In our series on how to tell what is true, after suggesting you get numbers, now let’s consider how to evaluate the data. Is this good data? What does it mean? Can you even tell? Another way to tell if a claim is true, is to drill down to see how good the data is. For that, you have to know how the data was collected, how the data was analyzed, and how the data was presented. All these are the steps in the scientific method.
NEEDED TODAY
People like to say “figures don’t lie; but liars figure.” Well, that is true. Here are a few simple steps to see how good the data is. And to see if what you have is actually science or nonsense.
How needed this is! I just saw a sign that said “science is real.” But, the trouble is, people who put those signs in their yards typically are arguing for things that are NOT scientific. “Kindness is everything,” they say, supporting chaotic, illegal violence. And even yet, the worse possible, outed liars are still making bold to say THEY are the ones restraining dis-information. Notice “dis-information.” Remember, check definitions. “Misinformation” is mistaken and wrong. “Dis-information” is propaganda injected by a foreign power. Do you know what “projection” means in Psychology? LOL
WHY THIS IS FOR CHILDREN
Okay, look, we all need to know who to sort out truth from falsehood, fact from lies, and science from nonsense. Our children must be taught how to do it. None have more trouble than those who are struggling with what is often call “learning disabilities.”
Please share this episode. Maybe it is not a funny or as sensational as some other listening options. However, few are as useful. Or timely.
RESOURCES
Viva Frei on Fake News — reasons through how a “fact checker” actually spun or mis-construed a scientific claim. Well worth watching. Also see other episodes for examples of legal reasoning.
Dr. Lee Merritt with Dr. Poornima Wagh Virology is Nonsense
Example of a site that has academic type articles that might not be published in the better known peer reviewed journals. Here is an article from Africa.