“Fiction seems to be more effective at changing beliefs than nonfiction, which is designed to persuade through argument and evidence. Studies show that when we read nonfiction, we read with our shields up. We are critical and skeptical. But when we are absorbed in a story, we drop our intellectual guard. We are moved emotionally, and this seems to make us rubbery and easy to shape.” StoriesShowsSeemsBeliefEasyFictionStudyShapesIntellectualEvidenceArgumentMovedCriticalNonfictionSkepticalShields Author:Jonathan Gottschall
“Teaching needs an ecosystem that supports evidence-based practice. It will need better systems to disseminate the results of research more widely, but also a better understanding of research, so that teachers can be critical consumers of evidence.” NeedsUnderstandingResultsPracticeSupportTeacherTeachingResearchEvidenceCriticalConsumersEcosystems Author:Ben Goldacre
“Jurors have found, again and again, and at critical moments, according to what is their sense of the rational and just. If their sense of justice has gone one way, and the case another, they have found "against the evidence," ... the English common law rests upon a bargain between the Law and the people: The jury box is where the people come into the court: The judge watches them and the people watch back. A jury is the place where the bargain is struck. The jury attends in judgment, not only upon the accused, but also upon the justice and the humanity of the Law.” PeopleIfsWayMomentsLawHumanityFoundJusticeCommonWatchesCasesGoneJudgingJudgmentEvidenceCourtBoxesCriticalRationalOne WayAgain And AgainAccusedJuryBargainsCommon LawJurorsCritical Moments Author:E. P. Thompson
“To defy the authority of empirical evidence is to disqualify oneself as someone worthy of critical engagement in a dialogue.” AuthorityEvidenceOneselfWorthyCriticalDialogueEngagementEmpirical Evidence Author:Dalai Lama
“I'm required to do every job well enough that I'd use it as evidence in court - that doesn't come cheaply! Property is a critical asset for individuals. Maintaining the cadastre (legal survey fabric) is an important job and a valuable service.” WellsImportantEnoughUseJobsIndividualEvidenceCourtPropertyValuableCriticalAssetsFabricMaintainingSurveysImportant Jobs Author:Mark Mason
“Documentary photography has amassed mountains of evidence. And yet... the genre has simultaneously contributed much to spectacle, to retinal excitation, to voyeurism, to terror, envy and nostalgia, and only a little to the critical understanding of the social world.” WorldLittlesSocialUnderstandingMountainPhotographyEvidenceTerrorCriticalEnvyNostalgiaGenreDocumentariesDocumentary Photography Book:Dismal science: photo works, 1972-1996 Source: Dismal science: photo works, 1972-1996
“One can see from space how the human race has changed the Earth. Nearly all of the available land has been cleared of forest and is now used for agriculture or urban development. The polar icecaps are shrinking and the desert areas are increasing. At night, the Earth is no longer dark, but large areas are lit up. All of this is evidence that human exploitation of the planet is reaching a critical limit. But human demands and expectations are ever-increasing. We cannot continue to pollute the atmosphere, poison the ocean and exhaust the land. There isn't any more available.” HumansHas BeensEarthUsedNightDarkSpaceRaceLandChangedPlanetsDevelopmentDemandLimitsOceanExpectationsEvidenceAreasClimate ChangeAvailableCriticalForestsDesertAtmosphereHuman RacePoisonGlobal WarmingReachingAgricultureExploitationUrbanLitShrinkingUrban Development Author:Stephen Hawking
“Although reducing human emissions to the atmosphere is undoubtedly of critical importance, as are any and all measures to reduce the human environmental "footprint", the truth is that the contribution of each individual cannot be reduced to zero... If we believe that the size of the human "footprint" is a serious problem (and there is much evidence for this) then a rational view would be that along with a raft of measures to reduce the footprint per person, the issue of population management must be addressed.” IfsBelieveHumansPersonsProblemWould BeIndividualViewsIssuesSeriousTruth IsEvidenceImportanceManagementEnvironmentalClimate ChangeSizePopulationCriticalRationalAtmosphereContributionZeroReducingEmissionsFootprint Author:Chris Rapley
“All the proffered evidence that America was attacked by Muslims on 9/11, when subjected to critical scrutiny, appears to have been fabricated.” Has BeensAmericaEvidenceCriticalScrutiny Author:David Ray Griffin