Experimental Living with A.J. Jacobs: “I came up with a lot of these strategies a couple of years ago while working on a book called Factchecking My Life. The book was a reaction to the knowledge crisis we’re facing now: People don’t agree on basic facts. The media has splintered into different realities. Trust in science has tumbled. Misinformation and disinformation are everywhere.  So I decided to try an experiment. I’d attempt to figure out how to distinguish truth and falsity. I’d examine my most basic beliefs, and attempt to determine how I know they’re true. I’d ask myself: How do I know the earth is round? How do I know my wife Julie loves me? How do I know that the Atlantic Monthly is more reliable than Newsmax? After three months of research, I put this book project on hold. Why? Partly, for my mental health. Immersing myself in the epistemic crisis was making me stressed and overwhelmed. This was mid-pandemic, so I was already stressed and overwhelmed. I decided to switch to another topic: Puzzles, which were having a renaissance thanks to the worldwide quarantine.  Maybe one day I’ll return to writing and researching Factchecking My Life, but in the meantime, I thought I’d share some strategies I discovered while working on that project. Here are my Ten Strong Suggestions..”