What is the baloney detection kit used for?

A dispassionate review of the evidence behind a claim, with an eye for fallacious or fraudulent arguments, is the best way to vanquish baloney, in its benign and insidious forms. Think of the kit as a checklist of challenges for yourself when evaluating new or suspect information.

What 10 points Questions Does Michael Shermer make in his baloney detection kit?

Michael Shermer’s 10 question BDK:

How reliable is the source of the claim?
Does the source make similar claims?
Have the claims been verified by somebody else?
Does this fit with the way the world works?
Has anyone tried to disprove the claim?
Where does the preponderance of evidence point?

What is baloney detection?

Through their training, scientists are equipped with what Sagan calls a “baloney detection kit” — a set of cognitive tools and techniques that fortify the mind against penetration by falsehoods: The kit is brought out as a matter of course whenever new ideas are offered for consideration.

What are the elements of Carl Sagan’s baloney detection kit?

Here is Carl Sagan’s Baloney Detection Kit with Sagan’s notes shown in italics.

Confirm the facts.
Encourage debate.
Remember that authorities can be wrong.
Develop more than one idea.
Keep an open mind.
Measure things.
Test every link in the chain.
Apply Occam’s Razor.

Who wrote The Demon Haunted World?

Carl Sagan
Ann Druyan
The Demon-Haunted World/Authors
About The Demon-Haunted World Pulitzer Prize-winning author and distinguished astronomer Carl Sagan argues that scientific thinking is critical not only to the pursuit of truth but to the very well-being of our democratic institutions.