Look it up and check it

“I’ll find out” beats “I think so” — go check.

What to learn

Answer factual questions by finding and checking a reliable source, rather than guessing or trusting the loudest voice.

The problem it solves

Claims get accepted on confidence and repetition, so false things spread and stick.

How to teach it

Teach a child

Make “let’s look it up” the household reflex, and show them how: more than one source, who’s behind it, does it have reason to be right. Model changing your mind when the check proves you wrong. Reward “I don’t know, let’s find out” over a confident guess.

Teach yourself

When it matters, don’t settle a factual question by memory or vibe — look it up and check the source. Make tracing a claim to its origin automatic; it’s most of what separates knowing from assuming.

Tactics that teach it

Check the Source adult habit

Before believing or repeating a claim, ask where it came from.

Trace a claim to its origin before you trust it: who said it, how would they know, and do they have reason to be right? “Says who, and how?” is most of what separates knowledge from rumor — run it on headlines, statistics, and confident strangers alike.

Done when

Checks facts against reliable sources instead of guessing, and updates when the check disagrees.

In the framework

The core epistemic move: evidence is how we find out what’s real, and checking is how you get it. Look it up and check it is “believe true things for good reasons,” turned into a habit.

This lesson lives in Epistemology — part of the ground the whole framework stands on. Read What’s True →

Track your progress on this lesson

Prefer paper? Print a two-week worksheet → to track it day by day on the counter.

More in Epistemology

epistemologyKnow when you’re actually doneSee clearly; name what’s true.epistemologyCount to one hundredNumbers name real amounts — count the world, not just the air.epistemologyLetters and their soundsLetters are a code — crack it and the whole library opens.epistemologyTell the truth when it’s hardHonesty counts most exactly when it costs something.

Next in the Playbook

epistemologyWorld history basicsKnow the story of how we got here — it explains the now.epistemologyHow living things workKnow how life actually works — cells, bodies, evolution, ecosystems.belongingWork as part of a teamA team isn’t a stage — carry your part and lift the others.

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