A Field Guide To Sniffing Out The Truth In An Age of Information Overload

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Creative Commons
watch info overload
Creative Commons

A Field Guide To Sniffing Out The Truth In An Age of Information Overload

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We are living in an information age dominated by big data, and it can be hard to make heads or tails of what’s true and when someone’s trying to fool you. Just look at the presidential race. It seems very day there’s a new presidential poll that gives out information different from the one that came before. Every morning, when we check the news, we have to suss out the truth from not only the statements our candidates are making, but the opinions of various pundits and talking heads. 

So in a world of half-truths and innuendoes, how do you assess what’s true and what’s not? 

Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin thinks he can help. His new book A Field Guide To Lies: Critical Thinking in the Information Age is a sort of manual for helping you navigate the overwhelming rush of information and opinion coming your way each day in our digital world. He joins the Morning Shift to talk about some strategies for sniffing out the truth from the half-truths and misinformation.