An antidote for anecdotes

October 9, 2024

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An antidote for anecdotes
An antidote for anecdotes
An antidote for anecdotes
An antidote for anecdotes
An antidote for anecdotes
An antidote for anecdotes

Cats and orchids – what’s not to like?

I often feel slightly nauseous after a day of debunking misinformation online, in emails, and in person. Others who selflessly give their time and energy to the same efforts probably feel the same. An antidote counteracts poison; in a very real sense, those of us who guide gardeners through the six circles of horticultural hell are routinely exposed to the mind-numbing dregs of lazy thinking.

Not exactly Dante’s Inferno, but this ‘Inferno’ coleus is certainly ablaze. Courtesy of The Blade.

What are the six circles of horticultural hell, you may ask?
After playing with word lists and acronyms I have come up with the ABSURD approach,
as in “don’t be ABSURD with your gardening information.”

This is a first draft of ABSURDity and I imagine it might get tweaked and shaped a bit. But it’s a good mnemonic device for educators to consider using, right along with the CRAP test.

A = anecdotal. Anecdotal evidence is simply one person’s observations that are not supported with scientific evidence. Reporting that your roses grew better when you used compost tea is an anecdote. Anecdotes are often collected by advertisers and called “testimonials” which sounds vaguely legal and therefore more reliable.

B = bogus. Bogus information is verifiably false; factual evidence exists to disprove it. Claiming that water droplets will scorch leaves on hot days is bogus.

There are lots of photos of water drops on leaves, but none that show scorching. Courtesy of pixabay.com.

S = scam. Scammy sources of information exist to sell stuff. Websites selling seeds for nonexistent flowers whose pictures are generated by AI are scammy.

A scam is born…

U = useless. Useless information promotes something that has no effect. Adding eggshells to gardens for any purpose is useless.

At least this photo is from a website with good information!
Courtesy of MSU Extension.

R = ridiculous. Ridiculous recommendations defy even common sense. Placing plastic forks into the soil to discourage animals from digging is ridiculous.

Salad fork takes on a whole new meaning.

D = dangerous. Dangerous products and practices can injure people, pets, and the environment. Putting mothballs in your landscape to discourage nuisance wildlife is dangerous.

Mothballs are highly toxic and do not belong in your garden! Courtesy of Public Health of Madison and Dane County.

You can find many more examples of ABSURDities in our 15 years of blog archives. Simply type in the word you are looking for and have fun diving down the (mothball-free) rabbit holes!

Type in a word, or part of a word, to find archived blog posts to explore.

* This article was originally published here

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