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How to become a better judge of trustworthiness?

ejemplo 12_agosto

Does what Deepak Chopra says make sense?

Other examples

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Sorry, that wasn’t the right answer

Deepak Chopra is an Indian-American author, public speaker and spiritualist, advocate of alternative medicine. On his Twitter feed, many such statements can be read, which can be characterised as nonsense. How do you determine what is nonsense and what is not? The words chosen by Chopra are unnecessarily complex, and what they’re meant to express is unclear. One may well ask what his real intention is: to inform in good faith about what he knows to be true? or to captivate his audience? This practice of using obscure language to appear more profound, with no concern for the truth, is referred to by philosophers as “bullshit”, which is the subject of a book by Harry Frankfurt [1], and the focus of recent experiments in psychology.

[1] Frankfurt, H. On Bullshit. Raritan Quarterly Review. 6(2): 81-100. Fall 1986.

Do you want to know more?

Check the position of the expert in their institution and the reputation of the institution. Do they work for an organisation that is well-known or reputable, or for a special interest think tank? Was the expert fired from their job or forced to resign? How is the expert seen by their peers?

Here are some questions that you should consider when assessing an expert’s reputation.

Experts who are recognised for the quality of their work may later defend positions that conflict with scientific consensus, or may be criticised by their peers for questionable practices. What is the reputation of the researcher within their own scientific community? 1, 2, 3
What type of social media presence do they have? For instance, if they are on Twitter, check if other experts follow them. Watch out for experts who have a high number of social media followers but have little recognition or influence among their peers.
Do they work for a reputable institution and are they in good standing at those institutions?
Not all renowned scientists are still active in their fields of expertise when they are asked for advice, which may make them less reliable. You can check their records with Google Scholar and other academic search engines. Are their publications up-to-date? Have they made recent contributions to their field?
People may claim to be experts in a field, displaying degrees and affiliations to universities or research institutes, but they might still be discredited by the community of their peers. Scientists do not publicly discredit each other often, but when they do, it could be for good reasons. Can you find any evidence of such disputes in published news articles or reputable blogs?

Additional Resources

Example of scientific misconduct at Harvard: Disgrace: On Marc Hauser
Research misconduct: the poisoning of the well.
How to identify reliable research sources: Tips and checklists for researchers Researcher.Life

Additional information on this example: Deepal Chopra is an M.D, in internal medicine and endocrinology, chief of staff in New England Memorial Hospital, also affiliated with Harvard, Tufts and BU (1971-1985)

Well done – you were right!

Deepak Chopra is an Indian-American author, public speaker and spiritualist, advocate of alternative medicine. On his Twitter feed, many such statements can be read, which can be characterised as nonsense. How do you determine what is nonsense and what is not? The words chosen by Chopra are unnecessarily complex, and what they’re meant to express is unclear. One may well ask what his real intention is: to inform in good faith about what he knows to be true? or to captivate his audience? This practice of using obscure language to appear more profound, with no concern for the truth, is referred to by philosophers as “bullshit”, which is the subject of a book by Harry Frankfurt [1], and the focus of recent experiments in psychology.

[1] Frankfurt, H. On Bullshit. Raritan Quarterly Review. 6(2): 81-100. Fall 1986.

Do you want to know more?

Check the position of the expert in their institution and the reputation of the institution. Do they work for an organisation that is well-known or reputable, or for a special interest think tank? Was the expert fired from their job or forced to resign? How is the expert seen by their peers?

Here are some questions that you should consider when assessing an expert’s reputation.

Experts who are recognised for the quality of their work may later defend positions that conflict with scientific consensus, or may be criticised by their peers for questionable practices. What is the reputation of the researcher within their own scientific community? 1, 2, 3
What type of social media presence do they have? For instance, if they are on Twitter, check if other experts follow them. Watch out for experts who have a high number of social media followers but have little recognition or influence among their peers.
Do they work for a reputable institution and are they in good standing at those institutions?
Not all renowned scientists are still active in their fields of expertise when they are asked for advice, which may make them less reliable. You can check their records with Google Scholar and other academic search engines. Are their publications up-to-date? Have they made recent contributions to their field?
People may claim to be experts in a field, displaying degrees and affiliations to universities or research institutes, but they might still be discredited by the community of their peers. Scientists do not publicly discredit each other often, but when they do, it could be for good reasons. Can you find any evidence of such disputes in published news articles or reputable blogs?

Additional Resources

Example of scientific misconduct at Harvard: Disgrace: On Marc Hauser
Research misconduct: the poisoning of the well.
How to identify reliable research sources: Tips and checklists for researchers Researcher.Life

Additional information on this example: Deepal Chopra is an M.D, in internal medicine and endocrinology, chief of staff in New England Memorial Hospital, also affiliated with Harvard, Tufts and BU (1971-1985)

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