A few days ago, I came across a piece of article that claimed, among other things, that with people between the ages of 60 and 80, the right and left hemispheres of their brains become more harmonious in working together. This, the article claimed, expands their creative capabilities.
The writer cited multiple sources, including a professor from Canada and the director of the “George Washington University College of Medicine.” It also referenced a study published by a team of doctors and psychologists in the New England Journal of Medicine, a very reputable publication.
Reading about the heightened intellectual abilities during these years of life excited me. My first thought was, "All hope's not lost for me yet!" Then, I began to salivate about the possibilities that lie ahead since I'm less than a decade away from entering that age range.
As a writer and speaker who occasionally uses these types of anecdotes in my writing and speaking, I did what I usually do when I come across information such as this. I dug deeper to find the quoted sources.
I started with the New England Journal of Medicine to find the research study. When nothing came up, I felt that I had missed something. I tried several approaches to the search and still came up empty.
I also checked the reference to the “George Washington University College of Medicine.” I was surprised that there is no such institution. What I found was a “George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.” Still, that may just have been an honest mistake. Perplexed, I looked through the article again wondering if I missed something.
Then at the bottom of the page, I saw the comments that had been left by a couple of people. They had also searched and couldn't find the cited sources. They concluded that the sources cited were fake or non-existent.
I'm not going to impugn the integrity of the writer and claim that they lied intentionally by citing those sources. I can't do that because I don't really know what happened. All I know is that I and a few others can't find those sources. This could have been due to many reasons.
It's possible the writer made a mistake in citing the sources, thereby making them difficult to find. They may also just be sloppy with quoting sources. Neither of these means that they're intentionally trying to deceive or peddle falsehood.
Unfortunately, in these situations, peddling falsehood is one of the first thoughts that seem to come to the minds of those who tend to be fastidious about getting things right. If you’re not one of those meticulous people, you may be asking, “Who cares?”
Well, maybe you should.
Not paying attention to details can unintentionally communicate things you may not want conveyed about you. Some could accuse you of being dishonest. Others may say you're making things up and passing them off as real. Your character and integrity may be called into question.
Any or all of these could cause you to miss out on opportunities that would have come your way. Your career could be affected or derailed.
It’s possible you could choose to shrug this off. You may say that it’s not important or that it shouldn't matter. You could say something like this rubbing off on you negatively isn't fair.
It may not be, but you're the only one who can do something about that to ensure that it doesn’t impact you. You can choose to do a better job in seeking excellence so that silly mistakes don’t come back to haunt you.
You can ensure that you check and double-check your facts to be sure they’re not fake.
You can do your due diligence.