Staying Unspun

It is important to respect facts and stay unspun in the world of disinformation.  Fact checking can save lives as well as money and embarrassment. You could live years longer if you are a woman who respects the facts about what most women really die of, then follows the medical advice that reduces those risks  You could avoid dying young if you are a teenager who respects the fact that teen drivers are four times more likely than older drivers to crash.   

Fact checking takes very little time and proves to pay off in the long run.  Being informed with the correct information is always better than having little or inaccurate knowledge.  Often, we are tricked by the media and advertisement that embellish 'facts' and data. To avoid this, it is always better to check the facts.  It may take only a few more minutes of your time, but it is essential and absolutely pays off.  

Chapter 8: Was Clarence Darrow a Creationist?

In this chapter the reader learns that it is absolutely imperative to make sure facts are proved to be 100% accurate.  Even if an idea seems like it is true, it cannot be considered a fact until it is absolutely proved certain.  For example, on page 156 in Unspun, the sidebar shows a few 'then and now' quotes from former President Bush and CIA Director George Tenet.  President Bush questions Tenet about all the intelligence he has received about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction.  Tenet expressed absolutely confidence that the intelligence was true.  A few years later, after he was proven wrong, Tenet expressed his remorse in being certain without having all his facts straight.   Furthermore, in 1997 a civil jury was certain that OJ Simpson will never find the real kill of his wife because he was the real killer.  Meanwhile, sixteen months earlier, a jury found him not guilty of the same crimes.  It is a curious situation because both votes were unanimous.  How is it possible, with all given evidence, that two different juries can come up with two completely different verdicts? Is there a way to be completely certain of what actually happened in the OJ Simpson case and trials?

In addition, it has been proven that people tend to overestimate how well they remember things.  Some people even possess a 'selective memory' where they remember the things they choose to remember or the things that make them look good.  Seeing should not necessarily mean believing because researchers have proven that we can easily be talked into seeing (or saying we see) things that are not there.  All of the information discussed provides the notion that we cannot be 100% certain of anything.