This week’s Things Worth Reading covers critiques of the data interpretations behind popular stories, how atheism can be uplifting, how our ideology colors our interpretations of facts, and high heels: hot or not?
- Maybe you saw the rape infographic that was circulating recently—the one with the numbers of rapists, reported rapists, convicted rapists, and falsely accused rapists? Unfortunately, it’s inaccurate and misleading. Amanda Marcotte wrote a great teardown with the real statistics at The XX.
- Perhaps you also saw the story last week about how we underestimate how much our personalities will change in the future? There is an interesting critique of the methods and interpretation of that study by math professor Jordan Ellenberg on his blog.
- The New York Times had a great piece on atheism in the face of tragedy this week by Susan Jacoby.
- Dan Kahan wrote a great post covering research on how ideology and political knowledge influence people’s reactions to factchecking (hint: it’s not good).
- Scicurious wrote an excellent piece on research about the sexiness of high heels.
Enjoy!
