Just the Facts, Ma’am

Did Joe Friday say “Just the Facts, Ma’am” in every episode of the TV classic Dragnet? Actually, that’s a “fake fact” — he never uttered that iconic phrase at all.

Can you tell the difference between a fact, an assumption, or a conclusion? If you can’t, you’ll find critical thinking especially challenging.

Reviewing this particular Brain Game, AI says, “I especially like that final step. It trains people not merely to ask “What do I think?” but “What would I need to know before I should think that?”

That’s a very useful critical-thinking habit in the AI age.”

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Here’s your Just the Facts, Ma’am Brain Game:

Copy and Paste this prompt into your favorite AI Chatbot, and follow its instructions.

Copy Prompt to clipboard Give me a short description of a situation containing a mixture of verified facts, reasonable assumptions, questionable assumptions, and conclusions. Make the distinctions subtle, and don’t tell me which is which. I’ll identify each statement as a fact, assumption, or conclusion and explain my reasoning. Afterward, critique my analysis. Point out anything I misclassified or overlooked, and explain what additional information I would need before I could confidently reach a conclusion.