Critical thinking, misinformation and science denial

THE LIFE-CHANGING SCIENCE OF DETECTING BULLSHIT by John V. Petrocelli will capture attention due to its provocative title and its key message: “to recognize that it is that it is to your distinct advantage to seek evidence and truth, … [to] ask yourself and others important, critical thinking questions.” Petrocelli, a Professor of Psychology at Wake Forest University, studies “the causes of bullshit, its potential benefits to individuals, its consequences to society, and how people can better detect and dispose of its unwanted effects.” In each chapter, he relates stories (e.g., making a major purchase like a diamond ring or buying real estate), and discusses how the surrounding BS (diamonds have great resale value) can have a negative impact, arguing that “failed bullshit detection is usually about things people don’t do and the questions they don’t ask.” He reviews the scientific method and offers a list encapsulating the basic habits (e.g., listening, curiosity, perserverance, awareness of bias, and so on) of critical thinking. Petrocelli also includes a Glossary about problems of thinking which will be of interest, especially to our Psychology students. And, he appends numerous notes (at least twenty percent of the book) with bibliographic information and additional comments. For a brief overview of his work, see the March 2019 Ted Talk he gave on “Why BS is more dangerous than a lie.”

Forthcoming from MIT Press, HOW TO TALK TO A SCIENCE DENIER by Lee McIntyre is subtitled “Conversations with Flat Earthers, Climate Deniers, and Others Who Defy Reason.” McIntyre, a Research Fellow at Boston University, refers to recent studies like “Effective Strategies for Rebutting Science Denialism in Public Discussions” by Schmid and Betsch and the 2017 essay by Shermer on “How to Convince Someone when Facts Fail” and many, many more. Giving generous credit, McIntyre skillfully weaves copious research into his text, exploring in detail five common factors across science deniers: cherrypicking evidence; belief in conspiracy theories; reliance on fake experts; logic errors; and impossible expectations for what science can achieve. Echoing comments from Galef’s The Scout Mindset, he points out, for example, that “scientists do not merely look for support for what they hope to be true; they design tests that can show whether their hypothesis might be false.” He devotes an entire chapter to the Coronavirus which seems particularly relevant, given the amount of vaccine hesitancy which is currently being exhibited. McIntyre is so very passionate about this topic that he can sound preach-y at times, but he offers constructive advice. We all need to keep in mind his point that “one of the greatest weapons we have to fight back against science denial is to embrace uncertainty as a strength rather than a weakness of science. … We need to teach people not just the facts of science but also its values, and how those values inform the processes by which science makes its discoveries.”