How To Sort Truth From
Falsehood
By John "Birdman" Bryant
There are five basic ways to sort truth from
falsehood:
- Check the reliability of the authors you read: A
theologian is a less- reliable source of information than
a scientist.
- Compare different sources of information on the
same topic (books, magazines, webpages, etc), and note
the areas of disagreement or omissions. Omissions often
indicate bias, while points of disagreement should be
investigated to see, if possible, who is really telling
the truth. Sources with obvious bias need to be studied,
since these will usually have the most telling criticisms
of the other side.
- Observe who is willing to debate, and who is not:
The former are most likely to be telling the truth, while
the latter are probably trying to keep their lies from
being exposed.
- Observe whether the arguments are clear or
obscure: the latter are a good indication of muddled
thinking, and a likely marker of error.
- If you yourself have a bias, be sure to study the
accounts of those biased against your view: Your enemies
will tell you things your friends would never think of --
or never dare to mention if they did.
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