Follow the Science

The lack of scientific freedom was the quintessential title of a conference in Copenhagen Denmark on oct. 24/25 2022. On November 13 we look back on the event and what happened in the weeks following. This video is the unforeseen part 6 of a report we made on the Lack of Scientific Freedom Conference in Copenhagen, Oct. 24/25 2022. In this part Prof. Schippers talks about what happened to her after initial editing was completed and we were about to publish. More importantly, what we, all of us, can do together, to avoid such fighting amongst ourselves. Threats with litigation and penalty of damages up to 100.000€, for copyright infringement were made, while at ther same time copyright on our original work was violated. Emails to the other presenters urging them to retract their permission to be shown in this report were sent, and even letters to the dean of her institution, her employer, were sent in which Peter Gotzsche, the organizer, claims Schippers is abusing her title and has created an antivaxx video. We decided to proceed with publication on a path of transparency, after adding the introduction and conclusion parts to our report. The reports is in six parts: - introduction - 1 preface and impressions of day one of the conference - 2 interview with Harald Walach - 3 interview with Kim Witczak - 4 interview with Nicolas Vermeulen - 5 reflections and impressions of day two of the conference - 6 conclusions (this video) Links to all parts can be found on https://followthescience.nl/lack-of-scientific-freedom-causes-consequences-and-cures.html Intimidation does not solve the lack of scientific freedom, it exposes it. Our apologies to the audience and to the speakers who asked us to publish from their sessions. We refer you to the meeting organisers who also filmed at the event. We urge them to publish as transparently, as we had set out to do. ​Conflict amongst ourselves, only has losers. Let’s choose a different path.

Is science corrupted? Is it institutionalised? Can we reverse the trend? The lack of scientific freedom was the quintessential title of a conference in Copenhagen Denmark on oct. 24/25 2022 that Follow the Science reported on. A lack of transparency and scientific freedom seems to have consequences for scientists, some of whom even stated they were being fired and/or received death threats, and even had family members being threatened. We discuss causes, consequences and possible solutions. This video is part of a report we made on the Lack of Scientific Freedom Conference in Copenhagen, oct. 24/25 2022. In this report you'll find impressions of the lectures and debates by scientists such as John Ioannidis, Peter Gøtzsche and Tom Jefferson, and interviews by Michaéla Schippers and Rico Brouwer with some of the presenters. The reports is in six parts: - introduction (this video) - 1 preface and impressions of day one of the conference - 2 interview with Harald Walach - 3 interview with Kim Witczak - 4 interview with Nicolas Vermeulen - 5 reflections and impressions of day two of the conference - 6 conclusions Links to all parts can be found on https://followthescience.nl/lack-of-scientific-freedom-causes-consequences-and-cures.html Thank you to the organisation for allowing us to film at the event and conduct these interviews. The lectures and debates can be seen in whole through the event website. event website: https://www.scientificfreedom.dk/2021/12/15/lack-of-scientific-freedom-causes-consequences-and-cures/

Michaéla was te gast in de Waarschijnlijk Waargebeurd show van 15 oktober 2022, om vanuit haar expertise te vertellen over societal decline. Waarschijnlijk Waargebeurd zijn maandeljkse voor publiek opgenomen voorstellingen waarin dialoog, theater en muziek elkaar afwisselen. Onderdeel van het programma is een interview met Rico Brouwer. De bijdrage van Michaéla in interview hebben we hier met toestemming overgenomen (bron: https://waarschijnlijkwaargebeurd.nl/afleveringen/show-5-michaela-schippers-academische-vrijheid

Just like an army of ants in the animal kingdom, individuals, groups and even whole societies are sometimes caught up in a death spiral. A vicious cycle of self-reinforcing dysfunctional behavior. According to prof. Schippers, a death spiral is characterized by continuous flawed decision making where one bad decision leads to another, which can even lead to the collapse of an individual, group or society. This conversation with Prof. Jordan B. Peterson was recorded backstage at RAI Amsterdam sept 25th 2022, just before his Beyond Order show. You can hear the venue calling people to their seats (and Prof. Peterson to the stage). Prof. Jordan Peterson says that an important problem is wilful blindness, people keep themselves intentionally unaware of facts, i.e. they turn a blind eye. Another problem he points out is an epidemic of narcissism, or self-love. As a solution he thinks people should become more involved in society. In order for people to find out what they can contribute to society, participating in self-authoring (https://www.selfauthoring.com/future-authoring) and Letters to the future (https://www.greatcitizensmovement.org/how-to/) is a good start. Also, reading and signing the Great Citizens Declaration (https://www.greatcitizensmovement.org/signing-the-declaration/) might be a good first step on escaping the ant mill and creating a brighter future for ourselves and the world. On Follow the Science: https://followthescience.nl/interviews/jordan-b-peterson-and-michaela-schippers-death-spiral-were-in-an-epidemic-of-narcissism-and-bad-decision-making

Just like an army of ants in the animal kingdom, individuals, groups and even whole societies are sometimes caught up in a death spiral, a vicious cycle of self-reinforcing dysfunctional behavior. According to prof. Schippers, a death spiral is characterized by continuous flawed decision making where one bad decision leads to another, which can even lead to the collapse of an individual, group or society. In this episode of Follow the Science, prof. Schippers explains what a death spiral is, how you can recognize it and how individuals, groups and even societies can snap out of it. In order for you to reflect on your own personal life, and find out what you can contribute to society, participating in life crafting (https://ikigaitv.nl/life-crafting/) and Letters to the future (https://www.greatcitizensmovement.org/how-to/) is a good start. Also, reading and signing the Great Citizens Declaration (https://www.greatcitizensmovement.org/signing-the-declaration/) might be a good first step on escaping the ant mill and creating a brighter future for ourselves and the world. on Follow the Science: https://followthescience.nl/psychology-in-practice/4-the-death-spiral

Mensen en media betichten elkaar soms van discriminatie en daar ontstaat bij tijd en wijle veel ophef over. Naar aanleiding van commotie die is ontstaan over een recente uitzending van omroep Ongehoord Nederland over racisme, vertelt prof. of Behavioral science Michaéla Schippers aan Journalist Rico Brouwer waar die neiging tot het maken van onderscheid op uiterlijkheden vandaan komt, hoe je er ook tegen aan kunt kijken en wat je er aan kunt doen. Discriminatie is letterlijk “het maken van onderscheid”. Onderscheid maken op basis van bepaalde kenmerken, is iets wat mensen soms van nature doen. Zo maken we bijvoorbeeld ook vaak onderscheid op grond van prestaties. We vinden het leuk om te zien wie er op de Olympische Spelen gaat winnen en de winnaar geven we aandacht en een prijs, terwijl er voor verliezers weinig tot geen aandacht is. Andere, meer willekeurige vormen van discriminatie, zoals het onderscheid maken op grond van ras, geslacht en religie zijn bij wet verboden; artikel één van zowel de grondwet als van het burgerlijk wetboek in Nederland gaan over het recht op gelijke behandeling en het verbod op discriminatie. Het minimale groepsparadigma in de sociale psychologie is een methode om te onderzoeken wat de minimale voorwaarden zijn om discriminatie te laten ontstaan. De neiging om de eigen groep (“ingroup”) te bevoordelen ten opzichte van de andere groep (“outgroup”) blijkt zelfs al te ontstaan als op willekeurige gronden onderscheid wordt gemaakt. Zo zal het opplakken van rode en blauwe stickers in een experiment mensen al automatische het gevoel geven dat ze tot verschillende groepen behoren. Bij het verdelen van schaarse middelen, of iets waarvan mensen denken dat het schaars is, zullen mensen geneigd zijn de eigen groep te bevoordelen. In deze video vertelt prof. Schippers wat discriminatie is, hoe je het kunt herkennen in het dagelijks leven en hoe je met de ongewenste vormen van discriminatie om kunt gaan. op Follow the Science: https://followthescience.nl/on-the-news.html Omroep Ombusman "In de afgelopen drie dagen hebben zich meer dan 1750 mensen tot de ombudsman gewend met opmerkingen en klachten over de inhoud van een uitzending van Ongehoord Nederland van 15 september 2022. De klachten concentreren zich voornamelijk rond een item met daarin beelden van geweld van zwarte mensen tegen witte mensen. De inhoud van dat item en het gesprek dat hierover met een studiogast werd gevoerd, worden door klagers discriminerend, opruiend, haat zaaiend en racistisch genoemd. Ook zijn er klachten over het verspreiden van onjuiste informatie en de presentatoren zouden zich onvoldoende journalistiek opstellen in dit en andere onderdelen van het programma." (Omroep Ombudsman: Racisme-klachten over ON: wat gebeurt er nu https://www.omroepombudsman.nl/uitspraken-en-columns/racisme-klachten-over-on-wat-gebeurt-er-nu) Ongehoord Nederland "Met verbazing verneemt het bestuur van omroep Ongehoord Nederland de reactie van de NPO op de uitzending van het opinie-programma Ongehoord Nieuws van 15 september 2022. Volgens de NPO zouden daarbij ‘de grenzen van racistische of discriminerende uitlatingen’ zijn bereikt. Volgens het bestuur van ON! is daarvan geen enkele sprake en is dat ook nooit de bedoeling geweest. Onder de vraagstelling: ‘Racisme, wie doen het?’ en ‘Wie is een racist?’ is aandacht besteed aan de ruzie en de beschuldigingen van racisme bij de partij BIJ1. Deze situatie werd door schrijfster Shohreh Feshtali van Iraanse afkomst en prof. dr. Paul Cliteur, emeritus hoogleraar Encyclopedie van de rechtswetenschap, geduid. Daarbij heeft Ongehoord Nederland niemand willen beledigen. De kernboodschap van het item was juist de oproep van studiogast Paul Cliteur dat (alle) mensen elkaar meer als mensen zouden moeten gaan zien." (Voorzitter Ongehoord Nederland: Verklaring omroep Ongehoord Nederland naar aanleiding van uitzending 15 september 2022 https://ongehoordnederland.tv/2022/09/16/persberichten/verklaring-omroep-ongehoord-nederland-naar-aanleiding-van-uitzending-15-september-2022/ ) NPO "Naar aanleiding van een item over racisme in de uitzending van Ongehoord Nieuws van Ongehoord Nederland donderdag 15 september, laat Frederieke Leeflang, voorzitter van de raad van bestuur van NPO, weten dat hiermee de grens van de redactionele vrijheid is bereikt." (Reactie NPO op uitzending Ongehoord Nieuws 15 september https://pers.npo.nl/persberichten/reactie-npo-op-uitzending-ongehoord-nieuws-15-september ) Uitzending gemist: https://www.npostart.nl/ongehoord-nieuws/15-09-2022/VPWON_1339274

Cognitive dissonance occurs when a person has two contradicting cognitions (e.g., “I smoke a lot and I like to continue doing this” and ”smoking is bad for my health”). This causes an uncomfortable feeling. People can choose to solve this and engage in cognitive dissonance reduction in two ways: (1) by changing their attitude (“conclude that research on smoking is inconclusive” or “my uncle was very old when he died and he smoked a lot”), or (2) by changing their behavior (quit smoking). This is part 3 in a series of short conversations about behavioral manipulation and how to deal with it. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfS_7Xe5C4IXVBMv7P2YsZDbjwDd2ryBZ Most people experience conflicting cognitions from time to time, often between short term rewards and long-term adverse consequences. These can for instance be about health and pleasure, eating unhealthy or smoking may give short-term rewards but these often have long-term adverse consequences. People who do not want to give up their habits (or sometimes their world-view) will be inclined to rationalize their actions, for instance by remembering a family member who lived to be 82 with an unhealthy habit such as smoking a lot. In this film, prof. Schippers explains what it is, how you can recognize it and will give tips on how you can try to optimize decisions in your life. Follow the Science website https://followthescience.nl/psychology-in-practice/cognitive-dissonance Write your own Letter to the Future: https://www.greatcitizensmovement.org/about-letters-to-the-future/

A prisoner’s dilemma is a paradoxical situation in which individuals appearing to choose for their self-interest, will not have an optimal outcome as a group. In a classic prisoner’s dilemma, individuals have the greatest payoffs if they betray the group instead of cooperating with the others. While choosing self-interest is incentivized, in repeating the game, players can devise a strategy that would actually rewards cooperation. In the classic prisoner’s dilemma two bank robbers, arrested and interrogated in separate rooms, have a choice to cooperate (not betray each other by remaining silent) or to defect (betray the other by testifying). The authorities can only prove the case if they can convince at least one of them to betray the other and testify. Both robbers can minimize total jail time by cooperating and remaining silent, but they are better off individually if they defect (i.e. betray the other). The best-case scenario in terms of shorter jail time for both is when they both cooperate and remain silent. In society, this is often shown as the “tragedy of the commons”, where it is in the collective interest not to deplete collective natural resources (e.g., a grassland for grazing), but it appears to be in the individual interest to take “as much as possible” from the collective resources. In society, people are often taught to take the best interest of society in mind, and there are often incentives in place to do so. Also, people reciprocate behavior, and for instance reward kindness and collaboration. This is part 5 in a series of short conversations about behavioral manipulation and how to deal with it. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfS_7Xe5C4IXVBMv7P2YsZDbjwDd2ryBZ

Agnotology -- culturally induced ignorance or doubt, particularly the publication of inaccurate or misleading scientific data--, is something of all times, but it seems especially an issue in current times. While many instances claim to “follow the science”, it seems science is not settled on this point. This is part 2 in a series of short conversations about behavioral manipulation and how to deal with it. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfS_7Xe5C4IXVBMv7P2YsZDbjwDd2ryBZ This video is about what agnotology is, how you could recognize it and what you can do about it yourself. What may help you assess information? What is (mis)information, but information that we can filter for ourselves? People have trouble weighing the information from science due to agnotology (see for instance Frontiers | For the Greater Good? The Devastating Ripple Effects of the Covid-19 Crisis (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.577740/full) and Full article: Covid-19: agnotology, inequality, and leadership (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13678868.2020.1779544) According to Wikipedia (Agnotology - Wikipedia): “Active causes of culturally-induced ignorance can include the influence of the media, corporations, and governmental agencies, through secrecy and suppression of information, document destruction, and selective memory”. If people know how to best select information, we can counteract the problem of the politicized debate that divides science. website: https://followthescience.nl/practical-psychology/agnotology

Gaslighting uitgelegd. Hoe kan je het herkennen in je relatie, op het werk en in de maatschappij? Wat kun je er aan doen? Praktische psychologie met prof Schippers. Wat je altijd al wilde weten over Gedragsmanipulatie en hoe ermee om te gaan. Dit is deel 1 in een serie korte gesprekken over gedragsmanipulatie en hoe ermee om te gaan https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfS_7Xe5C4IXVBMv7P2YsZDbjwDd2ryBZ Bij gaslighting verdraait iemand de waarheid om zo een ander steeds meer aan zichzelf te laten twijfelen. Dit geeft macht: hoe onzekerder het slachtoffer is, hoe meer hij of zij vertrouwt op en afhankelijk wordt van de gaslighter. website: https://followthescience.nl/practical-psychology/gaslighting

Do you also sometimes feel that it is difficult to keep up in the present time? That a lot is asked of you, but you sometimes don't have time to think about who you are and what you want? That you sometimes wish you were a little happier? That you would like to experience more meaning in life? In this talk, created for the Global Positive Health Initiative 2022 conference, Prof. Michaéla Schippers tells you how you can find more meaning in life using a life crafting challenge. Find the challenge here: https://ikigaitv.nl/nl/life-crafting-challenge/. Start finding more meaning in life starting with this challenge today! Ikigai TV (https://ikigaitv.nl/nl/life-crafting-challenge/) Life Crafting Challenge Door deze “challenge” te doen, kun je reflecteren op de doelen die je het liefst zou willen nastreven in je leven. Dus niet de doelen die anderen voor je in gedachten hebben, of wat je zelf vindt dat je zou moeten doen, maar wat je zelf het liefst zou

As a Professor in Behaviour and Performance Managament, Michaela Scheepers talks about the importance of goal-setting and the impact this can have on your life, and offers an innovative approach for effective life crafting that everyone can apply in their own life. Do the life crafting challenge here: https://ikigaitv.nl/life-crafting/ Read more here: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02778/full This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx Originally published 3 feb. 2020 on TEDx Talks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jhjw8bJy2tQ

Tijdens de Nacht van de Nieuwe Wereld in Rotterdam 9 juli 2022 een tweegesprek tussen hoogleraren Michaéla Schippers en Mattias Desmet over massavorming en hoe die te doorbreken; de rol van kleinschaligheid, dankbaarheid en positieve psychologie. - Wat kun je zelf doen (zoals besproken in de video): - dankbaarheid beoefenen (Dankbaarheidsbrief Challenge - Ikigai TV; https://ikigaitv.nl/nl/dankbaarheidsbrief-challenge/), - Great Citizens Declaration (Burgerverklaring) lezen en tekenen (Teken de Veklaring – https://www.greatcitizensmovement.org/signing-the-declaration/) - een eigen “brief aan de toekomst (Over Brieven aan de Toekomst – https://www.greatcitizensmovement.org/about-letters-to-the-future/) schrijven en die in de praktijk brengen. interview en reportage: https://followthescience.nl

Rico Brouwer talks to professor of behavior and performance management Michaéla Schippers about the psychological and sociological effects of the corona measures. Professor Schippers, speaking on a personal note, tells about the research she did regarding the ripple effects of the non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as lockdowns, curfews etc. that have had a profound effect on the economy and well-being of billions of people world-wide. Her most recent paper, with John Ioannidis, Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology and Population Health, as well as professor of statistics and of biomedical data science. Prof. Ioannidis is one of the most cited researchers in the world. A second co-author on this paper is Ari Joffe, clinical professor at the University of Alberta. The paper discussed is: M.C., Ioannidis, J. & Joffe (2022). Aggressive Measures, Rising Inequalities and Mass Formation During the COVID-19 Crisis: An Overview and Proposed Way Forward. Accepted for publication on July 25th. https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6957343373212958720/ published paper: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.950965/abstract (Under review. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4118910 ) Rico and prof Schippers discuss how the measures relate to mass formation, loss of livelihood, rise in hunger and inequalities. They then discuss a better way forward, and what each of us can do to make the situation better for themselves and others. They discuss an intervention: Letters to the future” that each of us can write. The intervention is based on positive psychology. People are asked to think about the ideal world when there are no constraints and to think about what the world will look like if we do not change anything. In the second part of the intervention each person can think of ways to contribute to a better world, be a small or big. Here you can take part: Letters to the Future Challenge - Ikigai TV, https://ikigaitv.nl more: https://followthescience.nl

Follow the Science: Talks with scientists that critically assess the current situation and propose a (better) way forward. Guests speak on a personal note with Dr. Michaéla Schippers, professor of Behavior & Performance Management, and journalist Rico Brouwer. https://ikigaitv.nl/ https://followthescience.nl/ https://www.greatcitizensmovement.org/

Follow the Science: Talks with scientists that critically assess the current situation and propose a (better) way forward. Guests speak on a personal note with Dr. Michaéla Schippers, professor of Behavior & Performance Management, and journalist Rico Brouwer. https://ikigaitv.nl/ https://followthescience.nl/ https://www.greatcitizensmovement.org/