Detecting Denial Techniques: Quiz 9

Bill and Fred were debating whether chickens came from eggs or eggs came from chickens. As they argued, a chicken hatched out of an egg. “Aha!” cried Bill. “Proof that eggs can’t come from chickens!”

My uncle Joe lived to be 97 despite smoking two packs of cigarettes a day since he was 12. He never had any cancer so why should I quit smoking?

Astronauts claim that they have been in space and seen with their own eyes that the Earth is not flat. However, space agencies of the world have faked space travel. This began during the Cold War space race in which both the USA and USSR faked their missions in order to keep up with each other.

In debates about climate change, TV networks often invite a climate scientist who argues for man-made global warming and a physicist who argues against man-made climate change, claiming the current weather change is just a natural occurrence.

Scientists say we can’t fly because of gravity. But the theory of gravity is just that: a theory. In other words, a conjecture, a hunch, or just an idea in someone’s head.

Climate change contrarians often claim that “the science is not in” on climate change because global warming has not been proven for sure and there are still debates on how bad global warming will be.

No one objects to a doctor looking up a difficult case in medical books. Why, then, shouldn't students taking a difficult examination be permitted to look up the answer in their textbook?

In 2013, radio show host Alex Jones claimed that “there’s weather weapon stuff going on… We had floods in Texas like fifteen years ago, killed thirty-something people in one night. Turned out it was the Air Force.” He went on to claim the government “can create and steer groups of tornadoes.” He offered no proof for his assertion.

Dr. Clarke is a researcher in the computer science department at Harvard University. In a recent media interview, he explained why he disagrees with the scientific consensus that vaccinations are safe, arguing that they should be 100% safe before we inject children.

Climate measurements show that over the last century, global temperature has warmed by 1 degree Celsius. However, over the last few years, global temperature has gone down, indicating that the global warming trend has reversed.

No one has been able to prove definitively that there are no dangers from vaccination. Surely it’s not too much to ask that a vaccination injected into a healthy human body is 100% safe.

Every thermometer measurement has uncertainty. All this uncertainty means scientists don’t know what’s going on. So we don’t even know whether global warming is happening.What should you conclude from this paragraph?

In response to Californian forest fires, President Trump said: "I was with the president of Finland and he said they spent a lot of time raking and cleaning and they don't have any problem." The comment was picked up and discussed by the media, creating a discussion that pushed the question of federal support in the background.

Physical activity is the key to weight loss. The real trick to a healthier life is exercising more. If you’re fat, it’s simply because you don’t exercise enough. People who are overly fixated on dietary intake are not paying enough attention to exercise.

Ice core records shows that in the past, atmospheric CO2 went up after it warmed. This shows that warming causes more CO2. As either CO2 causes warming, or warming causes CO2, this is strong evidence that CO2 does not have a warming effect.

Scientists claim that gravity exists. But it’s pretty simple to disprove the theory of gravity. Look at birds. The fact that birds fly proves that gravity is a hoax.

Just because there’s a scientific consensus that humans are causing global warming doesn’t mean you can believe it. There once was a consensus that the Sun revolved around the Earth, which turned out to be wrong.

Over the 1950s, the scientific evidence linking lung cancer to smoking mounted. In response, the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation stated: "It is our opinion that the repeated assertion without conclusive proof that cigarettes cause disease - however well-intentioned - constitutes a disservice to the public."

A politician in 2013 tweeted "Snowing in Texas and Louisiana, record setting freezing temperatures throughout the country and beyond. Global warming is an expensive hoax!"

In the 1970s, the majority of climate studies predicted global warming while a few predicted cooling. This led some sensationalist media articles to claim scientists were predicting imminent cooling. To this day, some contrarians claim the scientific consensus in the 1970s was global cooling and argue that climate science can’t be trusted due to its poor track record.

What is the highest level of school you have completed or the highest degree you have received?