BFTP: Knowing what not to believe

Man's most valuable trait is a judicious sense of what not to believe.
                                                                                                         - Euripides

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you.
                                                                                                          - Joseph Heller

I wrote the post below just before the 2016 national election. Who da thunk the consipiracies, false news, and spinning could have gotten even worse in the 4 years since!

The conspiracy theorists on both the left and the right are having a heyday this election season - as they have for the past few. Never accept the obvious, especially if it something you don't like, if there is any chance of behind the scene manipulation, dirty tricks, space aliens, black helicopters, or Fox News to blame.

In my previous position, the custodian who took care of our office space felt the need to always keep me apprised of the latest dirty trick the Democrats were trying to pull. My response was always a great deal of feigned horror that once again we (I am an admitted Democrat) were found out yet once again and promised to be a good deal sneakier the next time.

Teaching kids to evaluate the information they find need to have three skill sets;

• answering a question with reliable information
• evaluating a statement provided by others to determine its reliability
• considering bias in all sources

Snopes and political fact checking sites should be know and used by every digitally literate student. Who will one day grow up to be digitally literate adults.

Provided whatever is Area 51 with the help of Bill and Hillary isn't actually behind Snopes.

Original post 10/26/16