Mark Twain famously (though presumably apocryphally) mentioned we should always by no means let the reality get in the best way of a great story. Archaelogists would possibly beg to vary, notably when the story in query is a dramatic rewriting of human historical past that – because the president of the Society of American Archaeology, Daniel Sandweiss, has famous – has a long-standing hyperlink with racist ideologies.
This narrative claims that the acquainted historical civilisations of Eurasia, Africa and the Americas drew inspiration from a mysterious superior tradition that predated all of them. Archaeologists are assured that no such civilisation ever existed, however they’re additionally conscious that persuading believers to reject the story is a troublesome process.
Nevertheless, as we discover in our interview with archaeologist Flint Dibble in “The archaeologist preventing claims about a sophisticated misplaced civilisation”, they might have discovered a profitable technique within the type of the “reality sandwich”. On this debating method, archaeologists first start by discussing actual data, what their analysis has revealed in regards to the previous. Then they deal with the false data – on this case explaining how the info go away no room for this misplaced civilisation – earlier than returning to and re-emphasising the true data.
The reality sandwich gained reputation after it was formalised by linguist George Lakoff in 2018. It’s tempting to imagine that it may possibly persuade audiences to desert perception in false narratives. However can it? One of the simplest ways to seek out out, in fact, is thru managed experiments. The primary such analysis has now been performed, and it presents a blended image. Reality sandwiches seem to be efficient in sure contexts however not in others, the place other ways to construction an argument are extra persuasive.
These conflicting outcomes may appear problematic, however they’re truly proof of scientific inquiry at work – a course of that entails testing concepts and refining hypotheses in mild of recent information. It’s only this method that may actually uncover the easiest way to deal with misinformation. Or, to place it one other means, science ought to by no means let a great story get in the best way of the reality.
Matters:
- archaeology/
- historical people