Myoclonic Jerk Podcast

20/07/2024

29/03/2024

Attention comedian/performer friends who want to help save democracy:

I’m developing a fun one-hour presentation on critical thinking that comics could deliver in the daytime at local schools when you’re on the road. We tend to waste our days, no?

Anybody interested in being involved, either in the conception phase or a performer please comment.

09/02/2024

“Admitting that I was wrong is to also admit that I now know more than I did 5 minutes ago”.

12/01/2024

I’m proud to be doing a little editing for the great Peter Beinart. If you’re looking for honest and nuanced commentary about Israel, I’d highly recommend checking him out. https://peterbeinart.substack.com

21/09/2023

I asked ChatGPT to help me write a viral tweet and found it not only has no compunction about lying, it has a lot of trouble resisting it.

I asked ChatGPT to help me craft a viral tweet. Its advice: Make stuff up.

04/03/2023

Here is someone not insulting anyone or spreading hate, but actively working to make us better.
Please share this around, especially to educators and people with kids.

The Cranky Uncle game uses cartoons and critical thinking to fight misinformation. The game was developed by Monash University scientist John Cook, in collaboration with creative agency Goodbeast. The game is now available for free on iPhone and Android. Teachers … Continued

14/02/2023

16/11/2022

You’ll always see a lot of this in post-election analysis. “Results clearly confirm that the truth happens to coincide with everything I happened to already want!”

Motivated reasoning is the phenomenon in cognitive science and social psychology in which emotional biases lead to justifications or decisions based on their desirability rather than an accurate reflection of the evidence. It is the "tendency to find arguments in favor of conclusions we want to beli...

02/09/2022

I call this pose “Just Fell Down the Stairs.”

12/05/2022

Enemies

30/04/2022

Courtesy of Shavaun Scott…

13/04/2022

Shavaun Scott, who appeared in the Addiction episode and will again in the Breakups episode has a new book which we should’ve talked about for the Evil episode!

Mike Balzer of 'All Things 3D' interviews therapist Shavaun Scot;t, the author of the book "The Minds of Mass killers: Understanding & Interrupting the Pathw...

23/01/2022

Escape!

26/12/2021

You are needed. The fate of the world depends on enough people capable of thought and love.

Critical thinking can inoculate you against misinformation.

But pseudo-critical thinking, which pretends to use critical thinking to protect cherished beliefs, can backfire and have the opposite effect.

You’ll be wrong…but even MORE convinced you’re right.

If you want to believe in what’s true - to the best of our ability to know the “truth” - it’s essential to know the difference.

So make sure to check yourself. No one can fool us like we can.

Are you a critical thinker?: https://thinkingispower.com/are-you-a-critical-thinker/

21/12/2021

A science philosopher's new book, 'How to Talk to a Science Denier,' explores the research into the best ways to engage with people who anti-scientific views.

19/12/2021

🤯

15/12/2021

I tawt I taw a puddy tat!

08/09/2021

05/09/2021

I love Kaiser Permanente! When you have to give a stool sample you get a free cowboy hat!!

11/07/2021

I did not come out of the cupboard under the stairs for this.Support this channel: https://www.patreon.com/contrapoints✿Donate: https://paypal.me/contrapoint...

24/05/2021

The underlying reasons for creating and sharing mis- and disinformation are varied, but social media has accelerated the rate of how quickly inaccurate content spreads.

Disinformation, or information that is shared with the intent to mislead people, has become more prevalent with the rise of social media and the lack of digital and media literacy among the general population. Disinformation is often used as a catch-all term for all false information, but it is distinguished from misinformation by its intent to deceive. Misinformation, on the other hand, is false information spread by someone who believes false information to be true.

Media literacy, or the ability to methodically consider the meaning and source of a post or news article, is the most important factor in identifying false or misleading news. Media literacy is more important than ever, as we know that false information spreads up to 6 times faster than credible information. Thus, it is important to understand types of misinformation and be vigilant about identifying them.

Here, we detail 10 types of mis- and disinformation that commonly circulate. It’s important to note this is not just relevant to COVID-19, but all science (and even non-science)-related information.

Regardless of the intent, spreading fallacies can be damaging.

Here are tips to avoid propagating misinformation:

1) Check your sources and authors. Are they an authority on the topic at hand? Make sure there are credible references provided, and the site (or person) sharing information does not have an ulterior motive.

2) Read beyond headlines. Many media sources use sensational catch-phrases to get clicks or likes.

3) Are there sources provided that support the information being presented? Are these credible data?

4) Is it a joke? If the source is notorious for satire, you might want to verify that before sharing.

5) Check your biases. Are you cherry-picking information to support a pre-existing opinion you hold?

We all have an obligation to verify information we share, especially as many people consume the majority of their information via social media these days. Help us bring awareness to these common types of misinformation!

Sources:
https://groundviews.org/tag/media-literacy/
https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00XFKF.pdf
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/359/6380/1146.full.pdf
https://www.ifla.org/publications/node/11174