Here’s an entertaining but insightful peek into the issues surrounding good vs bad science. It’s pitched to the lay public, but brings up a lot of the issues about the pressures of publishing, vagaries of study design, and why things get reported the way they do. Well worth the time (and laughs) to watch!
Source: http://chainsawsuit.com/comic/2014/09/16/on-research/
I sat in on a committee meeting once where the management of a particular clinical problem was being vigorously discussed. One of the participants pulled out his smartphone, did a quick search, and said, “Aha! This article shows that my opinion is correct!”
This approach is wrong on so many levels, it’s almost laughable. But it illustrates a real weakness that all human beings have: susceptibility to cognitive bias.
Scientists have identified somewhere between 150 and 200 different types of cognitive bias, and trying to sort them out will literally make your head spin. For a quick and enlightening read, I recommend reading the article below. It sifts through the mess and lumps them into four understandable categories.
Bottom line: We are all capable of warping what we read, hear, and see to fit our own vortex of pre-existing beliefs. It’s very important to recognize the possibility of bias when you are seeking information so that you can do everything to minimize its impact. If you can’t or won’t do that, then you’ll end up being that know-it-all guy with the smartphone.
Related post:
Here’s an entertaining but insightful peek into the issues surrounding good vs bad science. It’s pitched to the lay public, but brings up a lot of the issues about the pressures of publishing, vagaries of study design, and why things get reported the way they do. Well worth the time (and laughs) to watch!