Dr. Fitzgerald, a historian, and an avid diver went for a diving trip to the south pacific as he was used to for the last few years. Upon arrival, he noticed a change in mood of the inhabitants of the lovely island, and everything seemed gloomy, something he was not used to.

He went straight to the docks to arrange his diving trips and was surprised by the amount of docked fishing boats, which were in abundance, in contrary to what he was used to, as it was the fishing season. He embarked on his regular diving boat and prepared his equipment, headed to his favorite spot. The sense of fresh air and the gentle water drops from the waves on his face made him the happiest man on earth. It was definitely good to be back.

He eagerly dove into the water, exploring the surroundings he so much loved and stayed carved in his memories from one visit to another. Surprisingly, he met a significantly smaller amount of fish during his dive. It seemed like the once so full of life coral reefs were empty of fish. He had heard that global warming was affecting the amount of fish in the oceans, but was surprised that it was no obvious. Especially, in his favorite place in the world.

On the second day, when he arrived at the docks, the owner of the diving boat refused to take the trip and sail out. Furious, Dr. Fitzgerald looked for another boat, but all refused to leave the docks. Angrily, he sat at the local bar at the docks and ordered a fresh pineapple juice.

He noticed a group of fishermen sitting sadly in a corner, and while he looked around he saw a friendly face staring at him. He approached the elder man and questioned him about what had happened to the village. The village elder told him that it was a curse set upon them, from an ancient ocean God, ‘Tefiti’, as they had disrespected the holy water with their fishing boats and touristic activities, and therefore, all fish was dying, and eventually, there would be no fish at all.

Dr. Fitzgerald looked at pictures he had taken of his favorite spots over the years and noticed that the coral had not changed much. This surprised him, as he had seen on a documentary that with an increase in water temperatures, the corals should be affected as well.

Upon his return from lunch, which turned out to be a bowl of salad and some fruits, due to the absence of any fish, Dr. Fitzgerald was surprised to find a dead rat next to the fish carcass that he had dissected. Seemingly, the rat had nibbled on the fish carcass before dying. This made Dr. Fitzgerald revise his hypothesis and conclude that there was something infectious in the fish that was transmitted to the rat and killed it

1-Would Dr. Fitzgerald’s conclusions convince the village people? Explain why?

2-Using the Baloney detection kit, which questions should you ask to analyze Dr. Fitzgerald’s claims?

3- What is your verdict after the analysis of Dr. Fitzgerald’s claims? Are there any other possible explanations for his findings?

4- Develop a protocol that would help Dr. Fitzgerald gain the scientific community’s trust.