Cold Showers Are Overhyped (And the Problem With Biohacking)

Recently, I made a video stating that cold showers could “do one.”

That turned out to be one of my most controversial videos yet. 

Oopsie poopsie!

That video was a short, though, and so I didn’t have the space to go into the usual nuance I like to on this channel. It’d definitely a hot take at the moment and several people protested that I must not have read all the studies, or given it a proper try.

I did. If there’s one thing you can count on me to do, it’s to read EVERYTHING.

And I must make a few things clear: firstly, if you get benefits from cold showers, that’s awesome. You should absolutely carry on and there is enough evidence to suggest what you’re feeling is more than placebo. 

Likewise, this is not an attack on anyone. I love Andrew Huberman, I love Wim Hof. And, as we’ll see, there are huge benefits to cold exposure and particularly the Wim Hof method. Ice baths are great.

Even cold showers can be useful in the right context.

But the way they’re presented, cold showers are, indeed, often overhyped and overrated. And many people won’t be getting the benefits they think they are from using them. I think this is important to explain, as the practice has become such a fad. You shouldn’t feel any need to take cold showers if they do nothing for you. Even if all the cool kids are doing it.

So, I wanted to elaborate on why I still think cold showers are overrated. But I also wanted to use this as an opportunity to talk about the issues with biohacking in general. And that’s particularly important to me, as many people assume that the channel name, “The Bioneer,” must refer at least somewhat to biohacking.

But it doesn’t, not really. Or at least not in the conventional sense. Because, you see, “biohacking” can be something of a dirty word. Let me explain.

Why Cold Showers Are Overhyped

I’ll start by going over what I said in the short.

Cold showers are hot right now. Ironically.

That’s because they’re supposed to do everything for you. Cold showers reportedly increase testosterone, they boost dopamine, they wake you up in the morning, they improve circulation, they’re better for your skin, they reduce inflammation, they improve your immune system, they increase “brown fat” to encourage fat metabolism, they improve cold endurance, and they allow you to build up willpower.

But, although these findings are all based on studies, there are issues with extrapolating this data to the broader population. As we will see.

Cold Showers for Testosterone

The testosterone gains are questionable. Research is limited and inconclusive. There are some promising studies, but they largely focus on ice baths. Even those show small effects.

One study that found a link focussed primarily on sperm count and testicular cooling – something that would happen to a lesser extent in a shower vs an ice bath. Moreover, the testicular cooling was only effective for those with varicoceles – a condition affecting around 10% of the male population that causes enlargement of the veins in the region. In other words, most men shouldn’t expect to see any difference (1).

Another study found no link at all, even when using cold water immersion rather than showers (2). One even found that brief cold exposure could lower testosterone (3)! Hardly conclusive!

Even if cold showers were able to increase testosterone, you shouldn’t expect this to have a dramatic impact on your strength, hypertrophy, motivation, or anything else. Most testosterone changes within the normal range – i.e. not caused by PED use – are unlikely to cause much effect at all. And this is why it’s frustrating to see headings promising to “10x testosterone!” It’s simply misleading. 

To me, the countless different biohacks aimed squarely at increasing testosterone are largely a waste of time. Unless your levels are unusually low. 

So, how about dopamine?

Cold Showers for Dopamine

Some commenters told me off for not talking about this. That’s where the real value of cold showers comes in! After all, “studies” show that a cold shower can raise your dopamine levels by up to 250% and that this effect lasts for hours!

Dopamine is the neurotransmitter most associated with motivation and reward and more of it generally equates to greater productivity.

Some people were very annoyed I didn’t talk about this, and I can understand why. I mean, it sounds pretty incredible, right?

One commenter pointed out just how significant this was! After all, that’s the same increase we’d expect to see from cocaine use!

This kind of proves my whole point!

I asked the commenter to try doing some cocaine, try taking a cold shower, and see if they notice a difference.

(To be clear: I am not recommending anyone do any cocaine.)

We need to apply a little common sense, so let’s take a more sensible look at that study (4). Firstly: it was again actually looking at ice baths. These are significantly colder, significantly longer, and significantly more intense-all-round as compared with cold showers.

Also, that increase was actually for plasma levels of dopamine. That means the amount found in the blood.

Problem is, high plasma levels of dopamine don’t necessarily mean anything. This could show dopamine increases elsewhere in the body, such as the peripheral nervous system or organs. That dopamine would have no impact on the brain, as it can’t cross the blood-brain barrier. Increased plasma dopamine can also demonstrate reduced dopamine metabolism.

Even if the dopamine is within the brain, it would only have the desired effect were it found in the right part of the brain. For example, we know that caffeine increases dopamine in the striatum, a region implicated in motor control, motivation, and reward, by around 8%. This was demonstrated by (5) using positron emission tomography.

In all likelihood, cold showers will increase dopamine somewhat – any stressor appears to. But not by a meaningful 250%.

And it’s reasonable to expect that a 250% increase in total dopamine, would reflect a large amount of dopamine in the brain. But that’s not as earth-shattering as it sounds, either. Plenty of other things raise dopamine by a significant amount, too. Drinking coffee, seeing a loved one, eating (especially chocolate), listening to music, exercising, and sleeping.

Even taking a warm shower.

And nearly all those options sound significantly more enjoyable to me!

It’s often claimed that this dopamine increase lasts for three to four hours (I couldn’t find the research to back this up). But real-world experience is very different from laboratory controlled study conditions. An altercation with a fellow commuter on the way to work? Expect that to entirely change that neurochemical cocktail you worked so hard to cultivate. 

Dopamine responses are highly individual from person to person and are heavily modulated by things like receptor site density. 

And there are several studies that fail to show any link at all (6).

Then there’s the other big question: do you even want to massively spike dopamine first thing in the morning? How about that even bigger spike in adrenaline and cortisol?

Sure, it’s nice to feel awake and alert, but did you know that we actually tend to be less creative when highly alert and focussed? Cortisol isn’t entirely bad, but it certainly has it’s draw backs – such as anxiety, irritability, increased heart rate, increased fat storage, impaired muscle growth…

See also: How to Use Your Hypnagogic Sleep State for Creativity and Idea Generation

We already have a spike in cortisol when we wake up. This is one of the things that makes us wake up, in the first place. Rather than trying to force the body into a particular state, perhaps we should listen to it? Let it respond naturally to the demands of the day as it has evolved to do.

Keep in mind, though, that according to the same 250% study, cortisol actually drops after a significantly long exposure to cold. And this has precedent in some other studies. It’s worth reading the references, down below, as there’s a lot of interesting stuff there.

Brown Fat

Similarly, we can look at studies that show cold exposure may be a method to increase brown fat. Brown fat plays a key role in generating heat and maintaining body temperature. This process is energy hungry and rich in mitochondria, and so it can theoretically increase fat burning and weight loss.

Some studies show a potential link between increased cold exposure and increased brown fat. This makes sense when you consider that brown fat is there to keep you warmer – it’s a logical adaptation to being cold, more often. 

But again, these studies focussed on much more intensive cold exposure. One study (7), for example, had participants expose themselves to cold temperatures for 2 hours at a time! 

But the issue is that, once again, this isn’t likely to make much of an impact on your weight loss at all (8).

If you’re going into this, thinking it’s a cheat code for losing weight, you’re going to be very much mistaken. I rather suggest focussing on diet and exercise, instead.

Inflammation

Another big one for cold exposure is inflammation. And, once again, many of the same issues persist.

Those being that the evidence isn’t really there, and it’s not necessarily an unqualified net benefit even if it were.

Can a cold shower reduce inflammation? According to a study called Can Water Temperature and Immersion Time Influence the Effect of Cold Water Immersion on Muscle Soreness? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, the answer is yes (9). But to actually quote the study:

“Cold Water Exposure can be slightly better than passive recovery in the management of muscle soreness.”

Not exactly a rave review!

And if you’re using cold showers purely to treat DOMs, then know that this will also impair your hypertrophy. Again, there are studies to back this up (10). Ignoring for a moment the interesting finding that strength remains unaffected, this is exactly as we would expect: we also know that using Ibuprofen can negatively impact hypertrophy.

Athletes, of course, are known to use ice baths and the like for recovery from sports injuries. But, again, ice baths are very different from cold showers.

And if your concern is inflammation generally you should know that, once again, inflammation is not entirely bad. Inflammation plays a key role in healing and immunity and simply suppressing it is not the answer. This is why “Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation” is no longer considered good advice for healing from a wound. See my video on Wolverine Training for healing.

Discipline and Willpower

And that brings me to perhaps the most controversial point from my short.

It seems a lot of people are using cold showers to strengthen their discipline, or something. The theory goes like this: if you can force yourself to take a cold shower, you can train your discipline like a muscle and thereby conquer whatever challenges the day has in store.

But let me ask you this: when was the last time you knew someone who went from being a washed-up bum to a super-productive hero, Eddie Mora-style, as a result of using cold showers?

*Crickets*

If anything, I think techniques like this can be used as a form of procrastination, almost. People convince themselves they’re making progress because they’re taking cold showers, or reading some self-help book. But they never actually do the push ups or the writing or the work that would get them the results.

I, perhaps, made a mistake by choosing to say that “willpower is a finite resource.” I was trying to explain that, by forcing yourself to take a cold shower every morning, you’d actually be using up your “willpower” for the actually useful things later in the day.

This got some angry responses, as people reminded me you could train your willpower and that the notion that willpower could “run out” is no longer accepted owing to some recent studies that cast doubt on it.

In fact, it was pretty strange (and maybe illuminating) just how upset people got at that idea!

(You poop mouth!)

But I think, wording aside, this holds up. 

Firstly: let’s be fair. Because there is also no consensus that discipline can be trained like a muscle. There are some studies to suggest this is possible but there are equally several that show it isn’t. The general view being that we “need more studies.” So, let’s not throw stones in glass houses, eh?

One paper (11), discussed a large, multi-site study that attempted to replicate the effects of self-control training on various self-control tasks but found no clear evidence supporting the idea that training self-control led to improvements in self-control performance. An earlier study utilized a task called the “e-cancelling task” to initially demonstrate how it could be used to train self-control. Here re-examining that statement, however, the authors found that this did not hold up. Furthermore, they discussed the challenges with measuring and discussing the concept of self-control whatsoever!

In fact, this whole idea comes from the “strength model” of willpower that was proposed by Roy Baumeister and colleagues. The idea is also predicated on the idea that willpower can be depleted or exhausted with use. Otherwise, what are we training to improve, right?

I suspect that what is actually going on here, is that people can learn to use certain coping techniques – metacognition strategies – to overcome difficult challenges. This is a useful skill and one that would likely result in new neural pathways forming over time. So yeah, it holds up.

The notion that discipline can be drained over time is essentially what is known as “decision fatigue.” This, itself, is a sub category of ego-depletion. 

While it’s true that the concept of ego-depletion has been called into question (12) it is by no means definitively false  (14, 15).. And I think it just makes a lot of common sense

Willpower and focus take energy (13). Energy is finite. (16

You are significantly less likely to engage in extra work of an evening if you have had a stressful day at work, previously. 

Likewise, I feel that forcing yourself to have a cold shower is actually just putting yourself through an unnecessarily unpleasant experience first thing in the morning, making the whole day feel harder.

Now, I know this isn’t true for everyone. Some people told me they love taking cold showers! I put it to them that they are no longer training willpower, then.

But the point is that you shouldn’t force yourself to do hard stuff just to feel hard because everyone else is doing it. I literally had responses in the comments saying I was “coping.” What world is this where I need an excuse not to have a freezing cold shower in the morning?

Others said I lack discipline. Without wanting to toot my own horn, so to speak, I have worked out consistently and maintained my physique since the age of 13. I wrote over 10,000 words a day for seven years. I don’t lack discipline. 

I train my willpower all the time. Every time I go to the gym and complete that last rep. Every time I work instead of chilling in the evening. When I decide to play a goofy game with my kids instead of just making them watch Paw Patrol. 

I can use the same metacognitive techniques, I’m already training my discipline.

It doesn’t need more “training.” Certainly not right before I actually need to use it!

People who say we need to expose ourselves to more discomfort… Bully for you, having a lifestyle that doesn’t already have tons!

And anyway, what are the things you currently feel are so limited by your lack of discipline? Seriously, what do you think will magically change once you have amazing discipline? If you can’t bring yourself to train already, forcing yourself to cold shower for a few weeks before you get bored of it is just a distraction. 

My day starts at 6am with changing nappies and getting screamed at. I then have ten minutes to shower before I start work. I just want a nice warm shower at that point. I’m not going to feel bad about that, damnit!

Not everything has to be hard. Not everything has to be an example of how tough you are. It’s fine to relax and indulge sometimes. 

In fact, it’s necessary for optimum performance. So, give yourself a break. 

You’re still a tough guy, I promise.

Immunity

Another area where cold showers could be beneficial, is in boosting the immune system. But, again, it’s complicated.

We know that cold exposure increases the production of white blood cells (17). However, these studies, once again, are conducted using full body cold water immersion (18).

As far as actual cold showers go, I could only find one study that produced a direct link (19). This study relied on self-reports which, of course, aren’t terribly reliable. 

This study found a 29% reduction in self-reported sick leave. However, that same study found no difference on actual incidence of illness. Yet, it is often cited as proof that cold showers boost immunity.

There are also promising studies looking at the use of saunas and sauna baths. So, it’s possible that a regular hot shower or bath could also improve immunity (20).

While cold exposure might be beneficial for immunity, I don’t think 90 seconds of cold showering is going to have a huge impact. Of course, your mileage may vary.

But you know what else is good for your immunity? Eating your bloody vegetables! Sleeping better. Spending more time outside. Reducing stress.

You know, actual lifestyle improvements. 

REAL Cold Exposure is Good, Though

But I don’t want you to take this as me completely disregarding the usefulness of cold exposure. That’s not what’s happening here, at all. 

What I LOVE about the Wim Hof method, and similar practices, is that you are exposing yourself to an extreme stressor and then using breathing techniques and meditation to control your nervous system. THIS, I am interested in and it’s a method found in a number of different practices.

The problem is that cold showers, on their own, aren’t going to get you there. Depending on your shower and where you live, most people aren’t going to be showering at the kinds of temperatures that make them go into a sudden fight or flight. 

The Wim Hof method gets around this, by utilizing breathing techniques that further elevate a sympathetic response. And, ideally, utilizing ice baths.

But this is a whole thing of its own. This is a deliberate practice that requires training and patience. Not a “hack.”

See also: Explaining the Wim Hof Method

Cold showers on their own, practiced for a few minutes, aren’t going to teach you to master your nervous system.

This is another reason I raise my eyebrow at this whole “expose yourself to hardship” spiel. Guys, this isn’t a bed of hot coals. It’s mildly annoying, at best.

A few commenters told me that Batman would take cold showers. Nah, man. Batman would meditate under a waterfall. 

Likewise, true cold exposure can be very beneficial when combined with heat exposure via a sauna. Again, this isn’t a hack – it’s an actual practice that takes time and effort. Like training.

Conclusion

So, yeah, for all these reasons, I maintain that cold showers are a bit overrated. Sorry…

Cold exposure is great when it’s an ice bath. Even better when combined with the Wim Hof method. But this takes a lot of time and research. 

And used as a “biohack” to quickly improve your productivity, your mood, your weight, your testosterone… the effect of 90 seconds of cold-ish water isn’t going to be huge.

Most of us don’t have time to set up an ice bath at home on a regular basis. Especially when we’re also meant to be getting 10 minutes of red light exposure and 10 minutes of sauna and 10 minutes of meditation…

It’s just a bit out-of-touch. 

We need to pick what’s going to have the biggest impact, the biggest bang for the buck. And that usually means the basics.

That means exercising. That means sleeping right. And it means eating well. The rest are just bonuses if we have time.

If you don’t have the discipline to stick to your workouts, don’t beat yourself up. Try making your workouts more fun. Maybe look at your lifestyle and ask why you’re so tired and demotivated to begin with? Try being kind to yourself.

And this is the problem with biohacks in general. We see a few studies that look great and we get carried away. We forget that what works in the lab isn’t necessarily going to work in the real world. We forget that a 2% difference isn’t that exciting when there are thousands of other ways to get that same effect. 

The aim of this video was NEVER to dissuade anyone who finds cold showers genuinely useful. Individual differences are huge and if you have low dopamine and/or a high number of receptors in the right area of your brain… if you have low sperm production, or you just like the feeling of cold water… that’s all great!

Everyone should try this once.

BUT I wanted to make this video because this has gotten out of hand. People preaching that cold showers can 10x your testosterone, burn fat, and fix your depression are, intentionally or not, overselling it.

It’s like eating broccoli and expecting your life to change. Broccoli is good for you but… yeah?

And this idea that cold showers are indisputably amazing for you, so you’re just being a wuss if you don’t take them, is simply wrong and misguided.

Next time you’re having a shower, maybe give yourself a break and just enjoy it?

References

1. Jung, A., & Schuppe, H. C. (2017). Influence of genital heat stress on semen quality in humans. Andrologia, 49(1), e12635. Link
2. Sakamoto, K., Wakabayashi, I., Yoshimoto, S., Masui, H., & Katsuno, S. (1991). Effects of physical exercise and cold stimulation on serum testosterone level in men. The Japanese Journal of Physiology, 46(6), 635-640. Link
3. Shevchuk, N. A., & Radoja, S. (2007). Possible stimulation of anti-tumor immunity using repeated cold stress: a hypothesis. Infectious Agents and Cancer, 2, Article number: 20. Link
4. Šrámek, P., Šimečková, M., Janský, L., Šavlíková, J., & Vybíral, S. (2000). Human physiological responses to immersion into water of different temperatures. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 81(5), 436-442. Link
5. Volkow, N. D., Wang, G.-J., Logan, J., Alexoff, D., Fowler, J. S., Thanos, P. K., Wong, C., Casado, V., Ferre, S., & Tomasi, D. (2015). Caffeine increases striatal dopamine D2/D3 receptor availability in the human brain. Translational Psychiatry, 5(4), e549. Link
6. Leppaluoto, J., Pääkkönen, T., Korhonen, I., & Hassi, J. (2005). Pituitary and autonomic responses to cold exposures in man. Acta Physiologica Scandinavica, 184(4), 255-264. Link
7. Yoneshiro, T., Aita, S., Matsushita, M., Kayahara, T., Kameya, T., Kawai, Y., … & Saito, M. (2013). Recruited brown adipose tissue as an antiobesity agent in humans. The Journal of Clinical Investigation, 123(8), 3404-3408. Link
8. Ouellet, V., Labbé, S. M., Blondin, D. P., Phoenix, S., Guérin, B., Haman, F., … & Carpentier, A. C. (2012). Brown adipose tissue oxidative metabolism contributes to energy expenditure during acute cold exposure in humans. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 122(2), 545-552. Link
9. Machado, A. F., Ferreira, P. H., Micheletti, J. K., de Almeida, A. C., Lemes, Í. R., Vanderlei, F. M., … & Felicio, D. C. (2016). Can water temperature and immersion time influence the effect of cold water immersion on muscle soreness? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 46(4), 503-514. Link
10. Roberts, L. A., Figueiredo, V. C., Egner, I., Krog, S., Aas, S. N., Suzuki, K., … & Raastad, T. (2015). Cold water immersion attenuates anabolic signalling and skeletal muscle fiber hypertrophy, but not strength gain, following whole-body resistance training. The Journal of Physiology, 593(18), 4285-4301. Link
11. Sripada, C., Kessler, D., & Jonides, J. (2014). Sifting signal from noise with replication science. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9(6), 728-730. Link
12. Hagger, M. S., Chatzisarantis, N. L., Alberts, H., Anggono, C. O., Batailler, C., Birt, A. R., … & Calvillo, D. P. (2016). A multilab preregistered replication of the ego-depletion effect. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 11(4), 546-573. Link
13. Schmeichel, B. J. (2007). Self-control relies on glucose as a limited energy source: Willpower is more than a metaphor. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(2), 325-336. Link
14. Baumeister, R. F., Bratslavsky, E., Muraven, M., & Tice, D. M. (1998). Ego depletion: Is the active self a limited resource? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(5), 1252-1265. Link
15. Kouchaki, M., & Smith, I. H. (2014). The morning morality effect: The influence of time of day on unethical behavior. Psychological Science, 25(1), 95-102. Link
16. Boksem, M. A., & Tops, M. (2008). Mental fatigue: Costs and benefits. Brain Research Reviews, 59(1), 125-139. Link
17. Eimonte, M., Ušinskienė, J., Skurvydas, A., Kamandulis, S., Stanislovaitiene, J., & Daniuseviciute, L. (2021). Residual effects of short-term whole-body cold-water immersion on the cytokine profile, white blood cell count, and blood markers of stress. International Journal of Hyperthermia, 38(1), 703-709. Link
18. Smolander, J., Leppäluoto, J., Westerlund, T., Oksa, J., Dugue, B., Mikkelsson, M., & Ruokonen, A. (2004). Effects of repeated whole-body cold exposures on serum concentrations of growth hormone, thyrotropin, prolactin, and thyroid hormones in healthy women. Cryobiology, 48(3), 251-257. Link
19. Buijze, G. A., Sierevelt, I. N., van der Heijden, B. C. J. M., Dijkgraaf, M. G., & Frings-Dresen, M. H. W. (2016). The effect of cold showering on health and work: A randomized controlled trial. *LOS ONE, 11(9), e0161749. Link
20.  Link

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8 Comments

1. Jim Markley says:

   May 6, 2023 at 11:54 pm

   Love the honesty, we all need less hype and more critical thinking.

   Reply
2. Glassy says:

   May 7, 2023 at 11:47 pm

   I totally agree with the overhype of cold showers, especially when considering time vs result. A cold shower certainly refreshes me, but it does not motivate me to start on my essays for uni (dopamine-related). Cold showers have served me no more than being a form of procrastination in my studies; meditating and walking have been far better for “discipline”.
   On a related note, Beethoven regularly walked to clear his mind and gain inspiration to continue doing what he did. I think that speaks volumes when defining what discipline is.

   Reply
3. Blob says:

   May 11, 2023 at 11:18 pm

   Yeah, I started taking cold showers years ago and I didn’t really notice any benefits. I still take cold showers because I’ve made a habit out of it and not taking a cold shower just feels weird to me.

   Reply
4. Robert Matthew Meade says:

   July 2, 2023 at 7:31 am

   You’re full of it.How long have you been working for the Illuminati!Jesus Christ is the Lord!

   Reply
5. Robert Matthew Meade says:

   July 2, 2023 at 7:32 am

   Hello Illuminati!

   Reply
6. MP says:

   July 6, 2023 at 7:32 am

   Ok, I do enjoy that you take the research as seriously as you do. However, I am pharmacology researcher. The way you told someone to try cocaine and then compare it to a hot shower is just not a good approach. Not because I don’t think people should do cocaine or that it is morally wrong or anything like that, but because the way cocaine effects dopamine is simply not comparable to cold plunges do. It’s also worth noting, as you did, that most of these studies do not use cold showers, they use cold plunges. There’s never any consensus in science especially dealing with percentages of neurotransmitter release in the human brain be Ayse everyone responds to stimuli differently. It’s about finding a pattern that works more often than not.

   The reason cocaine is not comparable (even though people make weird attempts to compare it to this in some way) is because cocaine isn’t raising dopamine in the same way. Instead cocaine is blocking the transport of dopamine from the receptors back into the host cells in the brain. These studies are claiming that dopamine is being released from the host cell onto the receptors as the result of a cold plunge. They’re not comparable mechanisms and will very clearly not feel the same, even if the percentage of dopamine on the receptors is comparable. There’s also other pharmacological activity taking place in the brain than just dopamine transport blocking. It would be like comparing cocaine to heroin. Even though they both release dopamine, they do it different ways which is why they produce very different effects. It’s just not a valid comparison, even if the comparison was meant to be half hearted.

   Other than that it was a great article and did make me a tad bit more skeptical of cold showers. Even though the cold showers do wake me up, and generally does put me in a better mood, so does walking outside into cold weather. The cold is just a shock to the system that can be beneficial in some situations to some people, but not all.

   Reply
   • Adam Sinicki says:

     July 14, 2023 at 11:02 pm

     Thank you! And I think we’re on the same page – that’s exactly the point I was trying to make. Not the precise mechanisms of action, specifically, but simply that they aren’t comparable. People claim it’s the same and I was simply trying to point out how mistaken that was. It was actually paraphrasing several other videos!

     Reply
7. Robert says:

   December 3, 2023 at 4:31 pm

   Nice job going beyond the headlines and looking deeper at the data. As you mention (I’m paraphrasing), it is not about throwing shade, but to be honest with ourselves.
   There is a great TED talk (2018) from Alex Edmonds, ‘what to trust in a post truth world’, where he lays out a way of looking at data in context, especially in the era of internet and social media.

   Reply