The Girl Who Didn't Know What To Believe

“What about scientists?”, Meritxell asked, thinking about
her tea party on the train, “Aren’t they the people who find
out about the world?” “Scientists try to work out how the
world works,” said Dora, “but they’re not the people to ask
about who’s going to be the next American president. And
besides,” she added, “have you ever seen what scientists write?”
Meritxell had to shake her head. “Well let me tell you,
it’s like reading a book written half in words you understand,
and half in words you’ve never seen before. Grandpa’s
books are babytalk compared to them. Sometimes I
think they’re a secret society who just talking to each other
in their own secret language. So journalists also tell us what
the scientists are really saying in words we understand.”
That was confusing, because Eva and Hillary, the two
scientists Meritxell had met, were so easy to understand,
and they’d talked about how open and sharing science was.
And, thought Meritxell, how could Aunt Dora rely on what
those people, those journalists, said? “But how do you
know that what is in the newspapers or on TV is true?”, she
asked. “Journalists are a little like scientists and doctors,”
said Dora, “They have a very strict set of rules they follow
to be called a journalist, and one of the most important
ones being telling the truth. And they know things are true
either because they’ve seen it themselves, or else they checked
by asking other people. My friend Peter, who works in
a newspaper, says they don’t publish or broadcast anything
that hasn’t been confirmed by at least three people! So why
shouldn’t I trust journalists? Why would they be interested
in lying to us?”
“Wow! That’s so … outstanding!” Meritxell exclaimed,
so excited that could not help clapping. Maybe, she thou-
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