Prompt Cast
The Trustworthiness of News Stories and Manipulation of Data
TLDR On this episode of Science Vs, cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Dan Leviton explores the trustworthiness of recent news stories and the manipulation of data. Topics discussed include misleading approval ratings, questionable extrapolation of cost estimates, correlation vs causation in claims about Malmö being the rape capital of Europe, the unreliability of gut instincts, and the disappearing boom and bust cycles of the Norwegian lemming population due to climate change.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
On today's episode of Science Vs, we explore the trustworthiness of recent news stories and the manipulation of data, with cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Dan Leviton as our guide.
04:05
Approval ratings for Donald Trump's job performance can be misleading and unrepresentative of the overall population, as they are often based on surveys conducted through platforms like SurveyMonkey that may not accurately reflect the views of the entire US voting population.
08:02
The cost estimates in the article about Donald Trump's travel expenses are plausible, but the extrapolation of his future travel patterns is questionable.
12:09
Nigel Farage's claim that Malmö is the rape capital of Europe is based on a correlation between increased immigration and reported rapes, but does not take into account changes in legislation and definitions of rape.
15:52
The gut is not a reliable source of information and should not be trusted when it comes to making important decisions.
20:04
The Norwegian lemming population experiences explosive booms every four years, followed by a rapid decline, which has puzzled scientists for centuries.
24:20
The infamous footage of lemmings diving off a cliff in the documentary "White Wilderness" was actually faked, as admitted by a Canadian cameraman who worked on the film.
28:43
Lemmings do not commit mass suicide, but their boom and bust cycles are disappearing due to climate change.
