By Rebecca Gnanasingam - Working Individually

In the following video posted below, celebrity Kylie Jenner shares a series of Snapchats endorsing and sharing her love and belief in the product “Sugar Bear Hair Vitamins & Multivitamins”. She claims that this product helps with “body wellness for woman” while also mentioning that it is a “vegan” product. As it turns out, there has not yet been any proof associated with how these “Sugar Bear Gummies” help promote good health. If anything, studies have shown that “there is lack of sufficient evidence for biotin supplementation in healthy individuals” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28879195). Personally, as much as I am a fan of the Kardashians, I feel heavily skeptical about this product as to me, it's hard to believe that these gummies would increase hair growth. This is an example of appeal to authority red flag as Sugar Bear is using celebrity endorsements like Kylie Jenner to make consumers believe that it is a product that works. 

Connection
The myth that I decided to dive into correlating to this red flag is the belief of humans only using 10% of our brain. Researchers tend to believe that this belief came into existence back in the 1900’s, where it arose from writing by psychologist and philosopher William James. In his writings, he claimed that “we are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources” (https://www.verywellmind.com/10-percent-of-brain-myth-2794882), however neurologists have debunked this myth over time. Yet, even after modern science has proven the myth otherwise, there are many individuals who still seem to believe that we only use 10% of our brain. When observing this claim, it is important to use the critical thinking process as it leads you to evaluate, compare, analyze, critique and synthesize the information being presented throughout this claim, which is what the neurologists did to debunk the claim of only using 10% of your brain 

Connection
The below video that I had found interestingly in connection to confirmation bias is a clip from the famous “That 70’s Show”. In this specific clip, the character Kelso and others walk into Eric’s basement where Eric’s sister Laurie was doing laundry. Oozing over the fact that Laurie was just in a sweatshirt, closer to the end of the video Kelso shares his “perception” of the entire interaction with Laurie as if she was coming onto him (starts at 1:57 of video), when in reality, that was not the case at all. Kelso had picked and chose what he wanted to believe as true, which is the fact that Laurie had infatuation towards him. A connection to the pseudoscience watchlist is the appeal to emotion, as Kelso shows vulnerability towards Laurie and his emotion overpowers rational thought. Even though the others were there to witness what exactly went down, Kelso will always believe that him and Laurie have an emotional connection after this interaction. 

Connection
As we have seen on social media platforms, the celery juice trend began to blow up over time and has been spreading as the new way of detoxing your body and helps with loosing weight. Many people tend to believe that this “all-natural celery juice” is effective in promoting a healthy lifestyle while also detoxing your body free of toxins. The source of the “celery juice cleanse” started by an individual named Anthony William, also known as the “Medical Medium” on social media. He claims that by drinking 16 ounces of celery juice can lead to improved gut appearance, weight loss, clear skin, flushing out viruses, and many more benefits to your health (https://www.unitypoint.org/livewell/article.aspx?id=a1284bfe-7c51-454f-a5d1-32dba5b25e3b&Celery+Juicing%3A+Superfood+or+Super+Fad%3F). With this being a full, all natural way of loosing weight and reaping health benefits, it has been compared to not truly be as great as it seems, for one, by juicing it, you can loose healthy fibre, cannot prevent cancer, and cannot prevent digestive disorders, as Williams claims otherwise. There is still no scientific evidence to show that the claims Williams made are true about celery juice being the “all natural” way to lose weight and detoxify your body. In connection to the critical thinking process, ensure that you are evaluating all the evidence necessary before falling for the fad. Check the credibility and verify the source to see whether this claim is true or not. 

Connection 
One specific example that comes to mind when it relates to agenticity is angels. Growing up in the Catholic faith, I was raised to believe in angels, as they are a significance to believe that there is always someone watching down on us and protecting us. Personally, because I believe in my faith, I do believe that angels exist, but more so that they are spiritual beings that protect us from harm and guide us down the right path. It is like a subconscious spirit that guides us. 

When using the critical thinking process, there are many articles that state that it is still a mystery to crack as to whether angels exist, as there has not been any solid proof proving otherwise. This is still a mysterious phenomenon that continues to be investigated. 

Connection 
I chose the picture of Barak Obama as an example of the ideology that I personally believe he was one of the best Presidents to be in office in American history and had a great relationship with Canada in political terms. This ideology that I feel a strong connection to Obama is through the belief of what I have seen him do in relation to American politics, for example, introducing Obamacare to those who did not have any healthcare insurance, making health care a priority in the country as it should be and no human should not have the opportunity to having good healthcare. 

This opinion can be very bias, as many others may have a different perception of Obama, however, when I use the critical thinking process, to me all the facts that I find on Obama seem to support my belief in him as a leader. 

Connection
Some may ask “what is love” – and everyone has a different definition to the meaning of “love” based on their experiences and beliefs. To me, love is when you feel a sense of belonging, which encompasses with the belief that you are liked and appreciated by others. It is a feeling of joy and happiness, and typically projects positive feelings. In this video, actor Will Smith analyzes and goes into depth of his meaning of love. 

As skeptical as an emotion may be, it can be a reason of belief as it makes individuals feel a way where they feel a connection to the idea of a positive feeling.

Define Problem (extraordinary claim)
Does Sugar Bear Gummies cause hair growth?

Gather Information
In the video above, Kylie Jenner posts multiple snaps of her promoting Sugar Bear Hair and Multivitamins, where she speaks about how she loves and recommends the product, as it helps her with her hair growth. 

Evaluate Evidence
Kylie Jenner started off her fame being a member of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, building popularity and her empire through being under the public eye. Being such an influencer through her presence on social media, organizations would be more inclined to have her endorse products, such as Sugar Bear did in this case. She is also wearing a wig throughout the series of snaps in where she is promoting the product in which also sounds scripted when she explains it. She has no science background either. 

Recognize Assumptions, Emotions, Biases
Kylie Jenner seems to assume that this is a great product for Sugar Bear as she was endorsed to advertise it. In the series of snaps itself, she hash-tagged “#ad” as she continued to rave about the product being so great. She showed one of her snaps taking a bite of the gummies, but other then that there’s no proof as to whether the product works. Her emotion throughout the series of snaps was very monotone, and as previously mentioned seemed a bit scripted. 

Alternative solution 1: Sugar Bear Hair gummies help promote hair growth, supported by Kylie Jenner and other celebrities 

Alternative solution 2: Sugar Bear Hair gummies does not cause hair growth, supported by evidence through experiments done by researchers and other consumers that tested the product and found no hair growth had occurred – if anything they did receive the nutrients in the gummies with all the vitamins found in the gummies 

I therefore conclude that after seeing multiple articles, these gummies do not help with hair growth.