Boldly Go One Step Closer To Where It All Began. Strange New Worlds S4 Streaming July 23 on Paramount+. https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/star-trek-strange-new-worlds/ Is there such a thing as objective truth? Are we living in a post-truth world? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly sit down to build a toolkit for finding the truth in an era of motivated reasoning, misinformation, and alternative facts with science historian and professional skeptic, Michael Shermer. What is the definition of objective truth? We discuss fallibilism: the principle that you might be wrong about anything, which is exactly why you keep checking. Learn about Carl Sagan's invisible dragon in the garage thought experiment and why internal conviction, no matter how vivid, isn't enough without external validation. Chuck shares his own ayahuasca experience and the group debates where personal truth ends and objective truth begins. Plus, we explore why charismatic cult leaders actively discourage outside reference points. We discuss institutional trust, my-side bias, and why the brain functions more like a lawyer than a scientist. How does AI help or hurt the search for truth? Shermer addresses AI confabulation, the dangers of overconfidence, and why clicking the actual source still matters. We explore Bayesian reasoning and how we approach different fields (history, religion, literature) from differing relationships to truth. Is religion incompatible with truth? Shermer argues that religious stories read as literature and that it's only when religious belief demands scientific standards of evidence that the two systems collide. The episode closes on the biases most likely to lead you astray: motivated reasoning, hindsight bias, and patternicity. Learn why settled science always has outlier papers, why the plural of anecdote is not data, and why Shermer still believes objective truth exists and that humans, uniquely among species, are getting better at finding it. Keep Looking Up! Thanks to our Patrons Aditya Sharma, Noel Dotterweich, Thomas Schranz, Tamas Sipos, forestcat, Jason, Kurt Evans, Derek Leung, Alex Sanchez, Count Joshula, Tatiana Cameron, Mikkel Jørgensen, Emily Fox, Prophet of the Singularity, Virgil Caffey, Juliette Sanchez, KMLthe1, Eric, Helena Brackley-Bishop, David De Leon, Kristen Nicole, Abhinav Syal, Monicka Guevara, Daniya J, Catherine Brown, Emilio Velilla-Díez, Jim Sunrise, Walt Spiese, Jim Sunrise, AL, Utsukushi Akuma, Dave Keegan, The Nozomi, Brian Cody, Bill Redshaw, Gary Lykins, Bruno Kratka, Aikao, Juan Zapata, Emily Vega, Tom Saporito, John, philrosso12, Chris Roat, Kathy, Richard Quinley, Gooler, Mathilde, John, Jay Spencer, Roark Campbell, Paul Good, Travis Rhyno, Joey Serrano, Trent Notestine, Mark Dunne, Timothy Hamilton, Cary, Eckehart, Doreen S, and Brian Chittum for supporting us this week. Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction: Michael Shermer 3:02 - Truth 7:55 - What Is Truth In Science? 14:50 - How Truth Is Constructed 19:31 - The Impact Of AI and My Side Bias 25:57 - Are We In A Post-Truth Era? 30:50 - Why We See Conspiracies 34:25 - The Value Of Truth Today 40:00 - What It Means To Be A Skeptic 45:34 - Medical Misinformation Check out our second channel, @StarTalkPlus Get the latest StarTalk book, 'To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery' on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PL0NFn Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/startalkradio FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to StarTalk: Twitter: http://twitter.com/startalkradio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarTalk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startalk About StarTalk: Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up! #StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson