On Episode 574 of Teaching in Higher Ed, I am joined by Alex Edmonds, Professor of Finance at London Business School and expert on data interpretation and bias. We delve into the intricate ways that stories, statistics, and studies can reinforce and exploit our biases, even when the facts themselves are accurate. Alex Edmonds reflects on popular examples, from the 10,000-hour rule to the marshmallow test, illustrating how commonly accepted narratives can be misleading due to flawed underlying evidence or misinterpreted causality.

Our conversation explores the concept of lies, not only as outright falsehoods but also as subtle misrepresentations that shape how we understand the world. We discuss the importance of healthy skepticism, strategies for examining evidence more critically, and the value in engaging with perspectives different from our own. Alex also shares insights from his book, May Contain Lies, aiming to help educators and students alike recognize and address misinformation in its many nuanced forms.

Resources from the episode:

• May Contain Lies: How stories, statistics and studies exploit our biases — and what we can do about it, by Alex Edmans
• Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell
• Cookie Monster Practices Self-Regulation | Life Kit Parenting | NPR
• Addiction Rare in Patients Treated with Narcotics
• Taking A Mosaic Approach to AI in the Writing Classroom, presented by Chris Ostro
• All Else Equal Podcast
• A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara

Episode topics:

• Exploring the Nature of Lies in Education
• Storytelling, Causality, and Misinformation
• Confirmation Bias as Human Tendency
• Recognizing and Mitigating Personal Biases
• Building Critical Thinking through Evidence Examination
• Healthy Skepticism Versus Conspiratorial Thinking
• Creating Organizational Cultures of Smart Thinking

Discussion questions:

1. What makes a “lie” in the context of education, and how do subtle forms of misinformation differ from outright falsehoods according to Alex Edmonds?
2. What role does confirmation bias play in how we receive and spread information and how can we guard against it?
3. How might “how something makes you feel” be a helpful indicator in assessing our own susceptibility to bias or misinformation?
4. What concrete steps can educators take to encourage students to think critically about the evidence behind popular claims or statistics?
5. How can academic environments better foster open disagreement and diverse perspectives and why is this cultural “muscle” important?

Related Episodes

On Episode 492, Mike Caulfield shares about Verified: How to Think Straight, Get Duped Less, and Make Better Decisions About What to Believe Online, which he co-authored with Sam Wineburg.

Quotable Words

The quote from Episode 492 with Mike Caulfield that I have now committed to memory is:

I want you to have the tools to be taken seriously.

Who can argue with that? I’ve found myself repeating versions in it, as I seek to equip students to use SIFT.

Next Week’s Episode

On the upcoming episode of Teaching in Higher Ed, I’m joined by Rolin Moe to talk about rebuilding trust in the value of education (among other things).

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My book: The Productive Online and Offline Professor: A Practical Guide, provides approaches to help you turn your intentions into action. I also write an advice column for EdSurge: Toward Better Teaching: Office Hours With Bonni Stachowiak

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Disclosures

Affiliate income disclosure: Books that are recommended on the podcast link to the Teaching in Higher Ed bookstore on Bookshop.org. All affiliate income gets donated to the LibroMobile Arts Cooperative (LMAC), established in 2016 by Sara Rafael Garcia.”

Notice: Portions of these weekly updates are produced using CastMagic.io, which uses AI to produce a draft of the transcript, identify key quotes, highlight themes, etc.