Method 2
Identifying a significant amount of similar information
Ancient people typically sought confirmation from multiple sources before accepting a message as true. If the information was consistently spread by various people and means across different locations, they tended to trust it more. This approach leverages the ‘resonance effect’ where true information widely resonates and generates consistent feedback.
On the contrary, if a piece of information appears only in a single source, or if there are significant discrepancies or even contradictions between different sources, then ancient people will be sceptical about its authenticity. They would have verified the authenticity of this information through further enquiry, investigation or observation, or looked for more reliable sources.