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History with Swear Words – Part 37 – The Fucking Crusades
There’s a stupid fucking idea going around that goes...
Neanderthal Lives Matter
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Universal Basic Income is Universal Basic Theft
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Canada’s Top Ten List of America’s Stupidity.
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Debunking the Cannot Eat Money Quote
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RIP Kevin Randleman
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Is Congress Irrelevant? And What the Heck is a Boehner?
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Smearing Scalia
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The Common Nonsense on Terrorism
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The Media Versus The Donald
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University Professor Warns Politically Correct Students
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Showdown in San Ramon: A Clash of Civilizations
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Where Does ISIS Get the Money?
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Radical Islam’s War on Beer
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Gun Control in France
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The Islamic Inquisition and Modern Moderates
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Veterans Money Stolen by Bad Design
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She loved it before she hated it.
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Dancing with Psychos
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Doing “Something” About Guns…
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Don’t Mess with Dr.Geezer
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Don Bongino on Bernie Sanders
Former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino ripped into the...
Finland Sucks
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The Trump Paradox
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Bear Faced Panic
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The Racist Clockmaker
So I’m going through airport security and the guy...
Who Gave Us the Weekend & Saved the Children?
Way back in the old days, sometime in between...
Why They Hate Us
A frequent theme nowadays is “Why do they hate...
Why I Love Both Donald & Bernie
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Facebook Magic Bullet Powers
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HARRISON BERGERON by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal....
Making Racism Worse
It never stops, and won’t. Another state of emergency...
How to Deal with Haters
I’ve had four death threats. I’ve had several major...
Mother in Law: USA
The United States has embarked on a headlong rush...
A Communist asks “The Question.”
For many years I have lived in dread of...
Sylvester Stallone’s Dog Days
This is one of the SADDEST stories ever told...
English Pubs and American Indians
The local pub has been a part of English...
Euros, Gyros, Heroes, and Zeros.
The CNN “analysis” of a possible Greek exit from...
How Thomas Sowell Got Lucky
After my 85th birthday last week, I looked back...
Greece For Dummies
Mr. Greece really likes taking care of his family....
Slavery in Canada?
As Canada went to war in 1914, unwanted foreigners...
Get Your Money Out of Mutual Funds Now
BlackRock Inc. is seeking government clearance to set up...
Berkeley Word Game Totalitarianism
The political left has come up with a new...
Just Who are the Real Haters Here?
“I will never be able to hold her again,...
Gay Marriage Freedom?
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A Letter From Russian Immigrants to Governor Brown
Honorable Governor Jerry Brown, We are a group of...
You Are What You Say You Are?
Rachel A. Dolezal, the recently resigned president of the...
Was Jesus a Socialist?
On June 16, 1992, London’s Daily Telegraph reported this...
Stupid Doctors & How I Cured My Persistent Cough
For two years I was hacking up a lung....
How Plumbers Saved the World
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Aeromobil: The Real Flying Car
Ever since the Jetsons, people have been laughing at...
Bagpipes on the Border
I’m still hopping mad about the US Government’s bagpipe...
Nine Things I’ve Never Asked a Woman
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How to End Police Brutality Forever
I am going to make this as short and...
Left, Right & Elvis on Baltimore
Baltimore burns, that much is sure, but who is...
The War on Fathers
Not long ago, Megyn Kelly of FOX News went...
President Obama Fiddles While Baltimore Burns
During his press conference today, President Obama addressed the...
Feminist Destruction
We have suffered for decades now the squawking of...
Anthem: It Is a Sin to Write This…
It is a sin to write this. It is...
Isaiah’s Job
Isaiah’s Job is from Chapter 13 of Albert J....
Travel Hacking the IRS
Unlike many people, I do not have my taxes...
Cell Phone Cowards
Kids these days are punks and cowards. They can...
One Woman Versus the Tax Man
In a sense, the entire system of taxation is...
Mencken’s Bathtub and Social Security
In 1917, H.L. Mencken wrote an article to commemorate...
Apple CEO Tim Cook’s War on Pizza
A reporter went into Memories Pizza and asked an...
Mahatma Gandhi: Smartass
When Gandhi was studying law at the University College...
Iran Insanity and the War on Peace.
Most of the time, on most subjects, Rebublicans are...
The Craigslist Vasectomy
I got a vasectomy. I met a girl soon...
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro is a snow-covered mountain 19,710 feet high, and...
How a Poor Boy Became the Richest Man in the World
Andrew Carnegie rose from humble beginnings as a factory...
Who Shot Down MH17? Reuters Lies…
A witness, whom Reuters reported saying he saw a...
The Wal-Mart Story
Why do they Hate Customers? One-hundred percent of the...
In Praise of Stupidity
The simple man heads straight for his goal like...
Stock Market Crashes, Then and Now…
The endless low interest, QE, and bond purchasing programs...
Animal Rights and Wrongs
A “right” is something that cannot, or at least,...
Diversity is a Disaster.
Diversity is a disaster. Why people cannot see this...
Fighting Terror by Punishing You
Economist Martin Armstrong warns that the twin attacks in...
Dead Horse Solution
A boy named Chuck bought a horse from a...
Ancient Chinese Secret – The Wisdom of Lao-Tzu
Lao-tzu founded Taoism when he wrote the Tao Te...
A Short Guide to Kindness, Compassion, and Politics
A Cheapskate Christmas Carol
Ladies and gentlemen, take two minutes to read this...
The Truth About Population
With seven billion people already on our planet, some...
Why Johnny Can’t Rede
After today, you’ll never have to read about education...
Black and Green
Eric Garner’s death was a senseless act of State...
How to Get Rich in Congress
Isn’t it strange how often middle class people get...
The Rolling Stone Rape Fiasco
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Are Typhoons Getting Worse?
No one likes typhoons, with the possible exception of...
The True Story of Pearl Harbor
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History is for the Winners, Baby!
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10 Things Coffee Does to Your Brain
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Ten Things That Will Disappear In Our Lifetime
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The Amazing Amazon
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Dumb Climate Deal is Dumberer
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry returned from China...
The Tiny Dot
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News and Other Lies
These days, most people get their news from a...
Are “We” the Government?
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The World’s Strangest Political Quiz
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18 Year-Old-Girl Wins State Election
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Election Rejection
Republicans won large majorities in both the House and...
The Senator in Heaven
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Countries Versus The Big Idea: Part 2
At the start of the First World War, the...
United Breaks Guitars
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Money Won’t Fix Africa, Freedom Will
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Glorifying Hitler or Flinging Mud?
Enough is enough. At Salon.com I encounter an article...
Definition of a Liberal
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Countries Versus The Big Idea, Part 1
I like countries. Not because I like imaginary lines...
Canada is Shocked
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Hillary Clinton and the Dept. of Making Shit Up
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The Race to the Bottom
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Gene Simmons Said What?
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Ebola Payola?
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The Flawed Definition of Nerd
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The 20 Stupidest Things Politicians Ever Said
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Why Do Men Hate Shopping?
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Day One Report: US Open 9-Ball Championship
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Real Life Policing Ain’t What You Think…
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Ebola: Panic and Common Sense
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IMF Wants to Reduce Risk by Encouraging Risk
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Top 10 Deadliest Jobs
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Anybody Seen America?
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Apple vs. The FBI
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Eat More. Eat Smart.
A common misconception about weight loss is “eat less,...
Checking My White Male Privilege
Several decades ago, I was born. Purely by chance,...
Would You Like Toilet Water With Your Fries?
Would you rather have ice in your soda, or...
How Tyranny Came to America
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Do It Yourself Jihadism
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Are Men Obsolete?
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No One Should Make that Trip Alone
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A Spoonful of Sugar Makes the Prozac Go Down?
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Never Underestimate a Boy Band
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Save the Women and Children… from Women?
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MSNBC Host Picks Rand Paul over Hillary
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Sean Connery on Scottish Independence
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A Letter of Separation of Right from Left.
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Winning by Losing: How Sanctions Really (Don’t) Work.
The EU stepped up its sanctions on Russia, aligning...
4 Lousy Reasons the U.K. Doesn’t want to Break Up with Scotland
The Scots are on the verge of voting themselves...
How Men and Women Think Differently. The Nothing Box.
Women are much more complicated than men. Men are...
11 Ways to Tell if Your Country is Run by Idiots
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An Apology For Going To College
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UFOs and the Cold War – Part One
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Last of the Texas Wheeler Dealers
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Nicola Tesla on Women: Shocking!
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The Top 20 Thomas Sowell Quotes
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You’re Doing it Wrong
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Think and Grow Rich
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What Cops Really Do
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Has Hillary Ever Been Right?
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Killing People is Not Nice.
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The Anti-Asian Mayor
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Irwin Schiff wants to know why he is in jail.
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Minimum Rage
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A Message from Elena
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McCainiac and Sillery
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Whither Israel?
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Men are from Earth
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She Threatened to Shoot Me…
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Poverty and Snowstorms
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I Almost Killed a Guy Today
I did it on purpose, and to be quite...
Economic Viagra
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So What?
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The Magic Bank Account
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Modern Day Lynch Mobs
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Equal Pay for Equal What?
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Look West Before Crossing
A little more than 100 years ago, my ancestors...
The Republican Godfather?
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Unless we Change our Ways… The Future Looks Awesome.
A recent NASA study predicted that civilization would end...
The War on Women
Some ideas are so silly you have to be...
Honorable Idiots
The Obama administration imposed new sanctions on Russia in...
For The Children?
Pop Quiz: If a school’s students are passing math...
The Long Shadow of the Future
A thousand generations of parental caring stands behind a...
What the hell is going on in Ukraine?
What the hell is going on in Ukraine? It’s...
He Lost a Fortune, But Not His Resolve…
Erik Voorhees lost over half a million dollars last...
No Gay Jokes
Here are two jokes that can no longer be...
The Real History of Slavery
Mention the word ‘slavery’ and most people think of...
State of the DisUnion Address
In his State of the Union address, President Obama...
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Why won’t those dummies on the other side smarten...
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The Practical Feminist
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Where’s Snowden?
Edward Snowden says he feels like a winner despite...
Christmas Without Scrooge?
Charles Dickens wrote “A Christmas Carol” in the hope...
Do You Believe in Santa Claus?
Like many children, my parents told me that Santa...
Invest in Shower Curtains?
In the past decade or so I’ve noticed more...
Ducks in the Closet
Up until a few days ago, I had no...
Smart and Accomplished
Huma Abedin has done nothing wrong. As far as...
Watch Your Backside
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Cold Hard Facts
There were 1455 weather records set last week in...
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5 Reasons I Stopped Taking the News Seriously
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Wait Until Dark
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Whenever a new and wonderful social program is enacted,...
Smart Women are a Dying Breed
All around the world, “smart” women are foregoing children...
The Light Bulb Lobby
Dear Congress, it has come to our attention that...
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I can only say: I’m sorry, America. As a...
Typhoon Tears
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Paul Krugman is Nuts. Part 73.
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Six Common Brain Mistakes
Think about it. Our brains are fabulous tools, the...
Social Security’s Sweet Lie
Every now and then, someone refers to Social Security...
The Great Extinction?
As humans live longer, more animal species are going...
The Happy Fascists
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Making Sense
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There’s a video making the rounds on Facebook and...
5 Things “They” Don’t Want You to Know About…
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Don’t Drink the Kool-Aid
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The Money of Fools
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The Harry and Barry Show
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The Diner from Hell
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Dr. Doug Nunamaker, a family doctor based in Wichita,...
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Long before the word was invented, the world has...
Champagne Socialism and Tequila
In my work, I sometimes rub elbows with the...
If She Had a Million
Khun Anuphan, a 76-year-old Muslim fisherman from Rawai, sold...
Permission granted
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The Big Freeze
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12 years ago yesterday, the so called “War on...
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She Just Stared At Me
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Franklin Delano Roosevelt is considered by many to be...
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Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way.
Born without arms, Richie Parker is now an engineer...
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Every time you add herbs or spices to your...
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Bye Bye American Pie…
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The antidote to Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth, this film...
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Ban Cars!
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Bill Really Said It.
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The great thing about science is that it is true for everyone. The terrible thing is that it’s not always true right away.

One-year science says avocados are bad for you, and the next year science says avocados are good for you. So why bother paying attention at all?

This sometimes leads people to rely on “magical thinking” of various kinds. The problem with such systems of thinking is that they have no way to correct themselves in the event of a mistake.

They are considered to be true because… well, just because.

Science however, does have a way to correct itself. Some truths endure, and others are corrected by new experiments.

As one comedian put it, “Science knows it doesn’t know everything, otherwise, it’d stop.”

Changing reports don’t mean you can’t trust science. But they do mean you can’t always trust the way science is reported.

A study from the Stanford School of Medicine taught that most published research is wrong.

Here are a few of the reasons it found:

1. Researcher Bias
Many scientists depend on grants from government or industry, and this creates an incentive to deliver pleasing results to the hand that feeds.

2. Lottery Effect
If 10 studies show inconclusive (boring) results, but an eleventh study shows a positive (exciting) result – the ‘exciting’ study is the one that will be submitted for publication.

3. Publication Bias
Scientific Journals favor studies that show something “new,” so there is little incentive for studies that show an old theory was “right all along,” or everything is just fine.

4. False Alarms
The tolerance used in clinical studies means that even if a theory is wrong – it could still appear as true in 1 out of 20 studies.

5. Random Patterns
Look at enough unrelated data, and a correlation can be found for just about anything. But correlation does not equal causation.

6. Human Error
Simple mistakes, co-mingling of data, unreliable memories, and wishful thinking can and do influence study results.

7. Reporter Bias
Reporters and editors have a favored view of the world, and are quick to give top billing to studies, which seemingly confirm them.

8. Fraud
Data can be invented or manipulated in very creative ways, sometimes with malice, and sometimes even with good intentions.

Journalists often just report what they have been told about a report, without reading it. Sometimes what is reported on the news is the exact opposite of what the scientific conclusion – or lack thereof – was in the ‘new study.”

Sensationalism trumps consideration. Reporters care more about getting their story on the air, than accurately portraying reality.

What can you do?

Whenever you hear, “A new study shows…” take a deep breath and turn your BS detector on.

Before accepting any new idea, try to find out who disagrees with it. There is always disagreement; even in matters considered “settled.”
feynman quote mcclures
But be wary of who one side says is in disagreement with them. The temptation to vilify is high, and personal attacks often create a smokescreen to hide the opposing viewpoint.

You might have to dig for alternative news sources.

Once you have located the opposing arguments – the real arguments – you’ll usually be able to sort out who has a case, and who is a basket case.

But not always.

Sometimes the truth is yet to be determined and we must simply agree to disagree.

At least until a “new study says…”

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