OAImages Blog

Recenly, I posted here an entry about the endangered Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus.  It should have been obvious to everyone this was a hoax.  But that wasn’t so.

Researchers at the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education recently released the results of a study:

When researchers in the Neag School of Education asked 25 seventh-graders from middle schools across the state to review a web site devoted to a fictitious endangered species, the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus, the results troubled them:

• All 25 students fell for the Internet hoax;
• All but one of the 25 rated the site as “very credible;”
• Most struggled when asked to produce proof – or even clues – that the web site was false, even after the UConn researchers told them it was; and
• Some of the students still insisted vehemently that the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus really exists.

The students – identified as their schools’ most proficient online readers – are taking part in a federal research project, funded by a $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. 

The rest of the article about this can be seen at http://advance.uconn.edu/2006/061113/06111308.htm

While the students were only seventh graders it is not unreasonable to exepct them to possess enough critical thinking ability to see through such an obvious hoax.  Yet, they didn’t.

This should not be surprising.  This lack of critical reasoning is also common among adults.  There was a church in the US whose members fell Nigerian fraud scheme.  Folks give up their personal information to “verify” their PayPal accounts.  A recent caller to the Clark Howard show was concerned about one of these phishing schemes and didn’t know what to do even though she did NOT have a PayPal account and never used her credit card online!

During NOAC I started receiving phishing messages from FifthThird Bank.   As that bank is active in Michigan and not found in North Carolina, I became concerned that the wireless connection I used at Brueggers in East Lansing was not secure.    I feel better knowing this was not the case.   McAffee lists the top 10 phish scams in the past 24 hours, and FifthThird Bank currently accounts for almost 99% of such emails!

Folks commonly forward emails to their friend thinking they’re being helpful, but instead pass along hoaxes.   Some of these, like the reverse PIN panic code are so obviously false yet are believed.   A website, snopes.com, exists for the sole purpose of debunking urban legends.

Be skeptical.   Read critically.   Don’t believe what you read because it sounds good, or you feel good about it.   Rather think about what you’re reading.   Don’t be a victim of a phishing scheme, urban legend, or a campaign to save a nonexistent “endangered” species.