Scientists have created a Roosterphant!!
If you saw this headline accompanied by this image on a story about genetic testing, would you believe it? With photo editing programs like Photoshop, it is possible to manipulate any image to suit an agenda. You can create any new image of things that are totally unfounded.
This month’s science word is Bias. Bias is data that has been interpreted to suit the goals of the interpreter. Many news articles, advertisements and other media sources include interpreted information. Manipulation of data, doctored images, omission of data points or information, even using mathematical modeling can generate bias in a science experiment. It is important for you- the consumer- to filter through this information and come to logical conclusions about the information presented.
There are several steps you can take to minimize bias:
- get your information from several different sources
- ask appropriate questions of the information presented
- review the source data of any “scientific study” mentioned
- look for emotional or inflammatory statements
- review the material for words like “opinion, possibly, or maybe”
- try to determine if the study was under the direction of a business,
corporation or government agency.
How have you experienced biased?
What did you do about it?
Useful Links:
http://www.validscience.com/
http://www.sadker.org/curricularbias.html
