Listen to the podcast:

Chat

1. History and Music history
   • Bach’s Concerto No 5 in D Major, the Allegro. Seriously, give the harpsichordist some. And when band kicks back in at 9:18, just forget it.
   
   
   • Bach’s tuning “scribble” from The Well-Tempered Clavier.
   • The Napoleonic era
   • Beethoven hearted Napoleon, at least until the empire.
2. Paper accepted. Let's go to Hawaii!
3. Carbon sinks and mangrove trees.
Adam says he’s the jackass of the group. The rest of us disagree. Let him know if you need music for something of value!

 

The Debunking Handbook

You can listen to us talk about it, or you can read it yourself.

• A direct quote:

  The last thing you want to do when debunking misinformation is blunder in and make matters worse. So this handbook has a specific focus - providing practical tips to effectively debunk misinformation and avoid the various backfire effects. To achieve this, an understanding of the relevant cognitive processes is necessary.

• Key ideas:
  1. The Familiarity Backfire Effect: Lead with the truth, and bury the myth.
  2. The Overkill Backfire Effect: Too many counter-arguments overwhelms the listener's working memory. This makes the myth a relatively simpler story that is easier to remember. Keep it simple.
  3. The Worldview Backfire Effect: People who have their identity tied to their beliefs can be reticent when it comes to listening to other views. Find a more receptive audience, or remind your audience of their values before talking details.
  4. Filling the Gap: Even if the listener believes you, if you don't replace that misconception then it is very hard to "not know" the myth any more.
     

 

Next time!

• An interview with Jennifer Briselli, a CMU graduate and expert in science communication. She's actually much more dimensional than this. Check her website for the details, and we'll tell you more next time.
  Or if you're to dive in, here's the video from the seminar Dave mentioned: Why Are Facts Not Enough? The savvy listener will hear Dave stumble through some ridiculous question at some point in the video.

 

-----

(Cover image credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Houdini#Debunking_spiritualists )

 

{plusone}		{ttweet}		{fshare}

 

 

 

{fcomment}

• Prev
• Next