Category Archives: Uncategorized

Is the “backfire effect” real?

The “backfire effect” is a psychological phenomenon in which correcting misinformation actually reinforces the false view rather than causing someone to reject it (Nyhan and Reifler 2010). This topic comes a lot in the comments on this and other pro-science … Continue reading

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Yes, you should fact-check

Yesterday, I posted the fairly innocuous image above on the TLoS Facebook page, and the results were both fascinating and horrifying. Numerous people took time out of their day to embarrass themselves by doubling down and attacking fact-checkers, often with … Continue reading

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Overpopulation or overconsumption? It’s both, and it’s complicated

Before you start reading, open worldometers.info and take a screenshot (this will give you the world population right now; we’ll come back to it later). Our world is facing enormous environmental challenges. Climate change is roaring forward at a terrifying … Continue reading

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Joe Rogan and the problem of false balance

This is going to be a relatively short post because I only have one simple point that I want to make. Namely, “balance” does not mean presenting conspiracy theories and nonsense alongside facts as if they are equivalent. This is … Continue reading

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The “99% survive COVID” argument is deceptive and completely misses the point

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the argument that “99% of COVID patients survive” has been repeatedly used as an excuse to oppose public health measures including mask mandates, lockdowns, and, more recently, vaccines. It asserts that because COVID has a ~99% … Continue reading

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