tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post7432812210847817720..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: Too Easily PersuadedAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-86104212062218688072011-08-15T11:08:47.890-04:002011-08-15T11:08:47.890-04:00And James, there actually is a Great Dismal Swamp....And James, there actually is a Great Dismal Swamp.<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Dismal_SwampAssistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-64129734478577083312011-08-14T23:41:58.277-04:002011-08-14T23:41:58.277-04:00Typically, aside from politics, advertising, and f...Typically, aside from politics, advertising, and fishing, people tend to tell the truth. In academia I'm accustomed to material that has been scrutinized and is likely to be fairly reliable as to facts, if not interpretation. (physics)<br />But most writing hasn't been carefully reviewed--especially news reports and blogs (I figure commentary is politics and mostly spun at best). A stint on a grand jury taught me how inaccurate the crime stories were likely to be, and the rest is likely just as poor. But it is terribly easy to just keep assuming that the paper is telling the truth--and without alternative sources how will I know? Shall I be uninformed or misinformed? Life is too short for me to do a fact-check of every story. So I wing it and provisionally accept what I read.<br /><br />Sometimes, as with you, I can tell that the writer is off base when he hits something I know more about. Or when there are discrepancies in the story, like a timeline that doesn't make sense. (A story in this morning's paper was about a group of Biblical scholars claiming the Old Testament was rewritten over time: either the reporter was in way over his head or the group was full of it--perhaps both. The oldest actual manuscripts referred to were the Dead Sea Scrolls, though the story mentioned quotations by other writers.)<br /><br />You may have heard that blogger Ann Althouse was attacked this week when covering a protest at the state capitol. If you watched her own video, you see that this is technically true, but not something you could get a conviction for. It makes a good story, though, and I suspect the anecdote will turn up in posts for a long time. And when I hit one I'll know somebody wasn't thorough and trusted their sources. Just like I wind up doing.<br /><br /><i>Reading alternative media doesn't help as much as I'd like, since quite a few writers have a fairly elastic conception of truth. I frequently run into 9/11 truthers in Madison, and the alternative medicine field is an even more dismal swamp.</i>jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792036361407527304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-53101157039939667032011-08-13T18:15:30.172-04:002011-08-13T18:15:30.172-04:00I often feel that what I think seems to depend on ...I often feel that what I think seems to depend on the opinion of the last person I spoke to. <br /><br />It happens far too often. I read or learn some new idea. "Aaahh" I think. "I understand it now."<br /><br />I discuss with someone else. They explain what's really going on. "Oh" I think "I'm glad I got that straightened out." <br /><br />And again. And again. Each new argument a fresh position. <br /><br />In these fields that aren't my home territory I just don't have the chops to form any real opinions of my own (not that that really stops me). <br /><br />Too easily persuaded indeed.Dubbahdeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00075702513873912334noreply@blogger.com