Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Have you ever wondered why even smart people fall for hoaxes, pseudoscience, and conspiracy theories? Or why giving people facts doesn’t change their minds? This presentation explores how our brains and social circles can make us vulnerable to false or misleading information and how curiosity and skepticism can help us navigate today’s information landscape … and even connect with people who disagree with us.
This talk was part of the exciting lineup for CSICon 2024. CSICon is the premiere conference in the US for science and skepticism.
Learn more at: csiconference.org
Melanie Trecek-King is the creator of Thinking Is Power—whose name is a riff on the old adage “knowledge is power”—which emphasizes learning the ability to find and use reliable information to make wiser decisions. Thinking Is Power uses accessible language and engaging graphics to demonstrate how to think, not what to think, and empowers learners to protect themselves from misinformation.
Trecek-King is an associate professor of biology at Massasoit Community College, where she teaches an award-winning science course designed to equip general-education students with essential critical thinking, information literacy, and science literacy skills.
An active writer, speaker, and consultant, Trecek-King loves to share her “teach skills, not facts” approach with other science educators and help schools and organizations meet their goals through better thinking.
This talk took place during CSICon in Las Vegas on October 25, 2024
Have you ever wondered why even smart people fall for hoaxes, pseudoscience, and conspiracy theories? Or why giving people facts doesn’t change their minds? This presentation explores how our brains and social circles can make us vulnerable to false or misleading information and how curiosity and skepticism can help us navigate today’s information landscape … and even connect with people who disagree with us.
This talk was part of the exciting lineup for CSICon 2024. CSICon is the premiere conference in the US for science and skepticism.
Learn more at: csiconference.org
Melanie Trecek-King is the creator of Thinking Is Power—whose name is a riff on the old adage “knowledge is power”—which emphasizes learning the ability to find and use reliable information to make wiser decisions. Thinking Is Power uses accessible language and engaging graphics to demonstrate how to think, not what to think, and empowers learners to protect themselves from misinformation.
Trecek-King is an associate professor of biology at Massasoit Community College, where she teaches an award-winning science course designed to equip general-education students with essential critical thinking, information literacy, and science literacy skills.
An active writer, speaker, and consultant, Trecek-King loves to share her “teach skills, not facts” approach with other science educators and help schools and organizations meet their goals through better thinking.
This talk took place during CSICon in Las Vegas on October 25, 2024
