Credibility Of Absurdity

Moreover, they used race, sex, and gender to impact the sociopolitical sphere, and create a certain level of autonomy and monopolization over scientific knowledge (Gieryn, 1983: 783). This directly relates to our discussion on credibility, and the popular image of the scientist as one of constructing facts (Haraway 1991: 23). Creating and maintaining an image of someone who is objective, one uninfluenced by social aspects (ibid: 23). Thus, making scientists absolved from any social accountability, and free from any restraints outside of the scientific community (ibid

Ullman and Lewis are a perfect example of this. When both men were prompted to discuss Professor Aijing Shang’s study on homeopathy, they interpreted it in two completely different ways. Ullman claimed that the study was unfairly skewed against homeopathy whereas Lewis claimed that the study was credible and that Shang was justified in the steps he took while conducting the experiment. When Storr asked Lewis if Ullman was at least partially justified in his interpretation, Lewis responded, “Dana is always wrong. So, no, I wouldn’t go that far” (Storr 115). A study meant to produce one whole truth managed to benefit the biases of two opposing arguments due to the effects of confirmation bias – in this, the whole truth was lost. This raises the question: if the whole truth is lost, did it exist to begin with? Is anything true without our making it so?

Studying collage students, or any other narrowed group, does not represent the majority of individuals that could be in the situation of a false confession. The consequences of a confession of a crime can lead to an investigation to close, leaving the "perpetrator" with higher charges. These real life consequences can also discredit any real evidence on a case, letting the real perpetrator off. With this, if an individual decides to retract their false confession, a jury is more likely to convict them because they are seen as untrustworthy (Kassin et al., 2010). These consequences are unlikely to be taken into consideration with experimental research on false

the conclusion that bias plays a major role in the validity and credibility of documents and personal

the seed of doubt in the mind of the reader as to the credibility of

Take a look at this study done by researchers at the University of Connecticut in 2005. A group of seventh graders were asked to read information on a website on the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus and evaluate the site’s credibility and trustworthiness. All but one student deemed the site to be credible due to extensive cited sources, pictures, and a wide array of scientific words. The truth? The site was a hoax designed just for this experiment (Galagan). One might ask, why weren’t most of the students able to recognize this? That’s because these students didn’t have a basic knowledge and

“The Truth Wears Off” is an article written by Jonah Lehrer. This article discusses the issues raised by a phenomenon called the decline effect and how it impacts scientific research. On September 23rd, 2014, we had a group discussion in class about this article and our group felt a strong credibility issue with the author because he had no citations used in his article. Also, according to NYU journalism professor Charles Seife, Jonah Lehrer recycled some of his own material for the New Yorker posts and had fabricated quotes in one of his books (Moos). This credibility issue from the author is a problem for me as a reader because I am not sure if the issues raised in this article are factual. The members in my group discussion include Lisa Wallner, Lisa Spreitz, Dusty Gill, Allan Robinson and myself. An author's credibility is crucial because the level of credibility in an author could change how a reader interprets an article.

Most of us like to imagine our beliefs and opinions are logical and objective; however, the reality is that we tend to pay more attention to the information which supports our original ideas. And at the same time, we are trying to ignore the information which despites us. This process is called confirmation bias, and it exists in our daily lives.

A psychological research suggested that once people begin to form an impression, they unwillingly interpret, seek and begin to create behavioral decision making, and data can verify that (Rassin, Eric; Sommer, Samuel; Miller, Monica; Yaniv, Oren). Even if there is no prior personally relevant reason to confirm a hypothesis, people seem to favor confirmation as the default testing strategy. Further hypothesized that the preference for confirming evidence is influenced by two main factors, Facts v. Perception.

are credible and trusted sources, this helps convince people that his claim is correct. This technique

In an age where the internet runs the world, it’s easy to get caught up in all of the internet crazes, and the latest that seems to be engulfing the youth of the nation is known as the Mandela Effect. What is this, you may ask? Well, the Mandela Effect is a phenomenon where a large group of people, typically from the same age group, remember a set of facts, but later realize that the way they remember it, was never, in fact, correct. So for many, this is a completely mind-boggling concept, that is “blowing minds” across the world. One common example, is the children’s story and television series about the bears. The momma, poppa, brother and sister bear that many of today’s youth have grown up watching. It’s most often remembered as the Berenstein

In the article “5 Reasons Why People Share Fake Photos During Natural DIsasters” by AJ Willingham, it expresses the idea that a lot of what you see online is inaccurate. I can tell that the author’s claim is true because they are using stories and other experiences to show it is true. I can also tell that the author’s claim is true because the author is providing evidence. One piece of evidence i found is in part 3. “The problem? It wasn’t Irma at all. Similarly, fake forecasts and warnings became so pervasive this week that the National Weather Service had to issue a clarification warning people.” This shows the author did their research in order to support their claim for the article “5 Reasons Why People Share Fake Photos During Natural

Credibility judgment of information largely rests upon three elements of communication: source, message, and medium (Metzger, Flanagin, Eyal, Lemus, & McCann, 2003). Source credibility refers to the degree to which individuals perceive an information source as reliable. A source of information may be a person, a group, or an organization, each of which has its own characteristics that may affect credibility perception such as ability (expertise) and motivation (trustworthiness) to provide accurate and trustful information (Tormala & Petty, 2004). Message credibility is an evaluation of characteristics of the message communicated such as informational quality, accuracy, currency and language intensity, which create believability (Metzger et

The backfire effect is an example of motivated cognition where people will argue more strongly for their beliefs when presented with evidence that would change the way they view the world. In a case study looking into belief polarization, researchers found that if a fictitious report that disproves the validity of the resurrection in the bible is given to believers and nonbelievers, believers are more likely to believe more after reading the article and non-believers are more likely to be more suspicious. This compares to confirmation bias because both instincts increase personal beliefs and allow for the dismissal of countering information to their previous belief. A prime example of these two phenomena can be found in the belief that many

3. The concept of the criteria for a source to be considered reliable needs more attention