In chapter 6 of Brook Jackson and Kathleen Hall Jamieson's book un-Spun finding facts in a world of disinformation they warn us about drawing conclusions from very little evidence. They advise us of the confusing of anecdotes with factual studies. The example used was of the published article "Do Crows Use Automobiles as Nutcrackers?" In this article the professor states that they saw the crows drop a nut in front of a car and waited for the car to run over it to crack it open. This lead them to believe that the crows were intellegent. Further studies were done over a period of time that proved that it was just a coincidence that the car passed as the nuts dropped.

The first lesson they share with us is "Don't confuse anecdotes with data". The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'. One or two stories do not prove anything. Studies supported by data have more credibility. We are also informed that we need to have an open mind and a willingness to consider all evidence in order to get a solid grip on the hard facts.

Lesson two: Remember the blind men and the elephant.
Our personal experiences seldom give us the full picture. During the Gulf War military briefers were only showing the public their successful attempts with the "smart bomb" causing the viewer to not realize their "smart" weapons missed several targets. Real evidence is gathered by systematicd studies and not all studies are legitimate.

Lesson three: Not all "Studies" are equal
When examining a study ask several questions such as "How old is the data?", "Who stands behind the information?", "how much guess work was involved?" An example was the study of homeless people in the U.S. was done by a count of people living in shelters or going through food service lines so if they were not using these services they were not in the count.

Lesson four: Saying it doesn't make it so
Constant repetition of the claim may have saused people to believe it, but repetition didn't make it true.

Lesson five: Extraordinary claims need extraordinary evidence
This lesson teaches us that any dramatic claim needs to be backed up by scientific evidence. Before accepting any claims, it is wise to make sure that it is a reputable source.

In Chapter 8 jackson and Jamieson give us a set of rules to follow in order to figure out if the facts and information we are receiving are true.

Rule #1: You can't be completely certain
Perfect knowledge is seldom if ever available to humans. New information is constantly arriving and the human learning is always expanding.

Rule #2: You can be certain enough
Weighing the facts is a matter of choosing the right standard of proof to give us the degree of certainty we need under the circumstances.

Rule #3: Look for General agreement among experts
We can be more confident about getting the facts correct when we start with facts that are widely accepted by authorities on all sides.

Rule #4: Check Primary sources
Information has a way of getting distorted so take the time to compare the news headlines with what the story actually says.

Rule #5: Know what counts
Statistics can be twisted around to get the results of what they are wanting you to think. Take the time to know what is actually being counted and what is being left out of the statistics.

Rule #6: Know who's talking
Know if the person recommending something to you has something to gain from it or if it really is your best interest.

Rule #7: Seeing shouldn't necessarily be believing
Often times people can talk us into seeing things that aren't really there. Often times we tend to overestimate how well we remember a past experience.

Rule #8: Cross-check everything that matters
If it really matters to you make sure that you are checking several different sources and seeing if they all agree upon it.

Final rule: Be skeptical, but not cynical
A skeptic requires reliable evidence to support the different claims made. A cynic automatically rejects what they hear. Do not assume that everything told to you is false. We should take the time to find the real evidence.