Whereas an opinion is defined as “indicating a belief, view, sentiment, conception.” An opinion is a statement of belief or judgment that cannot be objectively proven true or false. Opinions usually express the feelings, preferences or biases that a person has about a subject.
Facts or Opinions
1. Taj Mahal was built by Mughul emperor Shah Jahan.
2. “My experiments with truth” was written by Mahatama Gandhi.
3. Whenever Sachin hits a century India loses.
4. Aishwarya Rai is the most beautiful women in the world.
1 and 2 are facts for sure. Regarding Sachin centuries being unlucky for India, Onemint did an analysis and found that Sachin’s centuries only result in about 69% wins for India whereas Sehwag’s 14 centuries have led to 13 wins! But Sachin has scored more of his centuries against tougher opponents, and while his centuries have in general markedly improved India’s winning chances; those chances were so low to begin with that it gives a semblance that India doesn’t win as often as it should. Full article at onemint
Aishwarya Rai even after becoming mom has managed to be the “Most Beautiful” in this year’s Filmfare’s 2011 college poll.RefWhile we can come up with lots of survey it still represents an opinion for “beauty lies in the eyes of beholder”.
You should know that a statement of opinion is sometimes disguised as a fact. For example: It is understood that the children of working mothers feel rejected.
The use of the phrase “It is understood…” implies that what follows has been proven. This is not the case and the statement is still an opinion.
Financial Facts or Opinions
- “Your house is an asset.”
- “The price of real always goes up.”
- “Blue chip stocks are your best investment.”
- “It takes to make money.”
- “Stocks have always out performed real estate.”
- “You have to be dishonest to be rich.”
- “Investing risky.”
- “Play it safe.”
- “You should marry him. He’ll make a good husband.”
- “Find a secure job and stay there all your life.”
- “Doctors make a lot of money.”
- “They have a big house. They must be rich.”
- “You shouldn’t diversify your investments.”
- “You should diversify your investments.”
“Due diligence simply means finding out what are opinions and what are facts.When it comes to money, most people are either lazy or searching for shortcuts, so they do not do enough due diligence, And there are still others who are so afraid of making mistakes that all they do is due diligence and then do nothing. Too much due deligence is also called ‘analysis paralysis’. The point is you must know how to sift through the facts and opinions, and then make your decision.
A useful post.Financial literacy is very important.Unfortunately the level of financial education in our country is extremely poor.It pains me when I find that educated young people are not able to even fill the forms required for making investments correctly.Most people ask the agents to fill the forms and they just put their signatures.People make investments without knowing anything about the products.Even for basic things they seek advice.
Thanks Anil. I know what you are talking about for I have been in that category inspite being an engineer from a premier college.
This website and blog is my humble attempt is making others aware of money and it’s related stuff.
sound advice
Thanks Sujatha..easier said than done..
excellent and very useful writeup. a comprehensive study as always.
Thanks Debajyoti,