Promoting Science and Critical Thinking
In 1971 there was an attempt to explore the psychological effects of perceived power that is known as the Stanford Prison Experiment. It is perhaps one of the most well-know psychological experiments of all time and has entered popular culture as such, and yet what is perhaps not so well appreciated is that it was … Read more
I’m building up to an explanation for the “Yanni or Laurel” audio illusion. First, let’s talk about audio illusions in general. Pictured above is Ben Langley on Britains Got Talent last weekend. His act consisted of playing various very well-known songs, but he primed you to hear something distinctly different by holding up a series … Read more
A group of researchers from Yale University have published a working paper that discusses two studies that demonstrate that some people have a tendency to be far more prone to an acceptance of Fake News than others. It is entitled “Reduced Analytic and Actively Open-Minded Thinking Help to Explain the Link between Belief in Fake … Read more
Whenever something dramatic happens, for example 9/11 or a school shooting, you are more or less guaranteed to find somebody popping up to explain that it is all part of some plot, and that behind this event there are puppet masters pulling the strings manipulating events. It’s supposedly a conspiracy of epic proportions. The Puppet … Read more
Before we dip into the context of Fake News, let’s first cover the basics. The vaccine concept is generally known but let’s repeat it anyway for completeness. A vaccine involves being exposed to a variation of a pathogen that will not actually harm you. That then stimulates your immune system into developing resistance to a harmful … Read more
For some reason some people appear to be more susceptible to not only absorbing Fake News, but when confronted with evidence that corrects the misinformation, the Fake News tends to stick a bit. Study: Fake news’: Incorrect, but hard to correct A recent study entitled “‘Fake news’: Incorrect, but hard to correct. The role of cognitive … Read more