Mason scientist develops sport to arm customers in opposition to local weather change ‘faux information’
From cartoonist to Dr. Cartoonist to you!~cr
Information Launch Three-Dec-2019
New sport builds resilience in opposition to misinformation; ‘inoculates’ customers in opposition to faux information on local weather change; gamifies important pondering
George Mason College
IMAGE: New Cranky Uncle app makes use of gamification to debunk faux information on local weather change. Credit score: John Cook dinner, Cranky Uncle(tm) app
A George Mason College scientist is growing a cell sport that may educate customers to defend themselves from ‘faux information’ on local weather change.
ProfessorJohn Cook dinner, an professional on misinformation with Mason’s Middle for Local weather Change Communication, has launched a crowdfunding marketing campaign to allow growth of the sport, “Cranky Uncle,” for iPhone and Android telephones.
Cook dinner has spent over a decade finding out alternative ways to counter misinformation. He’s now combining his analysis into inoculation, important pondering, cartoon humor, and gamification, right into a cell sport.
“Misinformation does nice injury to society,” stated Professor Cook dinner, a member of Mason’s Institute for a Sustainable Earth. “A necessary resolution is making the general public extra resilient in opposition to faux information. However how? Gamification is a strong strategy that may probably attain many thousands and thousands of individuals.”
Within the sport, gamers are mentored by a cartoon Cranky Uncle who’s dismissive of local weather science. As they be taught to acknowledge the issues in Cranky Uncle’s arguments, they achieve factors. That is primarily based on a behavioral method referred to as lively inoculation.
“Earlier than turning into a scientist, I drew cartoons for a residing, “stated Cook dinner. “So, think about my delighted shock when after a decade of analysis, I found that cartoons had been a strong software in countering misinformation.”
Cook dinner has examined a prototype of the sport in numerous faculty courses. “My college students appreciated the mixture of humor and real-world examples, whereas I appreciated how engaged they had been in studying the right way to critically assume,” stated Professor Melanie Trecek-King at Massasoit Group Faculty, Massachusetts. “Studying how to not be fooled is empowering.”
The crowdfunding web page is at https://development.gmu.edu/crowdfunding-crankyuncle and extra info is on the market at http://crankyuncle.com.
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Web sites: http://crankyuncle.com http://skepticalscience.com
Biography
Dr. John Cook dinner is a analysis assistant professor at George Mason College, founding father of the Skeptical Science web site, and lead writer of a crowd-funded examine discovering 97% scientific consensus on local weather change. He has spent the final decade researching the right way to counter local weather science denial. His PhD into cognitive science discovered that inoculation, for explaining the strategies of denial, is the important thing to creating the general public resilient in opposition to misinformation. His analysis has explored important pondering and cartoon debunkings (dusting off his abilities as a former cartoonist). He’s now testing how cell video games can enhance important pondering in school rooms.
About George Mason College:
George Mason College is Virginia’s largest public analysis college. Situated close to Washington, D.C., Mason enrolls 38,000 college students from 130 international locations and all 50 states. Mason has grown quickly over the past half-century and is acknowledged for its innovation and entrepreneurship, exceptional range and dedication to accessibility. Be taught extra at http://www.gmu.edu.
In regards to the Middle for Local weather Change Communication
The Middle for Local weather Change Communication at George Mason College develops and applies social science insights to assist society make knowledgeable choices that may stabilize the earth’s life-sustaining local weather, and forestall additional hurt from local weather change. Be taught extra about our analysis and experience at https://www.climatechangecommunication.org/
In regards to the Institute for a Sustainable Earth
The Institute for a Sustainable Earth at George Mason College connects members of the Mason neighborhood with others throughout the Mason community-and with different communities, policy-makers, companies and organizations-so that, collectively, we will extra successfully deal with the world’s urgent sustainability and resilience challenges. Be taught extra at http://www.ise.gmu.edu
From EurekAlert!
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