Be correct
Before calling out bullshit or making a strong claim, ensure your facts are accurate and double-checked. Run arguments by trusted colleagues to avoid embarrassment.
THE IDEA
Be correct
The students who take our course on calling bullshit gain confidence in their ability to spot and refute it. We want to instill a sense of humility as well. It should go without saying, but it needs to be said: If you are going to call bullshit, be correct.
Make sure you have the facts at hand—don’t skimp on the background research—and then double-check them. Mountaineers learn to check and double-check and then check their safety gear one more time. Just as you don’t want to have your locking carabiner fly open during a forty-foot fall, you don’t want to have your facts wrong when you’re trying to drive home a point. Also, run your argument by a friend or colleague. We have been doing this for each other for fifteen years. If one of us gets excited about a new research result, he asks the other to try to undermine it. We’ve saved each other from embarrassment a number of times.
When to use it
Debating a contentious social issue in a public forum
Writing a research paper or op-ed that challenges widely held beliefs
Fact-checking a news article before sharing it on social media
Preparing a presentation that refutes a common misconception
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Verifying a controversial claim
Before publishing a blog post accusing a public figure of misinformation, you trace the original source, confirm the quote's context, and ask a colleague to review your evidence for any gaps.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
What specific steps do you take to double-check facts before making a strong claim?
How can you invite constructive criticism of your argument without becoming defensive?
Think of a time you were wrong about a fact in a debate. What could you have done to verify it beforehand?
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Calling Bullshit The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World (Carl T. Bergstrom Jevin D. West)