Words can sometimes hide the truth and many of us are deluded into believing lies.
We are conditioned by evolution to learn from our parents and our teachers. Our very survival depends on this habit. The more we know about the world the better the chance of living a good life and raising our children to adulthood.
So we are quick to believe anything unless it is obviously not true. A child can be made to believe that an apple tree will grow out of her head if she swallows a seed. Many people have beliefs so strongly held that they will sacrifice their lives.
Evolution has conditioned us to be wary of people who don't look like us or who have different habits or beliefs. Often we can be suspicious, or frightened, of such people and can be easily convinced that they are dangerous. Occasionally we may even attack and kill them.
Many young people will accept a drink or a cigarette or some other substance from a casual acquaintance or a friend and put it into their bodies without knowing if it will seriously harm or kill them. Even lemmings have more sense than to take such risks.
We are not born with an innate skepticism so we are easily duped by someone who has a reason (money or power) to control our lives.
Bio-hacking is the latest word to fool us into another potentially dangerous nutrition fad otherwise known as crash dieting or eating disorder.
Bio-hacking simply means experimenting on yourself (or others) to prove that you can develop a healthier or more attractive body or enhance powers. David Asprey CEO of Bulletproof (which sells supplements) call biohacking, 'The Art and Science of becoming superhuman.'
The promoters use terms like, enhancing, human optimizing, disrupting, upgrading, brain boosting, keto diet, cutting edge science and meaningless terms like, fitness, energize, vitalize, detox, cleanse. Geoff Woo, is CEO of HVMN company, previously known as Nootrobox. He manufactures and sells a ketone ester drink. 'We relentlessly pursue human optimization.'
But there is no science involved. Experimenters are working with a sample of one, highly biassed observer. There are no randomized blind trials on thousands of people with control groups on placebos, no unbiased observers and, anyway, no true scientist would conduct potentially dangerous experiments on vulnerable people, even with their approval.
What to do?
Be skeptical of information unless it is from an unbiased person whom you trust, like your parents, doctors and teachers accredited by your educational institutions.
But be cautious, even trusted sources can make honest mistakes. Parents may pass along some folk tale they got from their grandfather. Many lies are sold by invoking science but even scientists have been know to fake evidence to support a conclusion or to write software which confirms a biassed projection. Science is never conclusive. And nobody can prove that something will NOT happen.
Never accept urban legends without proof.
Check any significant information using at least one other unbiased source such as a accredited university. But even then, be wary.
Do not automatically believe anyone selling something.
If everyone is saying the same thing, there is a good chance it is not true.
Scams
Information theft is now big business. Criminals are stealing billions of dollars each year with increasingly more sophisticated scams. Don't be conned by free offers or messages saying you have won a prize.
Many people have been ripped off by people calling, emailing or texting with extortion threats or simply conning victims into given them money or into providing information that can be used to steal money. One person discovered that a criminal had stolen information about his identity and use it to get a very large mortgage on his house. He found out about it when the mortgage company demanded he start paying down the mortgage.
Currently, most people are aware of the Nigerian prince scam that promises big money gains for a victim if they put a little money upfront to help with legal cost to regain the prince's fortune. If the victim sends a few hundred dollars he or she will be asked for more until they realized that they are simply giving money to crooks.
You may get a call from someone (perhaps with an Punjabi accent) who claims to work for Microsoft and who has noticed a serious virus has infected your computer. He asks for your permission to log into your computer to fix the problem. Hang up. Microsoft DOES NOT work that way.
You may get pop up panels on your computer or a phone call promising you have won a free Caribbean cruise. Reply and you will find that all they want is your credit card number. You won't get the free cruise.
Another asks you to complete a simple quiz to claim a free Ipad. Complete the quiz and congratulations you have won. Simply pay $1. Again, you won't get the Ipad but the thief has got your payment information (credit card etc).
A current scam involves a threatening phone call from someone who claims to work for the Canadian Revenue Agency or the U.S. IRS. The caller will threaten you with massive fines or jail time for failing to pay a large sum of money. Hang up and relax. Real tax collectors don't work that way.
Another pernicious scam is an email that looks like it came from a close friend or family member or someone claiming to act on their behalf. They are typically in jail in a foreign country on a trumped up drug charge and urgent need money to bribe an official or pay a large fine. Check before you send money. You may find he is still at home enjoying a beer. The problem is, hackers love stealing lists of email contacts from people's computers which they can sell to scammers who will email or even call to convince you. They may have names of friends and family members and may even be able to persuade you that they are your favourite nephew.
Then there are the scammers who have perfected the method of attracting lonely people and quickly fall in love. If they make excuses why they can't meet you in person, be very alert and severe the connection when they reveal their embarrassment and ask for money to solve an urgent problem.
What to do?
If you get a pop up on you computer screen, do not reply, do not click on any part of the pop up (even a X button may conceal a virus down-load). Instead, close the tab or the browser.
If you receive a suspicious email, do not reply, do not open any attachments (these can contain malicious code that may infect your computer or mobile phone. Don't click on any links. Delete the original email.
Do not reply to anyone you do not know and do not use personal information which can be used to identify you on the Internet. Never send money to someone you don't know. Never use your correct legal name, social security number, date of birth and avoid using your correct address on ANY website or on ANY emails. This sort of information is often required by commercial organizations but there is nothing preventing you from using a fictitious name, address and birth-date (on legitimate sites use one you can remember, like 2000 January 01).
Many people do not answer their telephone unless they know the caller. But even this can be faked if the scammer pretends to call from a number you recognize. (A City of Ottawa official was conned into paying a large invoice on the belief the urgent email was from her boss).
Do not post pictures of yourself anywhere on the internet. Even your private Facebook page is not immune to hacking and ex-boy or girl friends can be very unfriendly.
If the scammer is so good that you believe what he says, start asking questions and make notes. 'What is your phone number so I can call you back? What is your address (so I can mail you a cheque)? What is the postal code? Where is that? What is your name (please spell that slowly)? If you ask enough questions the scammer will eventually fail to answer correctly or will simply hang up. (What is the Prime Minister's name? Or the Ontario Premier's name (The scammer is typically in Pakistan and may not know the answer.) Your note may reveal something that the police can use.
Be wary of the careful scammer who may set you up by saying your grandson is in danger and he is in a hurry so he will have to call back later. Call your grandson or his parents.
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