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Information and sources

  • How to organize information
  • Too much information, need to find good information
  • Different parties are fighting for our attention, mind, and action

How to evaluate information quality​

  • True
    • How accurate?
    • What bias?
  • New
    • How much do I already know?
    • How much detail does it give?
    • How relevant is the information now?
  • Useful
    • Can I gather the information myself?
    • How much time do I save reading it rather than find information elsewhere?
    • Can I act upon the information?
    • What’s its impact on my thoughts and actions?

Types of bias​

  • Affinity bias
    • Prefer people like us
  • Stereotype
    • Set expectations based on one’s background or characteristics
  • Memory bias
    • Remember specific information and neglect others
  • Confirmation bias
    • Look for information to confirm prior belief

Do not be obsessed with source stereoptypes​

  • In school and academia, we were trained to "use reliable sourced", which basically means legacy media or academic papers

  • Unfortunately, the "reliable source" mentality combined with cancel culture limits our access to useful information

    • A relevant paper cannot be published if it goes against the dogma

    • The legacy media has repeatedly lied

    • The legacy media has "stealth-edited" their published articles

    • A false source may be published for political reasons

Everything can be questioned. Everything can be trusted.​

  • In cancel culture, a referenced book could be banned, a referenced web link could be taken down. No source can stay safe

  • With today's technology, any audio, photo, or video can be faked. Decide what you believe

  • Are you distrusting a website just because it has bad design? Are you trusting a website just because it has fancy graphics?

Use your own common sense​

  • The "sources" mentality is forcing us to think the legacy media and academic papers are the only places of truth, which is bad for anyone seeking the truth

  • Think on your own how much do you trust the arguments

Question the motif​

  • Question the motif and conflict of interest regardless of if the information fits your understanding

    • Trust the info more if it has a negative impact on the author (potential alienation by colleagues, loss of income, damage to reputation etc.)

    • Trust the info less if it has a positive impact on the author (more praise by his social circle, more income etc.)

1st hand vs. 2nd hand​

  • Firsthand encounters and interviews are more reliable than second-hand ones

# of independent sources​

  • A piece of information is best if it can be verified by multiple independent sources

Signs of a good source​

  • A responsible source should acknowledge it can make mistakes

    • It shouldn't position itself as the authoritative source of truth (e.g. all the "fact-checkers" out there)
    • It shouldn't ignore huge discrepencies between its predictions and the actual outcomes (e.g. US election polls)

  • Should regularly corrects or clarifies errors in an open and honest manner

  • Should clearly indicate news, opinions, and ads

  • Avoids deceptive or click-baiting headlines

  • Should discloses ownership and financing, including any possible conflicts of interest

  • Should provide names of content creators

Recognize smear campaign tactics​

  1. Try to suppress the true information
  2. If not successful, release many fake, conflicting, and attention-grabbing explanations at the same time. Most people do not have the patience and ability to find out which one is the truth.