A lot of science myths persist in popular culture, and this column has tried to address some of them over the past few years. Yet, how do you actually debunk myths? Is there any way to convince people of scientific facts that go against their strongly held beliefs?

To answer this question, we need to take a closer look at how communication works. For a long time, most research adhered to the so-called transmission model, in which a message moves directly from one person to another. I would write this article, you would read it and, as a result, we both have the exact same information and understanding of the subject. Of course, the situation is completely different.

Instead, the transactional model of communication can give us some clues about the true nature of human interaction. Addressing the shortcomings of the transmission model, this states that one person expresses their interpretation of a message, while the other person hears their own interpretation of that message. Therefore our backgrounds make a huge difference: past experience, knowledge, age, race and gender shape our understanding of what is said and written.

Take today’s social media bubbles: if everyone in your network agrees that climate change is a hoax, it will be much harder for me to convince you that it might be real. I would probably have a better chance if we ended up talking face to face.

As we have a conversation, we receive feedback from the other person and can use this to shape our message – meaning is created while chatting. Engaging actively means being open to what the other person might say and being aware of our own subjectivity: this is how I see the problem, but how do you see it? Having a clearer understanding of this makes it much easier to shift interpretations and, yes, debunk myths. So do go out there and discuss science with people who might not agree with you – don’t forget to listen!