One factor in efficient and effective communication with someone with a different point of view is ensuring that both parties have a similar understanding of the terms used. I have found that discussion among magical thinkers and science-based thinkers needs to have a mutual understanding of the following terms. The definitions I have chosen are those that are commonly accepted and from respected sources:
Magical Thinking: personal and not testable (subjective) belief that unrelated events are causally connected despite the absence of any plausible causal link between them, particularly as a result of supernatural effectsScience-Based Thinking: thinking that is different from everyday thinking in that it is self-corrective based on data, evidence, and information that can be observed and tested by others
Science: knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through the scientific method
Pseudoscience: literally false knowledge
Data: facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis
Subjective Evidence: personal evidence that others cannot evaluate and is often influenced by our past events, personal experiences, and opinions, and can be biased
Objective Evidence: evidence that can be observed, examined, and evaluated by ourselves and others. the observations are based on the use of our senses and are recorded as exactly what we see, hear, taste, touch, and/or smell
Data: facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis
Subjective Evidence: personal evidence that others cannot evaluate and is often influenced by our past events, personal experiences, and opinions, and can be biased
Objective Evidence: evidence that can be observed, examined, and evaluated by ourselves and others. the observations are based on the use of our senses and are recorded as exactly what we see, hear, taste, touch, and/or smell
Information: knowledge/facts obtained from investigation, study, or instruction
Knowledge: subjective knowledge is within ourselves through our senses and brain processes; objective, empirical knowledge is observable by others and is, therefore, able to be verified by others; the latter is science in the broadest terms
Justify: to defend or uphold as warranted or well-grounded
Truth: real things, events, and facts
Belief: a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing.
Faith: belief that is not based on proof
Proof: objective evidence sufficient to establish a thing as true
Reality: the world or the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them
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