Suppose that Lyle Ott, a co-worker of yours, claims to be a close friend of the great celebrity, Rich Andphaymis. Which of the following would be the best test of that claim (or hypothesis) and why?
a. Ask your co-workers whether they have reason to think that Rich Andphaymis is NOT friends with Lyle. If they have no evidence that he isn't then that is good evidence that he is.
b. Ask Lyle to produce several pictures of him together with Andphaymis. If he can then this would be a good test because friends usually have pictures together and non-friends don't typically have multiple pictures with the same celebrity.
c. Ask your other co-workers if they remember what famous friends Lyle has. If they mention Rich Andphaymis, it will be a solid confirmation because memory is one of the most reliable forms of evidence and isn't easily influenced by suggestion.
d. Check Lyle's social media networks to see if Rich Andphaymis is connected. If someone with that name is connected with Lyle, this will be solid confirmation because if Lyle were friends with Andphaymis then we would expect someone with that name to be connected with Lyle.