UPDATED: Factfulness: Wildfire threats are not growing every year
In 2019, California wildfires, by acreage, are running about one quarter the number as in 2018, and also well below the five year average.
Journalism: Exaggerated headline of the day “Most People Experiencing Homelessness Have Had a Traumatic Brain Injury, Study Finds” #TBI
“Most people” turns out to be 53%. A more accurate headline would say “About half” or “Just over half”. But what would be a news report without an exaggerated headline? (Disclosure – I have had multiple TBI including a skull fracture – this post is not about TBI or homelessness but about the exaggerated headline.)
Journalism: Last week they said economic fears might derail the holidays, this week they report record breaking sales
Last week, the news reported speculated that “fears of an economic recession could derail the holiday season”. This week, that speculation is already old news as Black Friday broke shopping records.
#Climate communications: Dr. Hans Rosling on the problem of exaggerated claims, false urgency, leading to bad decisions on climate change policy
Excessive exaggeration in climate communications is leading to “a situation where no one listens anymore. Without trust, we are lost.” Hyperbolic and unrealistic scenarios lead to the impossibility of reaching workable solutions. Coupled with the salesman’s technique of a false sense of urgency, we create unnecessary stress – which leads the target to give up and tune out. Under urgent pressure, we make bad decisions with even worse outcomes. That’s a summary of comments from the late Dr. Hans Rosling, in his book Factfulness.
Nutrition: the role that propaganda played in picking the wrong villain
Yudkin argued that excess sugar was causing health problems. Keys argued that sugar was not the problem – the consumption of fat was causing health problems. Keys was effective at loudly denouncing anyone who criticized his fat hypothesis. For 40 years, we were told to avoid all fats and that sugar consumption was not a problem. Propaganda messaging played a major role in persuading the public that any fat in the diet was bad while simultaneously asserting that sugar consumption was not a problem for most people.