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Articles by John Cook
Climate Scientists Used the World’s Most Powerful Supercomputers to Find Out if Middle Earth and Westeros Could Actually Exist
A still from Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) where the fellowship attempts to cross the Misty Mountains. New Line Cinema When English author J.R.R. Tolkien crafted his fantasy world Middle-earth, he argued storytellers are essentially “sub-creators” – they build fictional realms with internally consistent laws. For a world to be truly immersive and believable, readers apply what is known as the “principle of minimal departure”.
Do Middle‑earth and Westeros make sense? Climate scientists modelled them to find out
When English author J.R.R. Tolkien crafted his fantasy world Middle-earth, he argued storytellers are essentially “sub-creators” – they build fictional realms with internally consistent laws. For a world to be truly immersive and believable, readers apply what is known as the “principle of minimal departure”. This assumes anything not explicitly magical, such as a planet’s weather or gravity, must adhere to the laws of the real world.
Michael Gambon: an unshowy actor of enormous range and charm
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Michael Gambon: an unshowy actor of enormous range and charm Original
Sir Michael Gambon, who died on September 28 at the age of 82, was a hugely versatile actor who enjoyed numerous and varied roles in film and television throughout the course of his long career. Gambon was also a titan of the theatre. His major theatrical roles include Shakespeare’s Othello, King Lear and Falstaff, and Brecht’s Galileo, together with starring roles in works by the finest contemporary playwrights of his era: Beckett, Pinter, Churchill, Hare, Gray and Ayckbourn.
Inoculate yourself against election misinformation campaigns - 3 essential reads
As the midterm elections approach, Americans are already being subjected to misinformation campaigns, often online, that are intended to provoke confusion, anger or even action. When the election is over, it’s almost certain there will be even more misleading material competing for people’s attention. You can defend yourself against this onslaught and help curb both the spread and the effect of misinformation.
Coronavirus: las 7 características del pensamiento conspirativo
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) John Cook, George Mason University; Stephan Lewandowsky, University of Bristol; sv395@cam.ac.uk, University of Cambridge, and Ullrich Ecker, The University of Western Australia kAmW%wt r~}'t#$p%x~}X t= G:56@ 4@?
Coronavirus: las 7 características del pensamiento conspirativo
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) John Cook, George Mason University; Stephan Lewandowsky, University of Bristol; sv395@cam.ac.uk, University of Cambridge, and Ullrich Ecker, The University of Western Australia (THE CONVERSATION) El video con la teoría conspirativa “Plandemic” se volvió viral. A pesar de que YouTube y Facebook lo levantaron, lo siguen subiendo y viendo millones de veces.
Coronavirus, 'Plandemic' and the seven traits of conspiratorial thinking
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) John Cook, George Mason University; Stephan Lewandowsky, University of Bristol; sv395@cam.ac.uk, University of Cambridge, and Ullrich Ecker, The University of Western Australia kAmW%wt r~}'t#$p%x~}X %96 4@?DA:C24J E96@CJ G:56@ “!=2?56>:4” C646?E=J k2 9C67lQ9EEADi^^HHH]?JE:>6D]4@>^a_a_^_d^_h^E649?@=@8J^A=2?56>:4\;F5J\>:<@G:EK\4@C@?2G:CFD\5:D:?7@C>2E:@?]9E>=QmH6?E G:C2=k^2m] s6DA:E6...
Coronavirus: las 7 características del pensamiento conspirativo
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) John Cook, George Mason University; Stephan Lewandowsky, University of Bristol; sv395@cam.ac.uk, University of Cambridge, and Ullrich Ecker, The University of Western Australia kAmW%wt r~}'t#$p%x~}X t= G:56@ 4@?
Coronavirus, 'Plandemic' and the seven traits of conspiratorial thinking
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) (THE CONVERSATION) The conspiracy theory video "Plandemic" recently went viral. Despite being taken down by YouTube and Facebook, it continues to get uploaded and viewed millions of times.
Facts versus feelings isn't the way to think about communicating science
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) John Cook, George Mason University and sv395@cam.ac.uk, University of Cambridge kAmW%wt r~}'t#$p%x~}X x? 2 H@C=5 H96C6 k2 9C67lQ9EEADi^^HHH]@I7@C55:4E:@?2C:6D]4@>^AC6DD^?6HD^a_`e^`a^``^(~%*\`eQm“A@DE\ECFE9” H2D a_`e’D H@C5 @7 E96 J62Ck^2m[ >2?J A6@A=6 2C6 DE2CE:?8 E@ 5@F3E E96 677:424J @7 724ED] r2? D4:6?46 >2<6 D6?D6 @7 2?E:\D4:6?46 2?5 A@DE\ECFE9:D>n |@C6 86?6C2==J[ 9@H 42?
Coronavirus, 'Plandemic' and the seven traits of conspiratorial thinking
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) John Cook, George Mason University; Stephan Lewandowsky, University of Bristol; sv395@cam.ac.uk, University of Cambridge, and Ullrich Ecker, The University of Western Australia kAmW%wt r~}'t#$p%x~}X %96 4@?DA:C24J E96@CJ G:56@ “!=2?56>:4” C646?E=J k2 9C67lQ9EEADi^^HHH]?JE:>6D]4@>^a_a_^_d^_h^E649?@=@8J^A=2?56>:4\;F5J\>:<@G:EK\4@C@?2G:CFD\5:D:?7@C>2E:@?]9E>=QmH6?E G:C2=k^2m] s6DA:E6...
1Cor 15,40-41: Paul and the Heavenly Bodies
You currently have no access to view or download this content. Please log in with your institutional or personal account if you should have access to this content through either of these. Showing a limited preview of this publication: Interpreters who have claimed that Paul viewed the heavenly bodies of 1Cor 15,40–41 as living beings have used two basic arguments that are each beset by inherent weaknesses.
Building Resilience Against Misinformation Through a Cartoon Game
For the last decade and a half, I’ve been researching how to counter misinformation about climate change. My research led me to inoculation theory, the idea of building resilience against misinformation by exposing people to a weakened form of misinformation. In other words, you can help people spot misinformation by making them aware of the rhetorical techniques used to mislead.
Teaching About Our Climate Crisis
Misinformation damages society in a multitude of ways, and we ignore its negative impact at our peril—especially regarding climate change. While studying how misinformation does damage, scientists have also researched and developed approaches to help build the public’s resilience against misinformation.
Inoculation theory in the post‐truth era: Extant findings and new frontiers for contested science, misinformation, and conspiracy theories
Abstract Although there has been unprecedented attention to inoculation theory in recent years, the potential of this research has yet to be reached. Inoculation theory explains how immunity to counter-attitudinal messages is conferred by preemptively exposing people to weakened doses of challenging information. The theory has been applied in a number of contexts (e.g., politics, health) in its 50+ year history.
r/Epstein - From The Gawker 2010: Jeffrey Epstein Has a Blog
By John Cook 11/08/10 | Filed to: REHABILITATIONS | Link to article Billionaire sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein couldn't just slink away into obscenely wealthy obscurity on his private Caribbean island after pleading guilty to paying high school girls to tug on his egg-shaped penis.No, he started a blog. About science.
'Climate zombies' want to infect your brain with misinformation
By John Cook and Rick Knight Guest columnists Posted4/16/2021 1:00 AM The zombies are back and they want your brain. No, we're not talking about Night of the Living Dead movie zombies, nor the '60s British rock band who recorded the hit song "She's Not There." We're talking about the climate zombies. Let's start with the facts. Climate change is as real as it gets. Thousands of scientists across the world have studied the phenomenon of global warming for decades.
Please don’t fail me
Guest post by Melanie Trecek-King from Thinking Is Power Imagine it’s the end of the semester. Students are finishing their exams and you’re entering grades. You open your email to find the following: Dear Professor, I understand that the course is ending soon but I would like to have a quick discussion about my final grade for the class.
Cranky Uncle cartoons
Over the past few years, I’ve been building a collection of cartoon examples of denial techniques. This uses a technique known as parallel argumentation – transplanting the fallacies in misinformation into parallel, analogous situations. These cartoons were used extensively through the Cranky Uncle vs. Climate Change book and adapted into quiz questions in the Cranky Uncle game.
Inoculating against COVID-19 vaccine misinformation
The recent authorization by regulatory agencies across the world to distribute and administer COVID-19 vaccines marks an important turning point in the pandemic. The unprecedented attempt to achieve widescale vaccine coverage, however, has been met with an onslaught of false and misleading information []. Misinformation has the potential to adversely affect vaccine uptake.
Video examples of climate misinformation fallacies
Over the last year developing video lectures on countering climate misinformation, I’ve accumulated a video library of climate misinformation fallacies. Many of them were included in my epic 41-minute video 23 Ways to Mislead (well, it was epic putting that beast together): Now as the Cranky Uncle game has been launched and is being used in classrooms, teachers are requesting more critical thinking resources for classroom activities.
Making sense of your climate-denying cranky uncle
Our climate system is like a cranky beast, that over-reacts to even small prods. Right now, we’re hitting it with a big stick in the form of excessively high carbon emissions from human activity—which our cranky uncle refuses to accept is happening (and ulimately causes the bear to be poked even more). Image courtesy of John Cook One challenge at Thanksgiving dinner is your climate-denying cranky uncle.
23 Ways to Mislead
This Critical Thinking About Climate video explains 23 rhetorical techniques used in misinformation. Understanding the techniques of science denial is like a universal vaccine against misinformation. Once you know these red flags, you’ll be able to spot attempts to mislead you. People who deny science use five tell-tale techniques. The first is Fake Experts – people who convey the appearance of expertise without possessing relevant expertise.
Inoculating against fake news?
Benjamin Franklin is said to have coined the phrase that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This applies to many things, even combating 'fake news' and other forms of misinformation. By Stephan Lewandowsky, Sander van der Linden and John Cook Misinformation sticks. Erasing 'fake news' from your memory is as difficult as getting jam off your fingers after a Devonshire tea.
Cartoons debunking COVID misinformation
Over the past few months, I’ve been publishing a series of Critical Thinking About COVID videos, examining the fallacies of misinformation. Sprinkled throughout these videos are cartoons I’ve drawn to more clearly expose the fallacies (a technique known as parallel argumentation). Over the last few weeks, I’ve been seeing Donald Trump and others doubling down on some of the myths debunked in past videos.
Cranky Uncle cartoons available as PPT slides
Since finishing the Cranky Uncle vs. Climate Change book, I’ve frequently dipped into that 176-page clip-art library, reshaping the cartoons to fit the 1920 x 1080 pixel format for Powerpoint presentations. I’ve also adapted many of the cartoons for the Cranky Uncle video series. Over the last few weeks, a few people have asked if they could use some of my Cranky Uncle cartoons in their climate talks.
Coronavirus: las 7 características del pensamiento conspirativo
El video con la teoría conspirativa “Plandemic” se volvió viral. A pesar de que YouTube y Facebook lo levantaron, lo siguen subiendo y viendo millones de veces. Se trata de una entrevista a Judy Mikovits, una teórica de la conspiración y desacreditada ex investigadora en virología, que cree que la pandemia de la COVID-19 es un fraude gigantesco orquestado para obtener ganancias a través de la venta de vacunas. El video está repleto de información falsa y teorías conspirativas.
Never let facts stand in way of wild conspiracy
By JOHN COOK, SANDER VAN DER LINDEN, STEPHAN LEWADOWSKY, ULRICH ECKER The conspiracy theory video “Plandemic” recently went viral. Despite being taken down by YouTube and Facebook, it continues to be uploaded and viewed millions of times. The video is based on an interview with conspiracy theorist Judy Mikovits. She’s a disgraced former virology researcher who believes the COVID-19 pandemic is based on vast deception, aimed at profiting from vaccinations.
Testing the Effectiveness of Correction Placement and Type on Instagram
Amazeen, Michelle A., Thorson, Emily, Muddiman, Ashley, Graves, Lucas. 2018. “Correcting Political and Consumer Misperceptions: The Effectiveness and Effects of Rating Scale versus Contextual Correction Formats.” Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 95:28–48. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI Appelman, Alyssa, Sundar, S. Shyam. 2016. “Measuring Message Credibility: Construction and Validation of an Exclusive Scale.” Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 93:59–79.
Critical thinking about COVID: new video series
Over the past few months, I’ve been deep-diving into COVID misinformation. At this point, the typical joke I’d make is I’m doing this so you don’t have to but I don’t think any of us can avoid the sheer flood of COVID misinformation we’re all being bombarded with. While the world is on tenterhooks awaiting a vaccine for COVID, we do at least already have a vaccine for COVID misinformation.
Coronavirus: las 7 características del pensamiento conspirativo
24 Mayo, 2020 14:29 pm | Tiempo de lectura: 4 minutos 24 Mayo, 2020 14:29 pm | Tiempo de lectura: 4 minutos 24 Mayo, 2020 14:29 pm | Tiempo de lectura: 4 minutos 24 Mayo, 2020 14:29 pm | Tiempo de lectura: 4 minutos 24 Mayo, 2020 14:29 pm | Tiempo de lectura: 4 minutos 24 Mayo, 2020 14:29 pm | Tiempo de lectura: 4 minutos 24 Mayo, 2020 14:29 pm | Tiempo de lectura: 4 minutos 24 Mayo, 2020 14:29 pm | Tiempo de lectura: 4 minutos Si tenés sólo unos segundos, leé estas líneas: El video, que...
7 traits of conspiratorial thinking
The conspiracy theory video “Plandemic” recently went viral. Despite being taken down by YouTube and Facebook, it continues to get uploaded and viewed millions of times. The video is an interview with conspiracy theorist Judy Mikovits, a disgraced former virology researcher who believes the COVID-19 pandemic is based on vast deception, with the purpose of profiting from selling vaccinations. The video is rife with misinformation and conspiracy theories.
Seven traits of conspiratorial thinking that lead people to believe things like 'Plandemic'
This article originally appeared on The Conversation. You can read it here. The conspiracy theory video "Plandemic" recently went viral. Despite being taken down by YouTube and Facebook, it continues to get uploaded and viewed millions of times. The video is an interview with conspiracy theorist Judy Mikovits, a disgraced former virology researcher who believes the COVID-19 pandemic is based on vast deception, with the purpose of profiting from selling vaccinations.
Coronavirus, ‘Plandemic’ and the seven traits of conspiratorial thinking
By John Cook, Sander van der Linden, Stephan Lewandowsky, Ullrich Ecker 05/19/20 Learning these traits can help you spot the red flags of a baseless conspiracy theory and hopefully build up some resistance to being taken in by this kind of thinking. Conspiracy theorists are so committed to disbelieving an official account, it doesn’t matter if their belief system is internally contradictory. ID 162016270 © Amazingmikael | Dreamstime.com The conspiracy theory video “Plandemic” recently went viral.
Coronavirus, ‘Plandemic’ and the seven traits of conspiratorial thinking
No matter the details of the plot, conspiracy theories follow common patterns of thought. Ranta Images/iStock/Getty Images Plus John Cook, George Mason University; Sander van der Linden, University of Cambridge; Stephan Lewandowsky, University of Bristol, and Ullrich Ecker, University of Western Australia May 18, 2020 – The conspiracy theory video “Plandemic” recently went viral. Despite being taken down by YouTube and Facebook, it continues to get uploaded and viewed millions of times.
Coronavirus, 'Plandemic' and the seven traits of conspiratorial thinking
by John Cook, Sander Van Der Linden, Stephan Lewandowsky and Ullrich Ecker, The Conversation The seven traits of conspiratorial thinking. Credit: John Cook, CC BY-ND The conspiracy theory video "Plandemic" recently went viral. Despite being taken down by YouTube and Facebook, it continues to get uploaded and viewed millions of times.
The 7 Traits Of Conspiratorial Thinking
No matter the details of the plot, conspiracy theories follow common patterns of thought. Ranta Images/iStock/Getty Images Plus The conspiracy theory video “Plandemic” recently went viral. Despite being taken down by YouTube and Facebook, it continues to get uploaded and viewed millions of times.
The 7 Traits Of Conspiratorial Thinking
No matter the details of the plot, conspiracy theories follow common patterns of thought. Ranta Images/iStock/Getty Images Plus The conspiracy theory video “Plandemic” recently went viral. Despite being taken down by YouTube and Facebook, it continues to get uploaded and viewed millions of times.
The Seven Traits of Conspiratorial Thinking in 'Plandemic'
The conspiracy theory video “Plandemic” recently went viral. Despite being taken down by YouTube and Facebook, it continues to get uploaded and viewed millions of times. The video is an interview with conspiracy theorist Judy Mikovits, a disgraced former virology researcher who believes the COVID-19 pandemic is based on vast deception, with the purpose of profiting from selling vaccinations. The video is rife with misinformation and conspiracy theories.
Coronavirus, 'Plandemic' and the seven traits of conspiratorial thinking
The conspiracy theory video “Plandemic” recently went viral. Despite being taken down by YouTube and Facebook, it continues to get uploaded and viewed millions of times. The video is an interview with conspiracy theorist Judy Mikovits, a disgraced former virology researcher who believes the COVID-19 pandemic is based on vast deception, with the purpose of profiting from selling vaccinations. The video is rife with misinformation and conspiracy theories.
Coronavirus, 'Plandemic' and the seven traits of conspiratorial thinking
The conspiracy theory video “Plandemic” recently went viral. Despite being taken down by YouTube and Facebook, it continues to get uploaded and viewed millions of times. The video is an interview with conspiracy theorist Judy Mikovits, a disgraced former virology researcher who believes the COVID-19 pandemic is based on vast deception, with the purpose of profiting from selling vaccinations. The video is rife with misinformation and conspiracy theories.
Plandemic is a textbook example of the 7 traits of conspiratorial thinking. So @stworg, @UlliEcker, @Sander_vdLinden & I made a video id…
Plandemic is a textbook example of the 7 traits of conspiratorial thinking. So @stworg, @UlliEcker, @Sander_vdLinden & I made a video identifying conspiratorial thinking in Plandemic to build resilience so we’re not misled by other conspiracy theories 1/12 Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos 1st trait of conspiratorial thinking is contradictions. Plandemic believes COVID came from a Wuhan lab *and* we’re all infected with COVID from vaccinations.
Using Humor and Games to Counter Science Misinformation
Science denial and misinformation are having a bit of a moment. In recent years, the terms post-truth and fake news have been named word of the year by various dictionaries. Flat-earthers achieved newfound exposure—though not necessarily support—with a 2018 Netflix documentary, and the current U.S. president is a climate change denier and anti-vaxxer. These developments have real world consequences. Preventable diseases are making a comeback.
Solution aversion: On the relation between ideology and motivated disbelief.
There is often a curious distinction between what the scientific community and the general population believe to be true of dire scientific issues, and this skepticism tends to vary markedly across groups. For instance, in the case of climate change, Republicans (conservatives) are especially skeptical of the relevant science, particularly when they are compared with Democrats (liberals). What causes such radical group differences?
Critical thinking about COVID-19: lowered expectations
The U.S. has been impacted by COVID-19 more than any other country. Currently, they have had , and twice as many deaths (note that the vertical axis in the graph below is logarithmic). Image by John Burn-Murdoch A major contributing factor to this devastating impact is the Trump administration’s slow response to the crisis. Over a period of six weeks, Trump downplayed the problem and delayed desperately needed social distancing measures.
5G and the Covid-19 infodemic: How can we stop conspiracy theories spreading?
Whether it’s coronavirus, 5G or both, Prof Stephan Lewandowsky and Dr John Cook explain how to counter the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories. A version of this article was originally published by The Conversation (CC BY-ND 4.0) The number of coronavirus infections and deaths continues to rise at an alarming rate, reminding us that this crisis is far from over.
Coronavirus conspiracy theories are dangerous – here’s how to stop them spreading - Alliance for Science
The number of coronavirus infections and deaths continues to rise at an alarming rate, reminding us that this crisis is far from over. In response, the global scientific community has thrown itself at the problem and research is unfolding at an unprecedented rate. The new virus was identified, along with its natural origins, and tests for it were rapidly developed. Labs across the world are racing to develop a vaccine, which is estimated to be still around 12 to 18 months away.
Climate change in ten words
To celebrate Earth Day, I’ve put together a 40-second video that tells the climate change story in the simplest way possible: in just ten words. VIDEO Climate communicators, scientists, & educators are welcome to reuse my graphics – here is a Powerpoint file featuring the ten climate words. The five key climate beliefs is based on the work of Ed Maibach. The cartoons are taken from the Cranky Uncle vs. Climate Change book.
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