Conspicuous Cognition

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Can experts save the public from error?
If the "problem of misinformation" refers to human fallibility, there is little reason to think credentialed experts can solve it.
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Dan Williams
15

September 2024

Tenet Media and the limited reach and impact of Russian disinformation
Russian incompetence, useless idiots, anti-establishment politics, and the perennial panic about foreign propaganda
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Dan Williams
20
Political animals
What role do bias and irrationality play in shaping people's political opinions?
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Dan Williams
46
America's epistemological crisis
Polarization, populism, and perspective
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Dan Williams
126
Note on paid subscriptions
An offer you can refuse
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Dan Williams
41
There is no "woke mind virus"
The ideas you dislike—whether wokeism, religion, or misinformation—are not “mind viruses” and do not spread via contagion. This framing seeks to…
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Dan Williams
149

August 2024

Contra critical theory
Academics are often rewarded for discovering novel ways of criticising and condemning Western societies. This generates lots of biased, one-sided…
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Dan Williams
32
Debunking Disinformation Myths, Part 3: The Prevalence and Impact of Fake News
Contrary to conventional wisdom, online fake news is rare and mainly consumed by a minority of social media users with pre-existing fringe views.
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Dan Williams
18
The social construction of bespoke realities
Self-deception often depends on epistemic teamwork.
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Dan Williams
74
Did online misinformation fuel the UK riots?
On the importance of thinking carefully about complex problems
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Dan Williams
42
Fashionable ideas
The aesthetics of information (and reflections on luxury beliefs).
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Dan Williams
78

July 2024

Why do people believe true things?
Ignorance and misperceptions are not puzzling. The challenge is to explain why some people see reality accurately.
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Dan Williams
83
© 2024 Dan Williams
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