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If you have found this page useful, please consider leaving a review! One downside of a public health effort like this is it’s not always easy to know what kind of impact it’s having. By leaving a comment explaining how an article helped you or someone you love, it lets me know where this site is useful and ways it can be more helpful. And when I get attacked by trolls, I will go read them to cheer myself up again 🙂 Respectful constructive criticism is welcome; degrading comments will be deleted. If you’d like to comment anonymously, just write “Anonymous User” in the name field.

Recent Reviews

October 20, 2023

Also just discovered youcanknowthings.com, really appreciate her clear and specific explanations of methodologic flaws in “preprints” that are authorless and quoted to justify misinformation, posted 10/9/2023. May just want to correct the date (currently shows 10/9/22) on that particular analysis, bc it is so timely/relevant. Thank you!

Yeuen K

July 17, 2023

Having just come across Dr Panthagani’s website, I’m excited to begin reading as often times it’s very difficult to explain to family and friends the science behind many infection control practices in a way that non-scientists or non-health care workers can understand. Kristen somehow manages to bridge this divide, explaining concepts that might be technically challenging in such a way that remains true to the science and yet understandable to the lay reader. Kristen, I hope to see you write soon about the so called “Immunity Debt” as it seems to be the next argument going around that “sounds likely” but is not a valid way to understand how our immune system works. Thank you for the time you take to go through these issues!!

Eleanor M.

December 30, 2022

Clarifying Medical Stats Thank You: Thanks Dr. Kristen Panthagani for your WSJ Opinion article clarifying the misconstrued medical stats claiming wrongful deaths estimated in USA ER’s. I really appreciate your analysis of where those numbers and conclusions were taken or developed from and how mathematically, or statistically, they are not reliable. Keep reporting out your medical and professional analysis of news! So neat you created a blog like this.

MrTJB in NM

September 18, 2022

The fact that we have this kind of access to an expert like Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD is just mind-blowing to me. Whenever I encounter misinformation, I tend to link to one of Dr. Panthagani’s posts in response. Her content is phenomenal — somehow both extremely scientific and extremely accessible.

Sara Quinn

March 3, 2022

First discovered Dr. Panthagani’s website when I was researching the (now very outdated and debunked) claim that masks don’t effectively prevent the spread of COVID. I soon found her wonderful post on the topic, and now I frequent her site on a regular basis. She’s provided so much useful information here, explained in easy to understand layman’s terms, and has undoubtedly helped keep people safe (including myself). With the unending stream of COVID misinformation still going around the blogosphere, “You Can Know Things” is a drop of reason in a pool of ignorance. Thank you Dr. Panthagani.

Adam Taylor

January 2, 2022

Dr. Panthagani has a way of taking complex material and distilling it into something simple and clean. As a fellow science communicator I am impressed by her content selection, the neutral and rational way she presents material, and her graphic design style. I am grateful for her continued effort to educate during this time and highly recommend her page to others!

Dr. Annicka Evans

December 30, 2021

Great website, full of carefully thought out posts that aim to educate without inflaming. Very useful in the time where misinformation and disinformation are spreading like wildfire. This page cites evidence and helps us have productive conversations.

Anonymous User

December 30, 2021

This account has taught me so much which sparking my curiosity to research and learn even more. I appreciate the clear, concise, and easy to understand methods of communication. I share content from this page more than any other. Thank you and please don’t ever stop this incredibly important work!

Sylena Kelly

December 30, 2021

Excellent account. It breaks up common fallacies disguised as rational arguments so it’s much easier to be aware of an attempt at manipulation. Vital work during this pandemic.

Ángel Carrión

December 30, 2021

I really enjoyed your series explaining all of the biases and extreme thinking on both sides of the Vax fence. It’s informative and to the point. Thank you for taking the time to help educate us and keep moving forward in a positive way.

Nicola

December 30, 2021

Recently found your page and I just love the way you break down the discussions around various topics into easy to understand bite size pieces. Very helpful!

Nolene Jensen

December 30, 2021

You are doing such important and potentially life-saving work, revealing and thoroughly explaining (often intentional) fallacies and other mis-/disinformation concerning health. You are a refreshing and comforting voice of reason that defends science and rationality in the middle of the unpredictable information war that is currently going on in social media and internet generally. Thank you!

Tiina Nevanlinna

December 30, 2021

Very useful page with well researched posts.

Anonymous user

December 30, 2021

There’s so much misinformation out there that I’m thankful for the people explaining complex concepts in their profession to the public. This blog has kept me up to date on the different angles misinformation circles around that I can’t actually keep my wits about me and help direct friends and family to real information to help them out of the cycle. Thank you thank you thank you!

Nicole

December 30, 2021

Wonderful page which helps you stay on track with the science in a time of massive untrue and biased information.

Andrew

December 30, 2021

I’m so happy I found your page. It has been very helpful and educational. For context, I am starting as an associate medical writer. Your page takes what are complex scientific and psychological concepts and explains them in clear, digestible ways.

Your page is so important in tackling the misinformation that has unfortunately been spread online throughout this pandemic. Science communication is needed now more than ever and the work that you do is SO APPRECIATED.

Honey McElhill

December 30, 2021

This page has been very insightful and a real help to the overall community when it comes to breaking down and understanding this disease on a scientific level!!! Thank you!!

Lindsey

December 30, 2021

I enjoy reading Kristen’s content. Overall her page presents a fresh perspective compared to other science-based pages I follow. She brings a nice mixture of summarizing recent findings or published info and incorporating that knowledge into real-world application. Her clear reasonable logic helps me understand better what’s going on with Covid and be more prepared to then explain or summarize to my non-science friends and family.

Shea

December 30, 2021

This page is immensely helpful to articulate things in scientific ways that we take for granted. I come to this page to advance my understanding of current public health crises and to find information on how to digest and gently push back on misinformation. This work is priceless in current times!

AR

December 30, 2021

I find this page super informative but also find it super simple. Everything is explained in a way that even I (a non sciencey person) can understand. It’s not biased or political, just stated the scientific/medical facts, which is the most important thing when discussing this kind of thing. I love this page and have shown it to many family members who also found it really great!

Cindy

December 30, 2021

Very informative and easy to understand posts. I’ve recommended this page to several friends and family members that struggle understanding information or defending themselves from misinformation.

Katherine M.

December 29, 2021

Grateful for the clear education and calm talking points. This account is a safe follow and informs me without compromising my mental health.

Katelyn Reames

December 29, 2021

I think it’s a very great initiative to try to tackle sophisms in people’s argumentation towards scientific (and any other topic in which they lack deep knowledge and understanding) advances. Sometimes, all we need is an objective point of view, or to take a step back, in order to understand how biased our opinion might seem. Other times, without knowing it we may mislead others by talking about opinions as if they were facts or by constructing a question as if the only good answer was ours. It’s a very scientific method of analyzing less open-minded point of views.

Katia Cherifi

December 29, 2021

Incredibly insightful and helpful resource for people within the realm of research and for the average layperson!

Cydney

December 29, 2021

This page is very informative! Has a way of putting things into perspective and helps you understand and process information easily

Andrea

December 29, 2021

Awesome page! The Dr. Shows great knowledge in both medical and psychological science

Very helpful as a reference when trying to not get angry in arguments.

I always look forward to learning from this page.

Jonathan DeMattos

December 29, 2021

Youcanknowthings.com and the accompanying social platforms is such an amazing source of bite-sized information. I love sharing with my family and friends simple summaries that are usually very relevant.

Janson

December 29, 2021

For context I’m currently in my 3rd of 4 years of my MSci Biological Sciences degree. I’ve found the posts/content from Dr. Kirsten Panthagani helpful for disseminating scientific information to those with less insight. Furthermore, Kirsten’s posts have shown me the work that goes into scientific communication, something I previously cared little about, and the difficulties of combatting misinformation.

Anonymous User

December 29, 2021

From the very beginning of this pandemic, Dr. Panthagani and her site “You Can Know Things” has been an indispensable source of balanced information for the lay public. Dr. Panthagani has an unmatched ability to take complex, nuanced concepts and break them down into easily understandable nuggets, backed whenever possible by rigorous evidence and data.

Jessica

December 29, 2021

I love how Dr. Panthagani breaks down common fallacies associated with misinformation on covid related topics. It’s done in an accessible way and as a graduate student, having resources to forward that anyone can engage with is priceless. Keep it up Doc, we need scholars to out in the work against misinformation because it’s literally a matter of life and death.

Varun Joshi

December 14, 2021

From the very beginning of this pandemic, Dr. Panthagani and her site “You Can Know Things” has been an indispensable source of balanced information for the lay public. Dr. Panthagani has an unmatched ability to take complex, nuanced concepts and break them down into easily understandable nuggets, backed whenever possible by rigorous evidence and data. A picture is worth a thousand words, and I have especially enjoyed the numerous visualization tools that she has developed for the “You Can Know Things” updates, which have enabled many of us to better explain to the lay public certain paradoxes that have been an inevitable consequence of the pandemic. Dr. Panthagani has also managed to be an incredibly effective counterbalance to the unfortunate plethora of misinformation and myths that has permeated the social media landscape. If there is one tenet of public health that this pandemic has been laid bare for society, it is our oft failure to communicate science effectively. This website is an enormously effective testament to the contrary, and I am grateful to Dr. Panthagani for the time and effort she has put into making “You Can Know Things” such an effective communication tool to the lay public.

Dr. Anirban Maitra, M.B.B.S., Professor, MD Anderson Cancer Center

December 5, 2021

As all the misinformation surged on social media once Covid-19 hit, it was absolutely awesome to find a page that detailed the correct information in language that the ordinary person could understand. It has been lovely having a FB page and website where information could be accessed without having to sort through misinformation and outright lies. Added to that, there are also blogs that assist in educating us on a variety of other issues, which, for people who are not in the field of science, is pretty awesome. Have learnt so much from You Can Know Things. Thank you, Kirsten!

Lise Gatenby

December 5, 2021

Kristen is a rising star in the field of science communication. As a meteorologist, particularly one interested in the communication challenges surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, I have found Kristen’s ability to explain complex aspects of the evolving information in understandable and accessible language to be both interesting and very helpful. Because of this, her blog has been indispensable through the pandemic, and I suspect it will continue to be a must-follow beyond the pandemic as well. Kristen does a good job keeping her posts and information level-headed and not hyperbolic; she tells you what is known, what is unknown, and how you should digest it all, and she does it in a way that doesn’t talk down to anyone in her audience either. She’s become a model for others in the field of science communication. I look forward Kristen’s future contributions to our understanding of complex science!

Matt Lanza, managing editor, "Space City Weather"

December 4, 2021

Great original content that is easy to read and understand (making sometimes difficult concepts more digestible with analogies/stories), that can easily be shared with anyone who has pandemic related questions or concerns, all while remaining purely informational/neutral without all the political slant to things these days.

Anonymous

December 4, 2021

Shares information on medical science in a easy to read and understand way, a welcome resource in these dark days with so much misinformation around. Well done.

Anonymous

December 3, 2021

I can’t count the number of times I have shared one of Kristen’s articles to explain a point. I always learn something new and find a new perspective reading this well-researched content. I appreciate the timeliness and links to sources that I can read further if I want to delve deeper.

Anonymous

December 3, 2021

Fantastic resource. Kristen has a gift for scientific communication. I’m a PhD scientist and You Can Know Things is my go to resource for sharing answers to pandemic-related questions with others in my network. The content is consistently thorough, concise, engaging, transparent, and informative/accurate. Moreover, the perspective and voice are moderate and unbiased, and thus accessible to people of all backgrounds.

Anonymous

December 3, 2021

Without you, I wouldn’t know what information to trust. Thank you for everything you do, we wait for every new post.

Anonymous

December 3, 2021

I have a bachelors degree in biology and a master’s in radiological science. I’ve worked around, among and for eminent scientists my entire career. I have shared Kristen’s explanations regarding how the RNA vaccines work, and her detailed but clear discussions about the statistics of COVID with many close friends and family. She makes sense, makes it understandable, and is entertaining – all at the same time. I highly recommend her blog to anyone who wants to KNOW things, because you can KNOW things!

Anonymous