulting in a million percent of inflation. There are examples of both successful and unsuccessful
implementations of socialist policies, for instance, Cuba and Denmark. All in all, it is not right for us
to say that socialism is the worst and just nothing, as it depends on how the government implements
it in a country. If it is applied greatly, I believe that the impact will be better.