The official slogan of Quantified is “Fat-free and dolphin safe”, which is a lighthearted poke at sensational claims written on the packaging of the things we buy.
You see, we endure true tests of critical thinking everyday – junk science. “Science” makes everything sound authentic. Marketers know this, and that’s why you have packages screaming “33% better!” (better than what?) and “100% natural!” (as opposed to unnatural?).
Marketers know that tarting up products with pseudo-scientific claims automatically make them legitimate to most folks – even if the scientific studies behind it are a sham. “The hucksters know the superficial cues better than most people, and have long ago adopted all of the code-words and mannerisms that children are conditioned to perceive as ‘scientific’,” Joshua Allen wrote recently. “What we have is a wolf in sheep’s clothing; superstition masquerading as science. And adults are basically defenseless, because we have been taught only to fear things that look like wolves.”
For an eye-opener, a writer from Popular Science has chronicled “1O6 Science Claims and a Truckful of Baloney” he had encountered in a single day. Make the decision yourself.