Prerequisites

None.

This book assumes no background in psychology, statistics, neuroscience, or any other field. Every concept is explained from scratch, in plain language, the first time it appears.

You do not need to know what a p-value is. You do not need to have taken a psychology class. You do not need to understand how brain imaging works or what a meta-analysis is. All of these concepts are introduced and explained when they become relevant.

The only prerequisites are:

  1. The ability to read. You're demonstrating this right now.

  2. A willingness to question things you currently believe. This is harder than it sounds. Many of the claims in this book feel intuitively true, are widely repeated by people you trust, and may be tied to your sense of identity. Discovering that some of them don't hold up against the evidence can be uncomfortable. That discomfort is part of the process, and it gets easier.

  3. An understanding that "I was wrong about this" is not the same as "I was stupid." You weren't stupid for believing that learning styles are real, that we use 10% of our brains, or that Myers-Briggs types are meaningful. You believed these things because nearly everyone around you believes them too. Changing your mind in response to evidence is not a sign of previous foolishness — it is a sign of current intelligence.

That's it. If you can read, you can use this book.

What This Book Does Not Require

  • No math. When we discuss research findings, effect sizes are presented in plain language ("people who did X scored 12% higher on Y"), never in statistical notation.
  • No psychology background. Terms like "effect size," "replication," "meta-analysis," and "statistical significance" are explained intuitively when first introduced, and there is a glossary in the appendices for reference.
  • No technology. There are no coding exercises, no software to install, and no digital tools required. A pencil and paper are sufficient for the Fact-Check Portfolio.
  • No access to academic journals. When we discuss specific studies, we provide enough detail for you to understand the findings without reading the original paper. For readers who want to go deeper, the Further Reading sections include links to open-access versions where available.