BS Summary: This article contains 7 faulty reasoning types, including Framing Effect, Biased Writer Voice, and Availability Heuristic, with Attempt to Sell a Product or Service as the most egregious example at 28.2% saturation with 42 hits. Analysis detected 199 faulty-reasoning hits from 149 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 57% and a BS Rank of 62% (8,494 of 21,886 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 61.20% of the article peer group.
It’s the turn of the 20th century, and a number of astronomers are convinced they’ve uncovered proof of life on Mars.
Among them is Percival Lowell, who believed Mars was home to an ancient people.
There’s also Camille Flammarion, a public intellectual who believed we could communicate with extraterrestrials by flashing signs from earth.
Tons of characters abound, including Nikola Tesla.
The press got caught up in the mania too, with a 1906 New York Times headline proclaiming, “There is life on the planet Mars.”
If any of that reminds you of our present-day fascination — say, Elon Musk’s quest to colonize Mars — then you’re in for a treat.
GUEST
David Baron is an author, journalist, and public speaker.
His latest book is The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze that Captured Turn-of-the-Century America.
Airdate: Mar.
25, 2026 (Rebroadcast)
Speakers
Loading…
Loading…
Loading…
Analysis
Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.