25. How can we distinguish between knowledge, belief and opinion?

The first object is the flag of Pakistan. A flag is used to represent a country with every

nation having a distinctive flag that is used to represent the country's principles, history,

or culture. (Flag | Origins, Forms, & Functions, n.d.) The knowledge that can be taken

from the flag are the facts such as the colors and the shapes. Additionally, knowledge

can be taken from the history of the flag including who designed it, when it was made

and the meaning behind the symbols on the flag. Beliefs and opinions are however,

subjective and can vary from person to person. A belief is an acceptance that

something exists or is true, especially one without proof. (Oxford Languages and

Google - English | Oxford Languages, n.d.) This can be seen in the most popular belief

regarding the Pakistan flag. This belief is that the white color represents religious

minorities, while the green color represents the nation's majority-Muslim population.

This opinion is supported by an analysis of the symbolism of the flag and the historical

setting in which it was created. Although this interpretation cannot be objectively

of how beliefs can influence how we see customary things such as our national identity.

There is a sense of similarity between opinions and beliefs as they are both not based

on factual evidence, but the difference lies with an opinion usually being more personal

to an individual and possibly related to their thoughts or views on a certain topic.

(Roush, 2020) An example of an opinion regarding this object could be their impression

of the Pakistan flag thinking that maybe it is elegant or aesthetically nice. This judgment

is personal and based on taste or preference. Another viewpoint would be that the flag's

symbolism is outmoded or does not truly reflect the variety of Pakistan's population.

This judgment is also based on a person's perspective and point of view.

(Overview of COVID-19 Vaccines | CDC, n.d.)

pandemic. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was a vaccine created by scientists during the

outbreak of Covid-19. The vaccine was used in 181 countries with over 4.6 billion

vaccines shipped out. (COVID-19 Vaccine Equity, n.d.) In this case the knowledge

about the vaccine comes from scientific facts and data. The knowledge can be citric

acid monohydrate, trisodium citrate dihydrate, ethanol,polysorbate-80, sodium chloride

being some of the ingredients of the vaccine. (What Is the Full List of the COVID-19

Vaccine Ingredients?, 2021) Another example of knowledge is that the Pfizer vaccine

has a 95% success rate.(GRADE: Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine | CDC, n.d.) This

is data-derived knowledge. Beliefs and opinions are personal factors, not backed by

scientific data or facts which, in this case, acted as barriers preventing people from

taking the vaccine along with fueling conspiracy theories. A very popular example of a

conspiracy theory that was not backed by scientific facts was the popular belief that the

vaccine was a ploy by the government to install tracking chips into the citizens.

(Zadrozny, 2023) According to a study, a collection of false information that was widely

disseminated online caused a significant decline in people who agreed to get

vaccinated in both the United States and the United Kingdom (Pertwee et al., 2022)

Along with popular beliefs some people also had personal opinions preventing them

from taking the vaccine, one of these people being NBA player Kyrie Irving. Irving

refused the vaccine despite punishment as he decided to stand by his values due to the

lack of a vegan option being offered. (Kyrie Irving Says Decision to Remain

Unvaccinated Is 'About Being True to What Feels Good for Me', 2021) Due to these

opinions and stances taken by certain individuals the teams and the league as a whole
had to go through extreme measures in order to maintain control against covid. An

example of this was teams having to travel separately and stay in separate hotels as

unvaccinated players and staff members posed a threat to the health and safety of team

members. (Ekert, n.d.)

My third object is the video-game “Call of Duty: Black Ops III”. A video-game is a perfect

example of the differences between knowledge, opinions and beliefs as the distinction

is not only visible in the game but can also be seen when you look at the concept of

games as a whole. Knowledge about Call of Duty: Black Ops III can be the fact it is a
first person shooter game, developed by Treyarch and that it was the twelfth Call of

Duty game released. (Call of Duty: Black Ops III | Call of Duty Wiki | Fandom, n.d.) A

belief regarding Call of Duty: Black Ops III and other similar games is that games like

these tend to create violent tendencies in the children who play them. This has been a

widespread belief for several decades now and is an idea shared between many

concerned parents on the effects these games are having on their children. This is just

a belief as after many years of research there is still no scientific evidence that shows

that playing games like Call of Duty lead to violence or violent acts. (Orlando, 2023) It's

crucial to remember that millions of people play violent video games, but only a

miniscule fraction become violent. (Agbaria, Ayman. 2005) There are some popular

instances of mass shooters who were avid video game players which is a strong fuel to

the fire of this belief. There are studies that show a possibility that violent games may

increase their users’ tolerance of deadly force, whilst decreasing regard for human life

and causing apathy towards taking a human life.(J Adolesc. 2004 Feb) On the contrary,

a study shows that playing violent games may lead children to more positive behaviors

such as kindness, civic engagement and prosocial behavior.(Cyberpsychol Behav Soc

Netw. 2014 Aug) This shows the difference between belief and knowledge as there may

be some research that proves a belief but there is always contrary evidence to leave the

final decision up in the air allowing people to take sides and choose what they believe.

Opinions based around Call of Duty: Black Ops III include my personal opinion of it

being the best Call of Duty game that has been made. There are many other opinions

based around this game but just like all other opinions have no factual evidence behind

them but are based on personal preference or experience.

Agbaria, Ayman. (2005). Rampage: The Social Roots of School Shootings by Katherine

S. Newman, Cybelle Fox, David Harding, Jal Mehta, and Wendy Roth:Rampage: The

Social Roots of School Shootings. American Journal of Education - AMER J EDUC. 111.

425-430. 10.1086/428888.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III. (n.d.). IGN. Retrieved May 25, 2023, from

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COVID-19 Vaccine Equity. (n.d.). Pfizer. Retrieved May 4, 2023, from

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Ekert, K. (n.d.). Which NBA players are vaccinated, unvaccinated against COVID-19?

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Flag | Origins, Forms, & Functions. (n.d.). Britannica. Retrieved May 25, 2023, from

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Funk JB, Baldacci HB, Pasold T, Baumgardner J. Violence exposure in real-life, video

games, television, movies, and the internet: is there desensitization? J Adolesc. 2004

Feb;27(1):23-39. doi: 10.1016/[Link].2003.10.005. PMID: 15013258.

GRADE: Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine | CDC. (n.d.). Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention. Retrieved May 25, 2023, from

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Grizzard M, Tamborini R, Lewis RJ, Wang L, Prabhu S. Being bad in a video game can

make us more morally sensitive. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2014

Aug;17(8):499-504. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2013.0658. Epub 2014 Jun 20. PMID:

24950172.

Kyrie Irving says decision to remain unvaccinated is 'about being true to what feels good

for me'. (2021, October 14). ESPN. Retrieved May 4, 2023, from

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Prevention. Retrieved May 26, 2023, from

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Oxford Languages and Google - English | Oxford Languages. (n.d.). Oxford Languages.

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Pertwee, E., Simas, C., & Larson, H. J. (2022, March 10). An epidemic of

uncertainty: Rumors, conspiracy theories and vaccine hesitancy. Nature News.

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Roush, L. (2020, June 22). Opinions, Beliefs, and Conviction — Faith Driven

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