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Detecting Baloney

Baloney is foolish, nonsensical, or absurd words and ideas, and detecting it belongs in everyone’s intellectual self-defense toolkit. My pointers:

• Read and listen to the late Carl Sagan and to Michael Shermer.
• Start with Sagan’s baloney detection kit from The Demon-Haunted World, summarized at The Mind Collection.
• Two good clips: Shermer, clip one and Shermer, clip two.
• Be careful with YouTube and social media algorithms in general; depending on the topic they are emotionally loaded.
• Build your own list of trusted sources instead of relying on whatever the algorithm serves.
• Cross-check claims with several credible outlets before accepting them.