{"id":3831,"date":"2018-04-05T08:23:14","date_gmt":"2018-04-05T13:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.dankohn.info\/?p=3831"},"modified":"2020-08-17T17:35:09","modified_gmt":"2020-08-17T17:35:09","slug":"10-questions-to-spot-b-s-from-astrophysicist-carl-sagan-inc-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.dankohn.info\/index.php\/2018\/04\/05\/10-questions-to-spot-b-s-from-astrophysicist-carl-sagan-inc-com\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Questions to Spot B.S. From Astrophysicist Carl Sagan | Inc.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Inc.<\/a><\/p>\n

In his book The Demon-Haunted World Carl Sagan, the renowned astrophysicist, helpfully suggested questions to ask to detect baloney:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. How reliable is the source of the claim?<\/li>\n
  2. Does the source make similar claims?<\/li>\n
  3. Have the claims been verified by somebody else?<\/li>\n
  4. Does this fit with the way the world works?<\/li>\n
  5. Has anyone tried to disprove the claim?<\/li>\n
  6. Where does the preponderance of evidence point?<\/li>\n
  7. Is the claimant playing by the rules of science?<\/li>\n
  8. Is the claimant providing positive evidence?<\/li>\n
  9. Does the new theory account for as many phenomena as the old theory?<\/li>\n
  10. Are personal beliefs driving the claim?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n