Baloney Detection with Dr. K

Continuing the mini-series of episodes about social media, algorithms fit right into this season’s long-term story about Wellness. If you are a social media user, you know that once you click on one post, dozens of other posts on that same topic will suddenly be flooding your feed, whether you want them to or not. This is results of the hidden but powerful algorithms that boost content to get more views and keep your eyes glued to whichever screen you are using. This is a great benefit to companies and content creators who are fighting for your attention and the money in your pocket. Algorithms do not need to be a mystery, and I will make sure that by the end of the episode, you will know what you are dealing with. 

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I get to share some interesting stories in this discussion about Reiki and crystals which always help frame the story. We start by talking about what energy is from a physics and chemistry aspect before describing the origin and nature of Reiki and what crystals can and cannot do. That Himalayan salt lamp may be a huge crystal and look beautiful, but it is not going to ionize the air around you. It’s important to know why and we will talk about that! 

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This episode kicks off a special series of episodes focused on “Wellness”. Specifically, we are going to dive into the deep end with various Wellness topics, how much Wellness has pervaded social media spaces and political discourse. There is a huge amount of pseudoscience and misinformation in Wellness, and we are going to look at many different topics to hopefully give you some better information to make decisions. This first episode will deal with many important definitions and terminologies related to Wellness, to make subsequent analyses and discussions easier. 

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We left off my journey at the end of my graduate school experience and headed into my first teaching job. That new experience along with my upcoming wedding gave me a lot of different things to think about that first year of my real career. Having a life partner to help to ground me keep me feeling supported and comforted, but anyone who has had problems with their mental health knows that having a full support system does not preclude having anxiety, panic and depression. Navigating the academic job market, owning a house and having a child all provided me with many things to deal with that still gave me anxiety and panic attacks, and it is only in recent years that I have found the tools to keep myself even keeled and flourishing. This will not be the last episode of this mini-series, but this is a very important part of the journey. 

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The addition of fluoride to drinking water is considered one of the top public health developments of the 20th century. The reduction of tooth decay in citizens where fluoride was added has significantly benefited millions. Though the federal government recommended the addition after World War II, not all municipalities chose to incorporate fluoride, and now places have already removed fluoride or are considering the action thanks to confusing information spread on the internet and a rescinding of support for the practice from the federal government. We will discuss how fluoride helps oral health, the chemistry behind it, and some of the controversies that are part of the situation.

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This week’s Pseudoshort: Ad Hominem 

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With a measles outbreak occurring and potentially more childhood disease outbreaks on the horizon due to vaccine skepticism, it is a great time to talk about how the current anti-vax movement developed, and how it is affecting policy decisions made by the current administration. Science denialism is at the heart of many of these decisions and it is incredibly important that we face that information with scientific data. We are now getting into more controversial topics, but it does not help the greater good if we stay silent. 

This week’s Pseudoshort: Confirmation Bias 

Community Lecture about Vaccines (March 3, 2015)

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Enjoy this bonus episode of Baloney Detection as Dr. K reflects on one year of podcasting and topics for future episodes!

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The advertising of consumer products contains a lot of different buzzwords and phrases. Have you seen this one: “Four Out of Five Dentists Recommend This Toothe Paste”. I remember that kind of phrase a lot from my childhood. But who are those four dentists and why did the fifth one not recommend the product? We look into phrases like this one and try to find out if there is any truth to the words, and what you can do to see past the marketing.  

This week’s Pseudoshort: Spicy Food and Ulcers 

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When you are deeply angry about a certain subject, but you know that getting into conversations with others could be controversial and acrimonious, what do you do? I have been struggling with this very thing for a long time now, and I am just realizing that I have to engage with that anger, with those controversies, rather than just shy away and stay away from the difficult conversations. Taking a break from interviews, in this episode I spend a bit of time going through some recent thoughts, trying to convince myself I am going in the right direction with how I deal with misinformation and pseudoscience. Do not worry: this is not an existential crisis, just more of an important level of pondering. 

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Jodi Pierre is a research and instruction librarian at the University of Wisconsin‐Green Bay, where she specializes in information literacy, instruction, research assistance, and web and digital content design. She earned a Master of Library and Information Science from UW Milwaukee and a Bachelor of Arts from Beloit College. Jody has been with the University of Wisconsin‐Green Bay since 2016. 

Jodi shares some interesting and important information about the use of AI and how it is changing rapidly. This is a very important conversation and one that we will be continuing into the future as AI evolves. 

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