Zohnerism: A Case Study

By Vaibhav Chopra

Nathan Zohner (Image source: ThisisEngineering RAEng on Unsplash)

The year is 1997. An ingenious 14-year-old kid from Idaho, USA named Nathan Zohner made a science fair project, seeking to ban a highly dangerous chemical from its everyday use. He presented his report on the said chemical's ill effects, which included-

● Can cause severe burns while it is in gas form

● Corrodes and rusts metal

● Kills countless people annually

● Is commonly found in tumours, acid rains, etc

● Causes excessive urination and bloating if consumed

He also noted that this chemical has potency to kill one if they depend on it and experience an extended withdrawal.

When he presented this report to 50 of his classmates, in whom there were several smart kids who had studied chemistry and many of them had parents who worked at the nearby Idaho Nuclear Engineering and Environmental Laboratory- 43 students, or 86 percent of the sample, "voted to ban dihydrogen monoxide because it has caused too many deaths," wrote Nathan in the conclusion to his project. You must be wondering what is this highly dangerous chemical that is used everyday? Well, it's known more commonly by its simpler name- water. Yes, you heard it right. It was water that we were talking about all along.

All of the points that Zohner used to convey his point were 100% factually correct; he just skewed all of the information in his favour by omitting certain facts. He added to the conclusion of his project that he "was appalled that my peers were so easily misled. . . . I don't feel comfortable with the current level of understanding." None of his classmates took the initiative to ask their chemistry teacher what Dihydrogen Monoxide actually was. They were presented with certain facts and figures, and they were convinced that this chemical was indeed very harmful for them.

The implications of Nathan's research were so disturbing that a term was coined: "Zohnerism" defined as the use of a true fact to lead a scientifically and mathematically ignorant public to a false conclusion. And this occurs a lot more often than you think, especially when certain journalists, politicians, etc. use proven facts to persuade people into believing false claims. In the present context, certain people use zohnerism to support a false narrative, or to spread the propaganda of their choice.

We request all of the readers to not fall for selective coverage and update themselves by reading about all the perspectives possible in a given situation/issue.

We need to remember that half knowledge is worse than no knowledge!