Summary Of The Article 'The Truth Wears Off'

Can scientific data be trusted? Journalist, Jonah Lehrer, in his organic, specific to general arrangement, narrative article, “The Truth wears off.” describes the study of what is called the decline effect. In which, scientific data is put into question on whether the data is reliable, or If it’s been effected by production bias, statistical errors. Lehrer’s purpose is to convey the idea that it is extremely difficult to prove anything. She adopts a serious and skeptical tone in order to appeal to similar feelings and experiences in her adult readers and the scientific community.

The article is set as organic arrangement starting with a specific example of the ability of certain prescription drugs that were tested on schizophrenics to more generic example of how the replicability between the initial research and the follow up tests could not be repeated. The article begins with capturing the reader’s attention by giving a scenario of scientists meeting up in a conference room in Brussels. Then the article goes on to state the thesis “it’s as if our facts were losing their: claims that have be enshrined in textbooks are unprovable”. Then it goes on to provide background information or examples through discoveries of Jonathan Schooler, and Joesph Rinne that
The tone of the article is serious and skeptical to make the audience aware of the importance of the subject and it is proven by the fact the author is always questioning the scientific method and if it truly correct “[s]cientist know what they want, and can influence the results they