Simply the Best, December 1

https://newslit.org/

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception:  How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation."  In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information.  They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1.  Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2.  Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs.  Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3.  Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp.  Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4.  When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5.  Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.

"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.  

"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."

"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."

Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge

Source:  Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021

I didn’t exactly have a solid theme for today, but I’ve developed a routine of writing my Blog posts from he ship’s library which is right next door to the Lounge and Bar with evening entertainment. Randy just sang a song called “Simply the Best.”

That pretty well summarizes this experience.

We’re steaming in a southerly direction leaving South Georgia as I write this heading for our full solar eclipse coordinates near the South Orkney Islands. The folks on this trip are split on why they are here. For many, it is the lure of yet another full solar eclipse, for some it is Antarctica while for others it’s the wildlife of South Georgia Island. For me it’s simply the best of all three and more. The photography, the people, the challenges.

Today was another day of rolling with the punches. This morning the Katabatic winds in Royal Bay precluded a trip to see a group of Macaroon penguins. Plan B was a nearby sheltered bay with a one hour stay on land. But, that didn’t work because there was just too much kelp to make it to the beach.

From there it was on down the coast to Gold Bay after lunch. The plan was to go ashore here. But there was a problem here as well. There were just too many elephant seals and penguins at the landing beach and the landing beach went on and on and on and on. Another stunning example of the sheer biomass on this island. I think that I will need to put some distance between me and this trip to fully grasp what I have just done.

We’re back into a big lecture day tomorrow as we approach eclipse day on December 4 and have some open ocean miles to cover. Among the presentations are “The Eclipse Experience and Safety” from Alex Fillipenko and a Q&A on Eclipse photography from our trip Photographer, Will. It sounds like fun times in the Lounge. It’s a repeat of the program I went to a couple nights ago. Maybe I’ll join the fun. Maybe not. It’s all good.

It’s simply the best.

Bruce