Nowadays there is a battle between misinformation: the mainstream one and the one dressed as counter-information. Anyone who should try to understand something makes the fundamental mistake of not reading both sources to try to triangulate them, but relies on the news (sometimes fake news) of one and the other side. How do we separate the truth from hoaxes, and defend ourselves from hordes of people convinced they know better because they have read something on "Noncielodicono.it", or perhaps on "Repubblica"? Or maybe on Futuro Prossimo, we don't want to be teachers.
But masters exist. One of these is a man who has dedicated his life to enlightening minds through science and reason: Carl Sagan. Do you know? He was not just an astrophysicist or a science communicator; he was, He's a real warrior against misinformation. Armed with a 'hoax detection kit', he showed us even before the spread of the web how to defend ourselves in a world increasingly full of fake news and manipulation. Friends, especially those who scream “wake up!!!” to others feeling more “enlightened”, take a look. It's not magic (sorry), it's pure applied science. Applied to what? To daily life, obviously.
The context of the creation of the kit
As mentioned, Carl Sagan was not only a world-famous astrophysicist; he was also a philosopher and a critical thinker. In a particularly difficult period of his life, in which he had lost both parents, Sagan reflected on human vulnerability in the face of promises of supernatural reunions in the afterlife. It was in this context that his “hoax detection kit” was born. We find it in a book by him, published just a year after his death: it's called “The world haunted by demons”, and it's exactly about this.
Science is not just a body of knowledge, but a way of thinking.
Carl Sagan
The tools in Carl Sagan's anti-hoax kit
Sagan's kit is a collection of nine cognitive tools and techniques that strengthen the mind against hoaxes. Here she is:
- Independent confirmation of the “facts”: Always look for an outside source to confirm information.
- Substantive debate on the evidence: Listen to all parties before drawing conclusions.
- Arguments from authority carry little weight: In science there are no authorities, only experts.
- Generate more than one hypothesis: Evaluate all possible explanations for a phenomenon.
- Don't get too hung up on one hypothesis: Be willing to change your mind based on the evidence.
- Quantify: Using numerical data to discriminate between competing hypotheses.
- Every link in the argumentative chain must work: It's not enough that the majority of the argument is solid.
- Occam's razor: Always choose the simplest hypothesis if it explains the data equally well.
- Falsifiable: A hypothesis must be, at least in theory, falsifiable.
The brutalization of America is most evident in the slow decline of substantive content in highly influential media, in 30-second soundbites (now reduced to 10 seconds or less), in minimum-common-denominator programming, in credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition , but above all in a sort of celebration of ignorance.
Carl Sagan
Applications in daily life
This kit isn't just for scientists. It is a tool of healthy skepticism that everyone can, MUST use to protect themselves from hoaxes. Whether it's fake news, conspiracy theories or promises from unscrupulous sellers, Sagan's kit is a bulwark against deception. This is a great legacy of his, and we respect it (at least we try) every day, in how we deal with misinformation and manipulation. Using this “kit” not only makes us more informed media consumers, but also more responsible disseminators.
We have a duty to be sceptical, not only towards the ideas of others, but also towards our own.
Carl Sagan
How many of those who comment calling you stupid because "you haven't understood reality", in your opinion, spend time reflecting before convincing themselves that they are the only custodians of the truth? And you, dear readers, are you ready to put these tools into practice in your daily life? I assure you, once you start, you will never want to go back.
