Sound Science

About a year ago, some of us attended a CLLN (Canadian Literacy and Learning Network) webinar by T. Scott Murray. Most of us were surprised when he used the images of brain scans to bolster an argument.You can see our response here.

Today I watched a TEDTalk by Molly Crockatt (embedded below) about how neuroscientific research becomes headlines and headlines become products.

It seems that we were right to be skeptical about the science behind the claims Murray makes in the webinar.

At about the 4 minute mark she explains how including pictures of brains make us more likely to believe the claims made in an article or webinar.

The science of diagnosing reading diseases through the examination of brain scans may be junk but the idea of using brain scan images to add credibility to your claims is backed up by research. And so it goes.

“If someone tries to sell you something with a brain on it … ask to see the evidence. Ask for the part of the story that's not being told.”