How to Detect BS?
In our everyday lives, we are bombarded with a lot of misinformation and nonsense from a variety of sources. Some of them are very close to us – family, friends etc, while others are authority figures in our society – reporters, doctors, astrologers, religious leaders and not least of all scientists. But how much of this information is true and how can we know whether a person is spewing mindless nonsense or has a valid claim?
In this video from RichardDawkins Foundation, famous atheist and editor of Skeptic magazine Dr. Michael Shermer gives us a list of 10 questions that he wants us to ask ourselves before lending credence to any claim. Even though we may not need to ask all 10 questions in order to determine whether a claim is false or not, it is a great starting point to investigate lot of unscientific claims. I am sure if you ask these questions about the things you are told you will find that many of them don’t stand up to critical enquiry. Try it out on the next pseudo-scientific claim you hear of.
From RichardDawkins.net
Here are the list of 10 questions we may need to ask ourselves before believing a source [Link]
1. How reliable is the source of the claim?
2. Does this source often make similar claims?
3. Have the claims been verified by another source?
4. How does the claim fit with what we know about how the world works?
5. Has anyone gone out of the way to disprove the claim, or has only supportive evidence been sought?
6. Does the preponderance of evidence point to the claimant’s conclusion or to a different one?
7. Is the claimant employing the accepted rules of reason and tools of research, or have these been abandoned in favor of others that lead to the desired conclusion?
8. Is the claimant providing an explanation for the observed phenomena or merely denying the existing explanation?
9. If the claimant proffers a new explanation, does it account for as many phenomena as the old explanation did?
10. Do the claimant’s personal beliefs and biases drive the conclusions, or vice versa?
Ah!the questions sure are interesting!
And though I think all of us already ask quite a efw of these questions in our own way…but I so want to ask these next time I hear some BS
Is the claimant employing the accepted rules of reason and tools of research, or have these been abandoned in favor of others that lead to the desired conclusion?
LOL!
ya think?
when do they ever listen to reason? or work acc to reason or think acc to reason?
Just a few days back I heard this story from the maid about how there was some old woman going around in the city asking for pyaaz (onion) .
When people gave it to her she put some spell on it and there would always be a death in the family in a few days…
That she was a witch and yada yada..
and that she was eventually ‘caught’ by the police…
(strange how a witch with such ‘magical’ powers couldn’t evade the police
)
eeshh! cant tell you how many discussions happened with the maid over this
Thanks for sharing the story Indyeah. It sounds so familiar. So did you maid believe you? Could you convince her othewise?
well…did succeed in planting a few doubts in her mind..so that something..plus even if she did change her mind I doubt she will tell me and accept defeat
That’s all you want to do. Plant doubt and reason in their minds and keep planting rational thoughts. So that the next time she hears such stuff, she will be less inclined to believe it.
Good list!
But someone as conceited as me would go with the number 5, first
TC.
YOu could start anywhere Ketan, as long the questions are correct.:-D
Brilliant! And very useful, as a quick guide.
I think more people should be directed here when they come up with some of these claims.
Lol love the post title
Thanks IHM. Was just trying to be politically incorrect
This video is a very useful tool kit.
On your comment that Feynman was not as “in your face” as new age atheists are, I think its because he was so intellectual. He did not really care if others were as reasonable as him- it was part of his elite over edge. Quite honestly most people at that intellectual level have already seen the light of reason and reasoned out god and so on- and they are so different from the “common” man they do not see the need to be more forceful. (Of course PZ Myers and Richard Dawkins are intellectuals too, just different ones).
Do you get lots of spam from someone called “Inferno”?
Yep, I agree with that. Btw, even though the id sounds familiar, I checked my comments list and couldn’t find inferno. Could be a troll?
I think so, have been getting some nasty comments, and one useful link. Linked and acknowledged, censored the nastty comments mercilessly( my blog my space etc etc)
this is the biggest BS, are people so stupid
LoL! Great title and good questions to put forward.
I personnally don’t believe in alot of that crap (any more) and end up having a lot of disagreements with my mum regarding it.
LoL! Now i can use your questions to prove my point.