Why people fall for misinformation - Joseph Isaac — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:06In 1901, David Hänig published a paper
2. 0:09that forever changed our understanding of taste.
3. 0:13His research led to what we know today as the taste map:
4. 0:17an illustration that divides the tongue into four separate areas.
5. 0:22According to this map,
6. 0:23receptors at the tip of our tongues capture sweetness,
7. 0:27bitterness is detected at the tongue’s base,
8. 0:29and along the sides, receptors capture salty and sour sensations.
9. 0:34Since its invention, the taste map has been published
10. 0:37in textbooks and newspapers.
11. 0:40The only problem with this map, is that it’s wrong.
12. 0:43In fact, it’s not even an accurate representation
13. 0:46of what Hänig originally discovered.
14. 0:49The tongue map is a common misconception—
15. 0:52something widely believed but largely incorrect.
16. 0:56So where do misconceptions like this come from,
17. 0:59and what makes a fake fact so easy to believe?
18. 1:03It’s true that the tongue map’s journey begins with David Hänig.
19. 1:07As part of his dissertation at Leipzig University,
20. 1:10Hänig analyzed taste sensitivities across the tongue for the four basic flavors.
21. 1:16Using sucrose for sweet, quinine sulfate for bitter,
22. 1:20hydrochloric acid for sour, and salt for salty,
23. 1:23Hänig applied these stimuli to compare differences in taste thresholds
24. 1:28across a subject’s tongue.
25. 1:31He hoped to better understand the physiological mechanisms
26. 1:34that affected these four flavors,
27. 1:36and his data suggested that sensitivity for each taste
28. 1:39did in fact vary across the tongue.
29. 1:42The maximum sensation for sweet was located at the tongue’s tip;
30. 1:47bitter flavors were strongest at the back; salt was strongest in this area,
31. 1:51and sour at the middle of the tongue’s sides.
32. 1:54But Hänig was careful to note that every sensation
33. 1:57could also be tasted across the tongue,
34. 2:00and that the areas he identified offered very small variations in intensity.
35. 2:06Like so many misconceptions,
36. 2:08the tongue map represents a distortion of its original source,
37. 2:12however the nature of that distortion can vary.
38. 2:15Some misconceptions are comprised of disinformation—
39. 2:19false information intentionally designed to mislead people.
40. 2:23But many misconceptions, including the tongue map,
41. 2:26center on misinformation— false or misleading information
42. 2:30that results from unintentional inaccuracy.
43. 2:34Misinformation is most often shaped by mistakes and human error,
44. 2:39but the specific mistakes that lead to a misconception
45. 2:42can be surprisingly varied.
46. 2:44In the case of the tongue map,
47. 2:46Hänig’s dissertation was written in German,
48. 2:49meaning the paper could only be understood by readers fluent in German
49. 2:53and well versed in Hanig’s small corner of academia.
50. 2:57This kicked off a game of telephone that re-shaped Häing’s research
51. 3:01every time it was shared with outside parties.
52. 3:04Less than a decade after his dissertation,
53. 3:07newspapers were falsely insisting that experiments
54. 3:10could prove sweetness was imperceptible on the back of the tongue.
55. 3:15The second culprit behind the tongue map’s spread
56. 3:18were the images that Hänig’s work inspired.
57. 3:21In 1912, a rough version of the map appeared in a newspaper article
58. 3:26that cautiously described some of the mysteries
59. 3:29behind taste and smell research.
60. 3:32Featuring clear labels across the tongue, the article’s illustration
61. 3:36simplified Hänig’s more-complicated original diagrams.
62. 3:40Variations of this approachable image became repeatedly cited,
63. 3:44often without credit or nuanced consideration for Hänig’s work.
64. 3:49Eventually this image spread to textbooks and classrooms
65. 3:53as a purported truth of how we experience taste.
66. 3:57But perhaps the factor that most contributed to this misconception
67. 4:01was its narrative simplicity.
68. 4:03In many ways,
69. 4:04the map complements our desire for clear stories about the world around us—
70. 4:10a quality not always present in the sometimes-messy fields of science.
71. 4:15For example,
72. 4:15even the number of tastes we have is more complicated than Hänig’s work suggests.
73. 4:21Umami— also known as savory— is now considered the fifth basic taste,
74. 4:26and many still debate the existence of tastes
75. 4:29like fatty, alkaline, metallic, and water-like.
76. 4:34Once we hear a good story,
77. 4:36it can be difficult to change how we see that information,
78. 4:39even in the face of new evidence.
79. 4:42So, next time you see a convenient chart or read a surprising anecdote,
80. 4:47try to maintain a healthy skepticism—
81. 4:49because misconceptions can leave a bitter taste
82. 4:52on every part of your tongue.