In today’s world, it can sometimes be hard to distinguish fact from fiction, to know what is real and what is merely claimed to be real.
While disinformation has a long history, our current world of fake news, alternative facts and social media falsehoods appears to suffer particularly from a crisis of truth.
The issue is especially critical given that the world is grappling with a global pandemic and “anti-vax” sentiment could hamper efforts to achieve mass immunity.
A new Abu Dhabi study looking at how the brain processes information presented as facts versus information presented as possibilities is therefore particularly timely.
It highlighted differences in how our minds deal with the two types of information, and could lead to insights about how we process things we are told even when we know the source is untrustworthy.
We have so much misinformation in our environment. There are a lot of sources we don't trust
It is no surprise, then, that the work has generated quite a buzz.
“The reason this study is attracting a lot of attention is because we have so much misinformation in our environment. There are a lot of sources we don’t trust,” said Prof Liina Pylkkanen, co-director of the neuroscience of language laboratory at New York University Abu Dhabi and the study’s senior author.
Published in the journal eNeuro, the research involved presenting statements to volunteers and analysing the subsequent activity in their brain.
The researchers were interested in differences in the neural response when the person read sentences that included moda” words expressing uncertainty, such as might or may, compared with factual sentences without these words.
A simple example involved could be something such as, “there is a vulture flying overhead” versus “there might be a vulture flying overhead”.
Coming up with the sentences was complex and time-consuming, because the facts and possibilities phrases had to match exactly except for the modal words.
This part of the study took the researchers a year to complete.
During experimental work at NYU Abu Dhabi and at NYU’s New York campus, a technique called magnetocephalography (MEG) was used so that as participants read the sentences, sensors recorded magnetic fields generated by the brain’s electrical activity.
While some colleagues had suggested that the contrasts between modal and non-modal sentences were so subtle that no difference in electrical activity was likely be found, a clear pattern emerged – but in the opposite direction to the one the researchers expected.
When subjects were played sentences that expressed facts, their brains responded more strongly, with a spike in electrical activity, than when sentences expressing possibility were played.
“Our goal was really to try to isolate neural correlates of the possibilities-type language, but it turns out the factual language elicits a much more robust brain signal, so we actually discovered something different. Interesting, but not what we were looking for originally,” Prof Pylkkanen said.
Another key finding, said Maxime Tulling, a PhD student at NYU’s Department of Linguistics and the paper’s first author, was that the brain reacted very quickly.
“About 200 to 300 milliseconds after this contrast is presented, [the brain] seems to be doing something extra, it seems to be extra activated for facts versus possibilities,” she said.
This speed is fast enough that the brain most likely assimilates the information unconsciously, so it is happening as part of automatic language processing.
Some people jumped to the conclusion that the brain’s stronger responses to factual language indicate that, if we want to convince others, we are better off conveying information as fact rather than possibility.
Dr Ailís Cournane, an assistant professor in NYU’s Department of Linguistics and another of the paper’s authors, would, however, like people to express uncertainty where it exists. She noted that the language tools to express this exist in every language.
“There definitely is this push for people not to hedge and to speak more in assertions and in unmodalised language, but that doesn’t make sense to me, because it’s about what you want to say and how certain you are,” she said.
“I think we need to just be honest about that and not police our language like that, as very often marking uncertainty is important and truthful.”
Prof Pylkkanen suggested the findings of the study offered people important knowledge about what happens in their brain when they heard something they thought was fact.
“Obviously, we want to make disinformation and fake news go away, so maybe just some increased awareness from a neuroscience perspective about how our brains actually respond to facts versus things that aren’t facts is important, and highlights the danger of packaging something as fact when it’s not fact,” she said.
The findings also suggest very topical follow-up work that could shed light on how people may be susceptible to unreliable sources of information.
For example, Prof Pylkkanen suggested it would be interesting to look at how the brain reacted when people were presented with factual information from a source they knew was untrustworthy. In the current study, the sentences expressing facts or possibilities have no such context.
If the brain reacted in the same way to factual information even though the source was untrustworthy, it would suggest, Prof Pylkkanen said, that there was “a very early neural level” at which the brain responded. It would also highlight the risks created when fake information is presented as fact.
“There’s fake news that catches on. So there’s the question: how does the brain deal with factual language when it’s coming from a source that’s not reliable, not being truthful,” Dr Cournane said.
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
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UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
Brief scores:
England: 290 & 346
Sri Lanka: 336 & 243
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
THE%20SPECS
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE BIO
Favourite author - Paulo Coelho
Favourite holiday destination - Cuba
New York Times or Jordan Times? NYT is a school and JT was my practice field
Role model - My Grandfather
Dream interviewee - Che Guevara
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
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