By Dr. Steve Wyre
Faculty Member, Philosophy, American Public University
At a time when there is so much emphasis on fake news, conspiracy theories, and so many people buying into unfounded and unwarranted nonsense, it might be beneficial to look at the tools that were created to separate fact from fiction, sense from nonsense, and science from pseudoscience.
Being able to not be led astray could be as simple as asking several basic questions about whatever it is that one might be reading or researching. The goal here is to just present Sagan’s Baloney Detection Kit as reimagined by Michael Shermer. Then I will offer some thoughts on how it can keep users from being deceived.
Carl Sagan and ‘The Fine Art of Baloney Detection’
In 1995, Carl Sagan published “The Demon-Haunted World.” Chapter 12 was titled “The Fine Art of Baloney Detection.” It contained several guidelines for identifying “baloney, now redefined as “alternative facts.”
“Heavens on Earth” author Michael Shermer has modified the list of guidelines and published it in a few places with varied details, including in a 2018 video for Big Think:
1. How reliable is the source of the claim?
2. Does the source make similar claims?
3. Have the claims been verified by somebody else?
4. Does this fit with the way the world works?
5. Has anyone tried to disprove the claim?
6. Where does the preponderance of evidence point?
7. Is the claimant playing by the rules of science?
8. Is the claimant providing positive evidence?
9. Does the new theory account for as many phenomena as the old theory?
10. Are personal beliefs driving the claim?
By using these 10 questions, one is better able to identify claims that are true or are more likely to be true and dismiss claims that are not. This method of examination certainly does not mean that every claim passing the test can be labeled an absolute truth; there may be some claims that fail on a point or two that may end up being correct overall.
There is an old saying that even a broken clock is right twice a day. When applying critical thinking, it is always important to not confuse the argument with the person making it.
Some Facts Are Obviously Beyond Dispute
Some facts are beyond dispute, even though there are still some people who deny them. For example, the earth is spherical (technically an oblate spheroid), not flat, and it is far more than 6,000 years old.
Also, men have walked on the moon and are at least partially responsible for climate change. One can certainly argue how much blame humans should get regarding climate change and what they can do to change things, but common sense alone dictates that nearly 8 billion people have an impact on the earth, as do all of the animals used to feed them.
Some Claims, Such as Election Tampering or Fraud, Need More Research
But many claims might require a bit more research. For example, any claim of election tampering or fraud needs to be investigated.
As Allison Durkee noted in Forbes, when you have lost 50 court cases and been rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court simply because there is zero evidence of any fraud, that should settle the case. There is a famous saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result.
The fact is that in the present day when people can go on YouTube or Facebook and say practically anything, it would be wise to apply Shermer’s list of questions to what they are pitching. When there are cable news organizations that seem committed to misinformation and blatant bias, the wise person would take the time to do the research and double-check the various claims to see how many of them hold up to this simple level of scrutiny.
About the Author
Dr. Steve Wyre received his B.A. and M.A. in philosophy from the University of Oklahoma and his Ed.D. from the University of Phoenix. Steve has been teaching various ground-based philosophy courses since 2000 and online since 2003. He has served as SME for courses in ancient philosophy, ethics, logic and several other areas.
