Interesting article - misinformation (general not e-cig specific)

[Vap0rJay]

Stumbled across this article about misinformation and found it rather relevant considering the plethora of misinformation being put out on e-cigs. It's not "about" e-cigs per say... but it’s an interesting read in its own right.

The Surprising Way Television Can Make You Believe Things That Aren't True | Culture | AlterNet

Newly published research suggests nuggets of misinformation embedded in a fictional television program can seep into our brains and lodge there as perceived facts. What’s more, this troubling dynamic seems to occur even when our initial response is skepticism.

That’s the conclusion of a study published in the journal Human Communication Research. It asserts that, immediately after watching a show containing a questionable piece of information, we’re aware of where the assertion came from, and take it with an appropriate grain of salt. But this all-important skepticism diminishes over time, as our memory of where we heard the fact or falsehood in question dims.

The Surprising Way Television Can Make You Believe Things That Aren't True | Culture | AlterNet

 

[Nunnster]

Good read. I hope that I am intelligent enough to realize this and not fall victim to it.

 

[Kanlee]

Kind of like those movies that are based on actual events.I have checked on some of these and they are very very loosely based on actual events.

 

[DC2]

Good read. I hope that I am intelligent enough to realize this and not fall victim to it.

If you forget where you heard it, and forget how much stock you intially put into your opinion after reading it...
It is likely that you will fall victim to this phenomenon.

So depending on if you are as old as me (45) you just might find yourself victimized.


And by the way, this happens to me all the time.
I am scarcely able to remember where I heard what I heard, or why I felt comfortable believeing it.

And that leads to not being sure I still believe it.

And I used to have a VERY good memory.
But now I forget more than I remember.

But I still remember to get those damn kids off my lawn.

 

[Vocalek]

I know that feeling, DC3. I told my husband just this morning, "I have a mind like a steel trap."

He said, "You mean nothing gets out?"

"Yup."

To put it into IT terms, I don't have a storage problem, I have a data retrieval problem.

 

[dee5]

So that's why our parents always told us "Too much television will rot your brain"!

 

[Vocalek]

I know that feeling, DC3. I told my husband just this morning, "I have a mind like a steel trap."

He said, "You mean nothing gets out?"

"Yup."

To put it into IT terms, I don't have a storage problem, I have a data retrieval problem.

Well this explains it:

Cigarette abstinence impairs memory... [Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2008] - PubMed - NCBI

Cigarette abstinence impairs memory and metacognition despite administration of 2 mg nicotine gum.

Abstract

The authors assessed the effects of cigarette abstinence (nonabstinent vs. minimum 8 hours abstinent) and nicotine gum (0 mg vs. 2 mg nicotine) on sustained attention, free recall, and metacognition using a within-subjects design. Moderate smokers (10 women and 22 men) received one training session followed by four test sessions on consecutive days. Nicotine gum improved sustained attention in both abstinent and nonabstinent states, but had no significant effect on predicted or actual recall levels. Cigarette abstinence significantly impaired free recall and reduced the magnitude of participants' predictions of their own performance. In addition, participants were significantly more overconfident about their future memory when abstinent. Thus, nicotine gum can improve smokers' performance in basic aspects of cognition (e.g., sustained attention) but may not alleviate the detrimental effects of cigarette abstinence on higher-level processes such memory and metacognition.