How to read the news like a scientist | - 0 views
-
“In present times, our risk of being fooled is especially high,” she says. There are two main factors at play: “Disinformation spreads like wildfire in social media,” she adds, “and when it comes to news reporting, sometimes it is more important for journalists to be fast than accurate.”
-
Scientists labor under a burden of proof. They must conduct experiments and collect data under controlled conditions to arrive at their conclusions — and be ready to defend their findings with facts, not emotions.
- ...15 more annotations...
-
When you learn a new piece of information through social media, think to yourself: “This may be true, but it also may be false,”
-
When you encounter a new claim, look for conflicts of interest. Ask: Do they stand to profit from what they say? Are they affiliated with an organization that could be swaying them? Two other questions to consider: What makes the writer or speaker qualified to comment on the topic? What statements have they made in the past?
-
The halo effect, says Frans, “is a cognitive bias that makes our feeling towards someone affect how we judge their claims.
-
If we dislike someone, we are a lot more likely to disagree with them; if we like them, we are biased to agree.”
-
New scientific papers under review are read “blind,” with the authors’ names removed. That way, the experts who are deciding whether it’s worthy of publication don’t know which of their fellow scientists wrote it so they’ll be able to react free from pre-judgement or bias.
-
Before you act on or share a particularly surprising or enraging story, do a quick Google search — you might learn something even more interesting.
-
Another human bias — confirmation bias — means we’re more likely to notice stories or facts that fit what we already believe (or want to believe).
-
When you search for information, you should not disregard the information that goes against whatever opinion you might have in advance.”
-
In your own life, look for friends and acquaintances on social media with alternative viewpoints. You don’t have to agree with them, or tolerate misinformation from them — but it’s healthy and balanced to have some variety in your information diet.
-
However, she says, “there is no evidence supporting these claims, and it’s important to remember that just because two things increase simultaneously, this does not mean that they are causally linked to each other. Correlation does not equal causality.”