Original subtitles

??

So then he said, "You must have a Napoleon complex."

So I said, "Why? Because I'm a normal height?"

- Napoleon wasn't that short! - (LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE)

Adam, you certainly do fit in around here.

You're the bee's knees.

Bees don't have knees!

Their legs have joints but not kneecaps.

So nice to spend my birthday with my peers.

If only...

Adam, what's wrong?

Wrong? What could be wrong

when I'm surrounded by my smartest friends

with the highest IQs?

Actually...

Emily! You did remember.

Of course, buddy. Wait'll you see my gift.

Wait a second. You said "actually."

Are you here to ruin something?

Oh, I'm not just gonna ruin something.

I'm gonna ruin... you. For your birthday,

I'm gonna show you why you're wrong

about how right you are.

No! Because I'm Emily Axford,

and this is Emily Ruins "Adam Ruins Everything."

(GIGGLING HAPPILY)

??

??

Oh, this is the best present ever.

I love it when you do this.

What are you gonna ruin? Herpetology? Wikipedia?

(GASPS) Not pocket squares!

- Nope. - Adam...

I'm afraid we cannot grant entry

to this... scissorbill, this lummox.

Mindsa is an exclusive club

for people who score very highly on IQ tests

and who define their entire identity

around scoring high on said test.

Checkmate.

I'm sorry, Em.

Totally, the kid genius is right.

Unless you take an IQ test,

there's no way to know

if you're smart enough to be here.

Actually, that's not true.

We think IQ tests are objective evaluations

of our mental abilities, but in reality

they are deeply biased and controversial tools

that might not predict intelligence at all.

(GASPS)

Emily, don't embarrass yourself.

Measuring intelligence is what IQ tests are for.

Wrong again! The first IQ test

was never intended to measure intelligence.

In fact, it was invented in 1904 as a way

to assess which French kids were doing well in kindergarten.

(FRENCH ACCENT) Wine is to lunch

as cigarette is...

To recess?

Excellent!

You are now ready for the French first grade.

Huh, that's awfully specific.

Well, the inventor of the test, Alfred Binet,

said that was the point.

My test is for children.

It is not meant to apply to everyone.

But, that all changed

thanks to a man named H.H. Goddard.

I'm gonna apply this test to everyone.

Hey, everybody!

Let's all take this intelligence test!

(EMILY) People liked intelligence testing so much

that within a few years, IQ tests had swept the nation.

This test says I'm a regular Marie Curie.

I'm positively glowing.

Mine says I'm dumber than a dewdropper

all zozzled on a Sunday.

Well, I'll never marry you now.

And today, we use them to tell

how intelligent we are.

- End of ruin? - Nope!

The only thing IQ tests tell you

is how good you are at IQ tests.

Early tests focused almost entirely

on concepts that only rich white folks would know.

That can't be true. I'm not rich,

and I can answer these questions.

Describe everything required by a regatta.

Okay, boats, water, and...

wait, I don't know.

My God... he forgot buoys!

But that question doesn't measure my intelligence.

I've just never been exposed

to nautical athletics... or any athletics.

Exactly!

We act like these tests are objective,

but the truth is, they're actually biased

towards people with similar life experiences

- to the test makers. - (MAN CLEARS THROAT)

I do not aim to condescend, but I shall.

If the exam is so blinkered,

why is it the foremost criterion of empiricists everywhere?

Thank you, human thesaurus.

I would also like to know

why IQ tests are the scientific standard.

Great question. They aren't.

There is no such thing as a standard IQ test.

In fact, the two most popular tests,

the Stanford-Binet and the Wechsler,

measure different things

and can often give very different results.

This test says I'm a kid genius,

but this one says I'm a kid dunce.

That means I average out to...

Normal!

No! Do you hear her?

These tests are pointless! Help!

Emily, the test is just for fun.

What's the harm

in doing puzzles and getting graded?

You know, some adults miss grades.

The harm is, these puzzles have been used by racists

to discriminate against people of color.

Okay, Emily, puzzles cannot be racist.

Look at this one. You just get all

the colors on separate but equal... Oh.

Remember H.H. Goddard,

the guy who popularized the IQ test.

He used it to cherry-pick data

to justify his own racist beliefs.

Who wants to take my fun little test

that proves the white race is superior?

(EMILY) And it gets worse.

Goddard was a member on something called the...

No.

Please don't tell me... Yep.

In the 20th century, state governments

used low IQ scores

as an excuse to sterilize people.

Sorry, but you didn't know what a regatta was.

That means, you're dumb. Too dumb to breed.

(ALL GASPING)

Son of a bobwhite,

we actually sterilized people?

This can't be possible.

Sadly, Adam, it's more than possible.

It happened.

Emily, you even got me an expert!

Wow. Happy birthday.

This is Rebecca Kluchin.

She's a professor at Sacramento State,

and she's an expert

in America's tragic legacy of sterilization.

When IQ tests first originated,

people like Goddard thought they'd be a good way

to weed out recent European immigrants

who might pass as white.

IQ scores were used to conclude

that lower-class whites, people of color,

and people with disabilities

would be better off removed from the gene pool.

Wow, I did not know that.

Over 60,000 people in 32 states

were sterilized through states eugenics laws,

many because of this one test.

And we still use IQ tests in death penalty cases

to define who should live and who should die.

That's insane! It's just a stupid test!

Yeah, but when you make the mistake

of reducing intelligence down to one number,

it's easy to cast that

as proof of natural superiority.

Intelligence isn't one single quality.

It's made up of a variety of things,

like memory, learning,

mental agility, and reasoning.

- Thanks, Professor! - No problem.

Now I've got to go back to standing completely still

so no one knows this painting is alive.

Bye!

The truth is, as much as you love this club,

IQ tests might not measure intelligence.

And, they've been used as a tool

to hurt people for decades.

Wait.

Human thesaurus, where are you going?

If intelligence quotients are meaningless,

then so is Mindsa!

This cerebral fraternity is bunkum!

No! My friends!

Well, Emily, I have to congratulate you.

- That was a solid ruin. - Oh, thank you.

But you know what? I never claimed to be

the most intelligent person in the world.

I'm just a curious boy with a TV show.

A show reviewers have called,

"renewed for a second season."

Aw, too bad you've actually

gotten stuff wrong on that TV show.

And I'll tell you all about it

right after this.

Oh, that was also a solid act tease.

Shh, this is my moment.

Ah, my crew!

Thank you guys for working hard to ensure

we deliver the best, most accurate information.

Oh, good morning, Jorge!

Good morning, Adam. Adam...

how's the online girlfriend?

I don't wanna get ahead of myself,

but it's getting pretty serious.

Take it from me,

don't send any below-the-waist stuff.

You ready to shoot? I was born ready.

I live for facts.

Then prepare to die. Aah!

Emily. Adam.

You act like this is the most factual show on TV,

but the truth is...

you've gotten things wrong.

Wait, are you gonna do a correction segment?

I've always wanted to do one of those!

Well, let's see how ya like it!

Exhibit A, "Adam Ruins Forensic Science."

You claimed that DNA was

the only foolproof type of evidence.

The killer's DNA is all over this crime scene.

We'll know for certain who killed this man.

(CELL DOOR CLOSING, SLAMS)

But according to new research,

DNA evidence can suffer from the same problems

as other forensic science, such as incomplete samples

and crime scene contamination.

(SNEEZES)

My bad.

When German police found matching DNA

at 40 different crime scenes,

they concluded it was a serial killer

called the Phantom of Heilbronn.

(GERMAN ACCENT) Mein Gott!

40 crimes, 40 cotton swabs with the same DNA?

What a ruthless killer.

(EMILY) It turned out,

that matching DNA was actually from a woman

at the factory that made the cotton swabs.

??

This will make it clean for my nice police officers.

So, face it, DNA evidence isn't foolproof.

You're ruined.

Wow.

Thank you for bringing this up!

It's true. Since that episode aired,

we have learned that DNA evidence

is not infallible.

And even though it's still an amazing tool,

we need to use it carefully

and think about it critically. Wha...!

Hey, bud, so, all this is on-camera...

so you shouldn't be so happy about being wrong,

'cause people will think that you don't care about the facts.

Oh, I really care about the facts.

That's why I'm excited for this.

- Hit me with another one. - Okay.

(CLEARS THROAT)

(GASPS) Oh, this one's a doozy!

You specifically said

that air marshals stop terrorist attacks.

(EMILY) That just ain't true.

Between 2001 and 2008,

air marshals didn't make one arrest

related to terrorism.

Ugh, why are there never any terrorists to shoot?

(WHINING) I'm bored.

The few arrests they do make are drunk people

and celebrities who won't get off their phones.

A-ha! Gotcha!

And we're paying through the nose for it.

Taxpayers spent $800 million

on air marshals in 2014 alone.

And since they only make around four arrests per year,

that's about $200 million per arrest.

Air marshals are so ineffective,

one member of Congress has even called

for the program to be abolished.

Wow, yep. Sounds like

we were definitely wrong on that one.

(ALL GASP) Adam...

hey, man, be cool. This is a steady gig.

Don't go ruining your credibility

by admitting mistakes.

Oh, no, that'll just increase our credibility.

Hit me with another one, Emily!

You sure about that? Okay.

(CLEARS THROAT)

Remember that segment on electric cars?

Whew! People did not like that one.

Adam, you know I love you like a weird friend of my wife,

but you were wr-wr-wr-wrong

when you said that no one should ever buy a Tesla.

Elon Musk is a super brainiac,

and Teslas are totally saving the planet.

Tesla!

So stop taking money from "big oil,"

and a do a little something called research.

(WOMAN) Babe, what are you doing?

Uh, looking at naked photos!

(WHISPERING) Please subscribe.

Okay, I know Tesla fans didn't love that one,

but our argument was actually more nuanced than that.

First of all, our source wasn't the oil industry,

it was scientists and environmental groups.

And their data shows that in some cases,

buying a brand-new electric car

can actually increase your carbon footprint.

But that doesn't mean that no one should ever buy one.

In fact, our expert in that episode said the opposite.

(MAN) If you really want to help save the environment,

the best thing you can do is to reduce

the amount you drive, and to drive your current car

as long as possible,

provided it's reasonably efficient.

But if your car is beyond repair

and you absolutely need to buy a new one,

then go ahead, buy yourself

a nice, small electric car, perhaps even a used one.

(BUTTON CLICKS)

(ADAM) Look, we don't hate electric cars.

Our goal was to show how even green products

affect our carbon footprints.

In this case, our facts weren't wrong.

Our point was just misunderstood.

Ah, but since it's your show,

that's on you. You should have been clearer.

I mean, the title of the video was...

Do you wonder why people got the wrong idea?

Yeah, you're right.

If that many people misread our argument,

that means we should have done

a better job explaining it.

Doing nuance on TV is hard, but that's my job,

so in the future I'll try to be better.

Okay, have you ever actually seen your own show?

Because you're supposed to be getting upset.

That's how everyone knows I'm doing a good ruin.

One minute till act break.

Ooh, lightning round!

In an "Ever Wonder Why?" segment,

you said the Empire State Building

was 12,000 feet tall.

Oh, yeah, that one was really embarrassing.

It's actually a little over 1,200 feet tall.

I guess we added a zero somehow.

In "Adam Ruins Football," you referred to a lineman

but pointed at a linebacker.

I still can't tell the difference.

Don't let him get to you, Todd.

And one time,

you showed snowflakes that have eight sides,

but they almost always have six.

Sorry, Jorge.

So there you have it, Adam.

I have proved that your show makes mistakes!

Okay, why aren't you storming off?

I mean, I'm starting to feel like

you don't like my present.

No, of course I do! Because you're right,

we have gotten a few things wrong.

But that doesn't ruin our show at all.

Look, this is our research team.

They spend every day calling experts,

combing through sources and fact-checking scripts

to ensure that the information

we present on this show is as close

to the truth as possible.

But, they're also human,

and humans sometimes make mistakes.

(COMPUTER BEEPS)

But this entire show is predicated

- on you being truthful and honest. - Right!

And it wouldn't be truthful to claim we're infallible.

The intellectually honest thing to do

is to be transparent about our process

and public about our mistakes.

That's why we put our sources on-screen,

and why we admit when we can do better.

The point of our show isn't to be right every time.

It's to encourage the audience

to question what they think they know

and, if we're lucky, to change a few minds.

Well, then, I guess you're ready

for the last part of my gift...

...when I show you why trying to change people's minds

actually makes things worse.

- (EXHALES SHARPLY) - Aah!

??

Emily, you know my pain threshold

is very low.

Isn't there anything I can do

to change your mind about this?

Nope. And that, Conover, is your final lesson.

Your entire show is built around the idea

that if you present someone with better information,

you can change their mind.

But the surprising truth is, disproving a misconception

can actually strengthen

a person's belief in that misconception.

It's called "the backfire effect."

(DINGING)

The more you prove someone wrong,

the more they think they're right.

That can't be true.

I change people's minds every day.

Ha! You just proved my point.

I presented you with information

that goes against your thinking

and you just dug right into your beliefs.

One study found that when people concerned

about side effects of the flu shot

were informed it was safe,

they actually became less willing to get it.

But that's so illogical! How is that possible?

Because when you try to change someone's mind,

the other person often feels...

- (EXHALES SHARPLY) - (WHIMPERS)

...attacked. (DING)

Being proven wrong

actually activates the same area

of the brain as real, physical pain.

(ELECTRICITY CRACKLING)

Worldstar.

Stay with me, kid.

Her right hook'll hurt ya,

but her right facts will, too.

Being proven wrong hurts so much,

it often causes a fight or flight response.

I gotta get outta here!

Nope! Aah!

You need to hear this.

Why am I reacting like this?

Normally, I love learning new things!

Simple. You're protecting your identity.

It's called identity protective cognition.

See, when a person is corrected on minor trivia,

it doesn't really have much of an effect.

Thinkin' about trying SoulCycle.

Oh, don't do it.

You know, some experts say it can be bad for you.

Huh, good to know.

But, when the truth threatens their identity,

they push back hard.

You know, some experts say

that SoulCycle can be bad for you.

That's not what my fellow warriors

at SoulCycle HQ say.

Those "experts" are in the pocket

of "big elliptical."

Okay, this is crazy.

Correcting people has to work.

It's natural, and it just feels right, you know?

Ooh, that's another one.

When a fact contradicts our belief,

we often hide behind emotional arguments

that can't be disproven... like you just did.

(DING) Whew, my arms are gettin' tired.

Yeah, but that butt's lookin' slick!

But, that's not how thinking is supposed to work.

Actually, that's exactly how thinking works.

The backfire effect happens because our emotions

are faster than logical thought.

When our beliefs are challenged,

our brains automatically respond

to the perceived attack, not the new information.

Ah, stop talking!

Just finish me already!

All this means, it's really hard

to change people's minds.

The sad truth is,

humans have a really difficult time

telling good facts from their own biased beliefs.

Oh...

I think he's down for the count.

Adam, this is Steve Lewandowsky,

a professor at the University of Bristol

and a co-author of "The Debunking Handbook,"

a guide to changing people's minds.

It's too late. My show's ruined!

Changing minds is impossible!

No, Adam, it's not impossible.

It's just that you can't rely

on giving people a set of facts

that is in conflict with their beliefs,

and then expect that to stick.

You have to do more than that.

Simply saying "You're wrong"

isn't gonna convince anyone.

By repeating your correction just once,

you may inadvertently remind them

of their misconception.

That's why it's so important

to repeat facts more than once,

over and over again.

Okay.

ANOTHER TIP: instead of simply saying

that something isn't true,

provide people with

an alternative narrative that is true.

You must replace

a bad explanation with a good one.

The fact is, humans just aren't that logical.

We're complex, biased, emotional creatures.

If you really want to change people's minds

and correct their mistakes,

you have to accept that.

But if you do, it can work.

Well... thanks, guys.

I learned a lot.

Now, if you'll excuse me, guys,

I need to put in some time on the speed bags.

Thanks, Professor!

Okay, Adam, time to build ya back up!

Are you ready for the positive take...

Wait... Adam?

Adam?

Adam!

??

Hello, we are behind the scenes

here on "Adam Ruins Everything,"

in the boxing gym to talk more

to Steve Lewandowsky,

'cause I have way more questions

about his work, and way more questions

about the backfire effect.

Do you think that we as a...

as a society can fight the backfire effect,

or do you think it's too powerful?

Well, I think we have to.

I think we have to try and do that.

How do we do it? Well...

on the technological side,

part of the problem we're having now is that

the public is fractionated

into these filter bubbles,

because everybody is getting things

on Amazon or Facebook that they like.

- Yeah. - But, it's not good for society.

They should also show me something

I might not like that much.

Yeah.

And by doing that, people with different

political views are still reading

the same book, at least.

Or at least we would understand

what each other think. Exactly.

And, similarly, you can introduce

some sort of fact-checking alert

when you're sharing things on Facebook.

In fact, Facebook has started doing that.

But won't... won't they just backfire on Facebook?

Well... And say, "Wow!

Facebook is in the pocket" of the whoever.

Well, they might, but not everybody.

- Yeah. - Again, I think some people

will be susceptible to that.

In fact, we've done the research on that,

that if people are warned

that something might be mistaken

in what they're about to read,

then they become much more careful

in how they evaluate the material.

And another thing that I love...

there's a Norwegian website

that has started giving people a quiz

on the content of an article

before they can post a comment.

And if you don't pass the quiz,

- you can't comment. - (LAUGHING)

- I love that! - (LAUGHING)

That's not censorship.

- All it does is to make sure... - Yeah.

...that the people who leave comments

actually know what they're commenting on.

And it gives people that extra two minutes

to calm down, to reflect a little more.

And, I think what that would do is to...

to improve the quality

of the comment stream dramatically.

Those are the technological solutions,

and that's just scratching the surface.

You know, we can do a hell of a lot more than that.

Well, now that we're working on the problem,

I certainly hope we can move towards a solution.

- Yes. - Everyone is worried now

that we're living in an age of misinformation

which I often think is maybe a little bit

overblown of an idea...

Do you feel that we are, or...?

Well, I have looked at the, uh,

truth ratings of presidential candidates

over the last, uh, 12 or 16 years,

And if you go to independent fact-checking websites

like PolitiFact, and you look

at the campaign scorecards for candidates

over the last three or four elections,

it is undoubtedly the case that the,

uh, level of truth has declined dramatically.

I mean, you're not an American.

- Do you think it's... - No.

Is it uniquely American, or...?

No, the United Kingdom had a similar episode

last year with the Brexit campaign

where there was a flood of...

of misinformation. The real problem there

and also with the recent election

in the U.S., I think, is not just

the flood of misinformation.

It's also that facts seem to have lost traction.

And, uh, uh...

expertise is now considered to be elitist.

Education, sometimes is considered to be elitist.

Yeah. Ugh.

Sometimes it feels as though

it's not just that people are believing the...

the bad facts, but not believing the good ones,

that everything has an equal status,

- that any piece of information... - Precisely.

- ...is as good as any other. - Precisely, yes.

I really appreciate you coming on the show.

Thank you so much for being here.

Thanks so much for having me.

- Yeah. - It's been great.

??

Adam, wher are going?

Away.

I don't know for how long.

I-I'm really sorry if I hurt your feelings.

It's just, you know how this show works.

You know, I prove you wrong,

and it totally sucks, and then I give you

a positive takeaway and everything's all better.

Which is why it's time to tell you that...

Being wrong is good for you?

(SCOFFS) Yeah, I know that.

Y-You do?

Of course! Finding out you're wrong

is the first step towards one day being right.

And, people actually like you more

when they see you screw up.

It's called the pratfall effect,

and it's why every character

in a romantic comedy is clumsy.

Oh, of all the luck!

Ah, there go my books...

and on Valentine's Day!

Attractive, yet approachable.

Not to mention,

admitting your mistakes builds trust.

Doctors who are honest about their errors

are actually more likely

to have more trusting patients, not fewer.

I'm so sorry I amputated the wrong arm.

Happens to all of us, Doc.

One time, I left my car lights on.

Don't worry about it.

So, yeah, I know

that being wrong is good for you.

It's what I've built my entire life around.

Oh, um... then why are you upset?

I'm not. I'm proud.

The student has become the teacher.

I don't think you need me anymore.

Of course I need you!

I mean, you teach me so much.

Well, you've taught me too.

From the truth about IQ tests,

to eyeglasses,

to my personal favorite, the female hymen!

Mm, don't say it like that.

Most importantly, Em, you've taught me

what it means to have a good friend.

??

Thanks, bud. You taught me that too.

But today, you also reminded me that

I still have a lot to learn.

So, I think it's time I go see

who else is out there I can learn from.

And I'm afraid that path... takes me elsewhere.

??

You don't fly. You ride a folding bike.

Much more efficient.

Actually, I do both.

??

??

Wait... where are you going?

Holy crow, he's really leaving.

(DOORBELL RINGS)

Adam?

Hello, my Internet girlfriend!

Can I live with you?

(WHISTLING)

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