… The mysteries of the aesthetic response, and the creative impulse, have become a burgeoning area of inquiry for scientific researchers across many disciplines. They hope quantifiable data and statistical analysis can help explain matters that some consider ineffable — like why we paint or sing, or why we naturally […] Read more »
Misinformation and biases infect social media, both intentionally and accidentally
People who share potential misinformation on Twitter (in purple) rarely get to see corrections or fact-checking (in orange). Shao et al., CC BY-ND Giovanni Luca Ciampaglia, University of South Florida and Filippo Menczer, Indiana University Social media are among the primary sources of news in the U.S. and across the […] Read more »
Distinguishing Between Factual and Opinion Statements in the News
In today’s fast-paced and complex information environment, news consumers must make rapid-fire judgments about how to internalize news-related statements – statements that often come in snippets and through pathways that provide little context. A new Pew Research Center survey of 5,035 U.S. adults examines a basic step in that process: […] Read more »
What makes people distrust science? Surprisingly, not politics
Today, there is a crisis of trust in science. Many people – including politicians and, yes, even presidents – publicly express doubts about the validity of scientific findings. Meanwhile, scientific institutions and journals express their concerns about the public’s increasing distrust in science. How is it possible that science, the […] Read more »
You don’t have a right to believe whatever you want to
Do we have the right to believe whatever we want to believe? This supposed right is often claimed as the last resort of the wilfully ignorant, the person who is cornered by evidence and mounting opinion: ‘I believe climate change is a hoax whatever anyone else says, and I have […] Read more »
The Mind Of The Village: Understanding Our Implicit Biases
Are you racist? It’s a question that makes most of us uncomfortable and defensive. … This week on Hidden Brain, we examine research about prejudices so deeply buried, we often doubt their existence. We’ll begin with a focus on police shootings of unarmed black men. Later in the show, we look […] Read more »