The More You Know: Internet Users Share 50 Cool Facts That Everyone Should Know

Steven agreed with Bored Panda that many of us can feel overwhelmed with responsibilities and feel like we don’t have much free time for leisure, let alone learning, as we grow up. However, all is not lost! There are ways to break out of the routine of stress and monotony.

“It's all too easy to get caught up in the stress of modern life and forget to notice extraordinary things around you. Go for a walk in nature and try to observe everything. Ask yourself, what's that? And if you don't know, take a photo and look it up,” Steven suggested.

One of the main things that you should aim to do is to remember what it was like to be a kid. Try to get back into the mindset you used to have when you were little to reignite your curiosity in the world. “The main problem is that once you're an adult, you think you know everything (or you think you should do), so you stop asking questions. You'll notice kids do it all the time. So to stay curious and learn new things, keep asking questions.”

I was interested to get Steven’s opinion about where we could start learning about science and other topics if we feel completely lost. He told Bored Panda that a pretty good place to start would be mainstream science TV programs on the topics that we’re already interested in.

“They'll cover a subject with easy-to-digest information that you can rely on and could inspire you to investigate further. Then you could move on to popular science books that go a bit further and deeper,” he shared. “Science podcasts and YouTube channels can also be a good idea. If you can't think of a topic, you could look at the science section of Wikipedia and go through the featured articles. If one grabs your interest, read it in full and follow links that interest you.”

We shouldn’t believe everything that we come across online, whether it’s on social media, a news website, or Reddit, the front page of the internet. It’s vital to look at things from a scientist’s point of view so you don’t get lost in the morass of potentially fake news.

Previously, I spoke to Lee McIntyre from Boston University’s Center for Philosophy and History of Science about how to separate good news sources from bad ones and why it’s important to be well-versed in media literacy.

"Repetition is important in making us believe things, whether they are true or not. There is a cognitive bias called the 'illusory truth effect' which is when we are repeatedly exposed to false information over and over and, over time, it begins to seem more plausible," Lee explained to Bored Panda.

"Social psychologists have known since the 1960s that repetition works, for truth or falsity. In fact, this idea goes back to Plato who said that it didn't hurt to repeat a true thing. And of course, for falsehood, this was one of the main propaganda tactics in Nazi Germany, where Hitler's propaganda minister understood the 'repetition effect.'"

However, double-checking and cross-referencing every single fact that we find online and every tiny item we hear on the news would be utterly exhausting. So we need a different approach.

“It would be exhausting to fact check every single news item we hear. In fact, insisting on this degree of skepticism is something that demagogues use to get us to be cynical, because when we doubt that it is possible to know the truth—even when it is staring us in the face—we are riper to their manipulation. So I'd say the best thing with news is to do a little investigation into finding a reliable source," the expert said.

"Look for an organization that does investigative journalism (and doesn't just repeat information from other sources), double sources its quotations, discloses conflicts of interest, etc. Once we've found that we can relax a bit and trust the reporting behind the stories. Do we still need to be on guard? Yes. Even The New York Times can make mistakes. Or individual reporters can have biases. But that doesn't mean 'all sources are equal.'"

Lee highlighted the importance of raising media literacy, as it helps sift through news and facts. "There are various sources for media literacy that can help. They teach this to KIDS in Finland! It's easy to learn. Is the story copyrighted? Is it dated? Is there a byline? Are other stories by the author solid? Is it published in a source that has been reliable in the past? Does it seem plausible— if not then you can do some research," he said what we should be aware of when looking at any news article.

"Will we get fooled sometimes in doing this? Yes. But we're going to get fooled sometimes anyway. It's analogous to how scientists form their beliefs. They are skeptics, but they also—at some point when the evidence is sufficient—give their assent. Scientists deal with warrant, not 'proof.' They are what philosophers call 'fallibilists.' You give your belief to things that are well-sourced with evidence, while always holding out the possibility that if further evidence comes to light that contradicts your belief, you should give it up because you might be wrong."