Deciphering propaganda and pseudoscience from real science

 I remember my parents bought a set of encyclopedias when I was a kid.   There were over 20 giant size books that took up two shelves of one of our bookcases. It was one of the best sources of information you could find outside of a library.  I remember days where I would  randomly pick a letter and just read every entry from that letter.  Today, I asked my kids what an encyclopedia was and they have no idea.  The reason they don't know is because encyclopedias are ancient relics in this age of technology.

The invention of the internet was game changing for the world.  Information is at our fingertips in vast quantities.  Just one site called Wikipedia has more information than that set of encyclopedias my parents had invested in.  And there are thousands and thousands of sites with information to be found.

The internet is a double edged sword because not of that data out is correct.   Facebook is currently making headlines because of the "fake news" stories that are common.   The internet is full of information, both real and fake.  Our biggest challenge now is not the lack of information but taking the time to vet information.  Today's society is quick to hear or read something and take it at face value.   

If you go onto the internet then you are surrounded by opinions.  These are fine because we know those are opinions.   We can agree or disagree and move on.    We are surrounded by by facts and evidence.  This is good because we can go over the data and that data can help us make a rational choice.   And then we are surrounded by propaganda that presents a convincing story to deliberately convince you on which side of the fence you should go.   Sometimes that story is in the form of science.   It is not fact and it is not science, but it looks like science.  This form of propaganda is called pseudoscience.  At some point we all fall into the trap of reading propaganda and pseudoscience and succumbing to it because it is well thought out and portrayed in a very convincing manner.   .

I came across this email on twitter which shows how pseudoscience starts.

I usually skim my twitter feed, but this one made think of some  DJ Kool lyrics.

When I say freeze you just freeze one time
When I say freeze y'all stop on a dime
Frezze

That's right.  Freeze!  Did I really just read that right?  I need to read that one again.   Let's get some data that is not necessarily scientifically accurate and then use that data like it is real to emotionally scare the public towards our own agenda.  This is the kind of stuff that puts a bad taste in my mouth.

There is so much misinformation out there.   Some of it is unintentional, but the worst is the info that is intentionally manipulated and looks like science.

I ran across this article of Forbes that is a great read!  It is 10 questions to distinguish real from fake science.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/emilywillingham/2012/11/08/10-questions-to-distinguish-real-from-fake-science/#78341de9533b

I will list those questions, but encourage you to read the article as well.

1. What is the source?
2. What is the agenda? 
3. What kind of language does it use?
4. Does it involve testimonials?
5. Are there claims of exclusivity?
6. Is there mention of a conspiracy of any kind?
7. Does the claim involve multiple unassociated disorders?
8. Is there a money trail or a passionate belief involved?
9. Were real scientific processes involved?
10. Is there expertise?

So when you see some article come our saying our urine is full of glyphosate or some other claim, we should all do a little investigating before believing everything we read or hear at face value.   If it is true then there will be scientific evidence that is reproducible.  A little bit of skepticism is healthy for all of us.