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"\7hy Should I
Believe a \7ord
of This?"
ANDRE'\T FRAKNOI
The following is Dr. Andrew Fraknoi\ 2016 commencement address giuen at Foothill Colbge,
where he is an astronom! prlfessor. Frahnoi was awarded the 2007 California Professor of the Year
by the Carnegie Foundation for the Aduancement of Teaching and the Council for Aduancement
and Support of Education. He is afellow of the Committeefor Sheptical Inquiry.
Today, I would like to speak to you, as a When I tell my students that thousands
scientist and an educator, and focus on one ofplanets surround the other stars we see in
theme. the slg' and that a number of those planets
I hope that your time at Foothill College are now known to resemble our own Earth
has given you new skills, better information in important ways, they have every right to
abour nature and history, and new enjoy- ask,"\Thyshouldlbelieveawordofthis?"
ment of the humanities and the arts. But \7hen I share with my students that
I hope your years with us have been about ancient Mars was much more like the Earth,
I hope you have also learned to ask questions.
Because it is through clear-headed questioning that we
keep learning. And the one question I hope you will
continue asking, the one question I especially encourage
my students to ask in class, is:
"Why should I believe a word of this?"
country makes derisive statements about peo-
ple of one nationaliry or one religion, I hope
you can ask them and yoursel{, "Why should
I believe a word of this?"
\7hen some snake-oil salesman is trying
to sell you a medical cure that lies way out-
side the realm of serious medical knowledge,
such as homeopathy or psychic surgery, I
hope you will take a moment and ask them
and yourself, "\Xr'hy should I believe a word
of this?"
When some spokesman for the coal
industry is trying to convince you that global
warming is not real and humanity's role in it
is not established, I hope you can ask them
and yourself, "Why should I believe a word
of this?"
When a conspiracy-monger tells vou that
vaccinarion ."r..,r., "urisri"o, ,h", NASA
faked the landings on the Moon, I hope you
can ask them and yourself, "Why should I
believe a word of this?"
And after you have asked that question,
be sure you examine the evidence carefully
and thoroughly.
Students, you have grown up in the Internet
age and now have the full world of infor-
mation at your fingertips day and night.
Unfortunately, that also means that you have
the full world of misinformation at your fin-
gertips day and night!
What I hope your college education has
helped teach you is to sift and examine that
vasr store of information carefully, to find
out what experiments and statistically valid
studies have shown and not shown, and to
consider who stands to benefit from out-
rageous claims. In other words, to look for
facts. Facts can shine their light into the dark
places of our culture and illuminate them.
It's no coincidence that one of the key
things the gun lobby got the Congress to
do for them was to forbid the Centers for
Disease Control and the National Institutes
of Health to gather facts about the epidemic
of gun violence that is washing over our
country. Facts have a way of focusing our
attention on the real world and not our fan-
tasies, prejudices, or delusions.
So, what I most want to wish for you is
that you will have a fact-based life-a clear-
headed, questioning life-as you make your
way beyond Foothill Coliege and into our
challenging world. E
more than just skills and information.
I hope you have also learned to ask ques-
tions. Because it is through clear-headed
questioning that we keep learning. And the
one question I hope you will continue asking,
the one question I especially encourage my
students to ask in class, is: "Why should I
believe a word of this?"
\ffhen I tell students that most of the
atoms in their bodies were "constructed" for
them in the hot centers and final explosions
of massive stars, they have every right to ask,
"\X4ry should I believe a word of this?"
with a thicker atmosphere, rivers, and lakes
and could have been a site for the first stir-
rings of lifc, they have every right to ask,
"\Mhy should I believe a word of this?"
In my introductory science courses, we
give the evidence, the observations, and
experiments that have led us to these conclu-
sions so that students can evaluate the steps
that led us to them.
But I hope our students will continue to
ask that crucial question even when the top-
ics turn away from science.
V{hen a candidate for high office in this
5Skepticaf Briels . Winler 2016/17