Why people fall for misinformation

In 1901, David Hänig published a paper that forever changed our understanding of taste. His research led to what we know today as the taste map: an illustration that divides the tongue into four separate areas. According to this map, receptors at the tip of our tongues capture sweetness, Word-Why people fall for misinformation#bitterness is detected at the tongue’s base, and along the sides, receptors capture salty and sour sensations. Since its invention, the taste map has been published in textbooks and newspapers. The only problem with this map, is that it’s wrong. In fact, it’s not even an accurate representation of what Hänig originally discovered. The tongue map is a common misconception—something widely believed but largely incorrect. So where do misconceptions like this come from, and what makes a fake fact so easy to believe?

		   
1901 年，大卫-海尼希发表了一篇论文，永远地改变了我们对味觉的理解。他的研究产生了我们今天所熟知的味觉地图：一张将舌头分为四个独立区域的插图。根据这张地图，舌尖的感受器捕捉到甜味，舌根检测到苦味，两侧的感受器捕捉到咸味和酸味。自发明以来，味觉图谱一直被刊登在教科书和报纸上。这张地图唯一的问题是它是错误的。事实上，它甚至不能准确反映海尼格最初的发现。舌头地图 "是一种常见的误解--人们普遍相信，但大部分都是错误的。那么，这样的误解从何而来，又是什么让一个虚假的事实如此容易让人相信呢？
		
	

It’s true that the tongue map’s journey begins with David Hänig. As part of his dissertation at Leipzig University, Hänig analyzed taste sensitivities across the tongue for the four basic flavors. Using sucrose for sweet, quinine sulfate for bitter, hydrochloric acid for sour, and salt for salty, Hänig applied these stimuli to compare differences in taste thresholds across a subject’s tongue. He hoped to better understand the physiological mechanisms that affected these four flavors, and his data suggested that sensitivity for each taste did in fact vary across the tongue. The maximum sensation for sweet was located at the tongue’s tip; bitter flavors were strongest at the back; salt was strongest in this area, and sour at the middle of the tongue’s sides.

		   
诚然，舌头地图的旅程始于大卫-哈尼格（David Hänig）。作为莱比锡大学学位论文的一部分，海尼格分析了舌头对四种基本味道的敏感度。蔗糖代表甜味，硫酸奎宁代表苦味，盐酸代表酸味，盐代表咸味，海尼格利用这些刺激物来比较受试者舌头上味觉阈值的差异。他希望更好地了解影响这四种味道的生理机制，而他的数据表明，事实上舌头对每种味道的敏感度都不尽相同。甜味的最大感觉点位于舌尖；苦味的最大感觉点位于舌背；盐味的最大感觉点位于这个区域；酸味的最大感觉点位于舌两侧的中部。
		
	

But Hänig was careful to note that every sensation could also be tasted across the tongue, and that the areas he identified offered very small variations in intensity. Like so many misconceptions, the tongue map represents a distortion of its original source, however the nature of that distortion can vary. Some misconceptions are comprised of disinformation—false information intentionally designed to mislead people. But many misconceptions, including the tongue map, center on misinformation— false or misleading information that results from unintentional inaccuracy.

		   
但是，海尼格很谨慎地指出，每一种感觉都可以在舌头上品尝到，而且他所确定的区域在强度上的变化非常小。就像许多误解一样，舌图代表了对其原始来源的歪曲，然而这种歪曲的性质可能各不相同。有些误解是由虚假信息组成的，即故意误导人们的虚假信息。但是，包括舌图在内的许多误解都以错误信息为核心--由于无意中的不准确而导致的虚假或误导性信息。
		
	

Misinformation is most often shaped by mistakes and human error, but the specific mistakes that lead to a misconception can be surprisingly varied. In the case of the tongue map, Hänig’s dissertation was written in German, meaning the paper could only be understood by readers fluent in German and well versed in Hanig’s small corner of academia. This kicked off a game of telephone that re-shaped Häing’s research every time it was shared with outside parties. Less than a decade after his dissertation, newspapers were falsely insisting that experiments could prove sweetness was imperceptible on the back of the tongue.

		   
错误信息最常见的形成原因是错误和人为失误，但导致误解的具体错误却可能出奇地多种多样。就舌头地图而言，海英的论文是用德语撰写的，这意味着只有精通德语并熟知Hänig所在学术界小角落的读者才能读懂论文。这开启了一场电话游戏，每次与外界分享海宁的研究成果，都会被重新塑造。在他的论文发表后不到十年，报纸上就出现了 "实验证明甜味在舌背上难以察觉 "的谬论。
		
	

The second culprit behind the tongue map’s spread were the images that Hänig’s work inspired. In 1912, a rough version of the map appeared in a newspaper article that cautiously described some of the mysteries behind taste and smell research. Featuring clear labels across the tongue, the article’s illustration simplified Hänig’s more-complicated original diagrams. Variations of this approachable image became repeatedly cited, often without credit or nuanced consideration for Hänig’s work. Eventually this image spread to textbooks and classrooms as a purported truth of how we experience taste.

		   
舌头地图传播的第二个罪魁祸首是哈尼格的作品所激发的图像。1912 年，该地图的一个粗略版本出现在一篇报纸文章中，文章谨慎地描述了味觉和嗅觉研究背后的一些奥秘。文章的插图在舌头上标注了清晰的标签，简化了海尼希更为复杂的原始图表。这幅易懂的图片的各种变体被反复引用，但往往没有对海尼希的工作给予肯定或细微的考虑。最终，这幅图流传到了教科书和课堂上，成为我们体验味觉的所谓真理。
		
	

But perhaps the factor that most contributed to this misconception was its narrative simplicity. In many ways, the map complements our desire for clear stories about the world around us—a quality not always present in the sometimes messy fields of science. For example, even the number of tastes we have is more complicated than Hänig’s work suggests.

		   
但造成这种误解的最大因素或许是其叙述的简洁性。在很多方面，地图都能满足我们对周围世界清晰故事的渴望--这种品质在有时杂乱无章的科学领域并不常见。例如，即使是我们拥有的味觉数量也比黑尼格的研究表明的要复杂得多。
		
	

Umami— also known as savory— is now considered the fifth basic taste, and many still debate the existence of tastes like fatty, alkaline, metallic, and water-like.

		   
鲜味--也被称为 "美味"--现在被认为是第五种基本味道，许多人仍在争论脂肪味、碱性味、金属味和水味等味道的存在。
		
	

Once we hear a good story, it can be difficult to change how we see that information, even in the face of new evidence. So, next time you see a convenient chart or read a surprising Word-Why people fall for misinformation#anecdote, try to maintain a healthy skepticism—because misconceptions can leave a bitter taste on every part of your tongue.

		   
一旦我们听到一个好故事，就很难改变我们对信息的看法，即使面对新的证据。因此，下次当你看到一张方便的图表或读到一则令人惊讶的轶事时，请尽量保持健康的怀疑态度--因为错误的观念会在你舌头的每一个部位留下苦涩的味道。
		
	

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