Much of what we know and believe has been taught to us by others. We often accept information without spending much time     1     it over ourselves.

Nowadays, we are presented with lots of     2     ideas and beliefs (信念), but many of them are often contradictory (自相矛盾的). Psychologists (心理学家) tell us that if we hear about a specific belief enough times, or if it comes from someone we respect, we will probably decide that the belief is true. In these cases, we base our opinions on the opinions of     3    . If we don’t come to our own conclusions, we become nothing more than parrots.

Some people believe whatever they read and then share the story     4     the internet without thinking about the facts. All it takes is one quick click of the “share” button and the story travels on its     5     to influence more unthinking readers. This can cause serious problems.

If we think more about     6     we see and try to form our own opinions, we will be more thoughtful, independent and creative. But     7     of us take the time to do this. Becoming aware of this fact is the first step toward changing our behavior. Hopefully, we can learn to judge what we read     8     hear on our own and make more reasonable decisions.