Exhibition from 3 October to 17 November 2024

Where does the truth end? Where does the lie begin? Is there a clear dividing line, or is the transition fluid?

In our time, these questions are of utmost importance. Through social media, artificial intelligence, and information bubbles, the boundaries between fact and fake are becoming increasingly blurred. But what about past times?
The search for truth is not a modern trend. Throughout (scientific) history, there has been deception, facts have been falsified, and sometimes the truth was simply unrecognizable.

Or perhaps it was not allowed or even desired to be recognized? An exemplary case are the "Würzburger Lügensteine" (Würzburg's Lying Stones): this spectacular archaeological find turned into a scientific scandal that extended far beyond the borders of Würzburg.

The pursuit of knowledge and truth also extended to distant lands and the cosmos: James Cook discovered unknown lands; Nicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Kepler placed the sun at the center of our solar system, thereby reorganizing the heavens.

Our  exhibition illustrates, through four thematic areas, how the search for facts and the confrontation with fakes have evolved throughout history and where the challenges for today's society lie. This is exemplified by exhibits from the University Library's own collections and external loans, collectively illuminating the themes of time, space, and Earth's history. In the fourth thematic area, interactive virtual reality and AI elements demonstrate that the question of objective reality is complex and must be continuously reexamined.

Distinguishing between fact and fake is becoming increasingly difficult. Therefore, it is more important than ever to develop a sense of how to handle information correctly. The exhibition shows how this can be achieved.