Note: This is NOT a "political" post, even though some politically-related commentary will follow. Perhaps we should call it "apolitical" in the sense that there's no affiliation with any school of thought.
Onwards!
So I Heard This News Item...
The Internet and the airwaves are filled with "news stories" and commentaries on a wide range of subjects and opinions.
Oh my... those OPINIONS!
Currently, Mrs. Denmarkguy is off visiting a friend in Eastern Washington... very affluent family; very right-side, politically speaking... to the point of occasionally bordering on Q-anon conspiracies. She listens (mostly) politely to what is being said... not so much bothered by the actual viewpoints as by the fact that they are mostly unsubstantiated OPINIONS, presented as facts.
Meanwhile, the left side of the political arena seems to have gone off the rails in its obsession with being inclusive and offending nobody, ever, at all.
Opinion Soup, Anyone?
I find myself looking at this weird "opinion soup" while uneasily moving closer and closer to the uncomfortable reality that facts have become increasingly optional and/or unnecessary in our modern world.
In fact, facts (see what I did, there?) are becoming undesirable, or so it seems. I guess they are just not very "sexy."
Of course the "marketing machine" that drives pretty much everything in our world runs on emotion, not logic. And that applies, regardless of whether you are buying a toaster, a car, or voting for a political candidate.
The problem becomes that in the face of facts, people become less subject to manipulation.
When I am Voting for Someone...
... I don't give a hoot and a holler who they slept with or whether or not they smoke weed, I want to know whether they have the skill set to generate jobs, or build infrastructure, or whatever is the topic of the moment.
Similarly, when I buy a toaster, I want to know whether it does a good job of toasting bread and I don't give a flying flip whether it makes my penis look larger or makes me more likely to score a hot girlfriend.
"Way back when" we used to talk a lot about "Signal" and "Noise." In a broad sense, verifiable facts were considered "Signal" and *opinion was — for the most part — considered "Noise."
Seems Like it is ALL Noise...
The most dangerous and insidious part of noise is what I call "incomplete facts."
It's the taking of the positive parts from a set of data that's predominantly negative and wrapping it in a "story" that makes it sound like that handful of positive items represent the sum-total of the findings.
It's saying that "Adults between 31 and 40 saw a 10% rise in real income!" while ignoring that every other category experienced massive declines.
The left does it, all the time. The right does it, all the time.
Closing the Loop...
So Mrs. Denmarkguy is visiting her friend and hearing some "unusual" things. The bothersome part isn't so much what is being said as the fact that most of what is being said is more or less pulled out of thin air, or comes from obviously sketchy sources.
And yet, this whole family treats them as absolute facts.
Which leads me to the widespread "dysfunction factor" that seems to be running rampant in our world: Instead of facing and dealing with our less attractive and appealing attributes, biases and opinions, we instead find some kind of "proof" (noise) that will support our paradigm — however toxic and/or dysfunctional — so we don't have to actually stand in accountability.
Which is a bit depressing, really...
It strikes me as akin to people who'd rather believe they can lose 40lbs by petting a naked rat three times a day than by getting some exercise and eating less.
It worries me for the world, because we seem to be increasingly drowning in a mass overdose of opinions that support people's life paradigms, rather than the actual concrete facts of situations... and life-and-death decisions now hang on these opinions rather than facts because it has become all but impossible to even discern what's REALLY going on.
And with that thought, I'm going to head off to bed! Thanks for reading, and have a great Sunday!
How about you? Do you know what's REALLY going on in the world; in science, in medicine? Do you ever find yourself reaching for "a promising theory" rather than documented reality? Has "what IS" become so harsh that we choose to hide in remote possibility instead, because it feels better? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
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Created at 20220814 02:02 PDT
0631/1877
One of the reasons why I stopped listening and or watching news may it be on TV or on neighbor chismosas/gossipers, lol! It's quite appalling how truth seems to be getting pushed at the back and fake ones coming right up front and some people readily accepting and or believing them as the facts without even taking time to check.
Well, sometimes I'm guilty of that too :D
If you decide to start a political party I'll totally vote for you even though I detest politics because it is what it is.... as we use the word colloquially. It's about telling a story to spin things in a particular direction. Meh
Hear hear and fucking well said!!!
"Which leads me to the widespread "dysfunction factor" that seems to be running rampant in our world: Instead of facing and dealing with our less attractive and appealing attributes, biases and opinions, we instead find some kind of "proof" (noise) that will support our paradigm — however toxic and/or dysfunctional — so we don't have to actually stand in accountability."
I blame the revolution of the "love and Light" brigade (guilty until I was rudely awakened) which has taught us to side step ANYTHING that is too uncomfortable for us to sit with. Which we all jumped into when things started to go wrong to try and cope with the increased stressors of society as we began to bottom out in the nineties.
I suspect the powers that be encouraged this but I won't state it online in case you think I'm a conspiracy theorist = randomly assigned suggestion of mental instability now applied to anyone who questions the status quo = primary tactic used by dysfunctional systems and people to maintain power and control.
We could write a sci-fi novel but it's probably too close to some kind of possible "truth".
😂
Diabolical! Machiavellian genius! 💥 I'd be impressed if I didn't have kids to leave in this mess we've created.
But before anyone does think I'm a conspiracy theorist no...
Our inability to sit with "truth" (i.e. the tough stuff as well) is (in my opinion) a trauma response. 👍
Looks delicious
I see it happening here in Australia we have just had the corporate email signature changed because some wording might offend someone.
I agree. In our world we have access to so much information that too often we don’t take the time to assess. Even when we do assess, it’s difficult to separate truth from fiction. During this pandemic many “experts” have spouted “scientific” “facts” that directly oppose each other.
I hate to admit this, but, I have all but stopped watching the news. I watch a once-through to make sure there is a world outside, the stock market is playing, and the weather.
I am overtired of being fed lies and conspiracy theories. What is wrong with out world? How did we get so far stuck down this rabbit hole? History repeating itself in some ways?
I just want to run away from all of this. :(
Sorry, but, that is the truth.
Where we have lived for the past 24 years, we can't get broadcast TV without a dish of some sort, or cable. So I haven't watched the news for years, unless I was visiting somebody else who had it on. The radio doesn't work well here, either, so unless I happen to listen in the car, I don't hear news that way. My husband listens to and reads alternative news sources that he trusts. I recently began listening to a podcast featuring doctors, scientists, and other professionals who are standing up to the many lies we've been fed in recent years. It is quite fascinating and well-researched, and yet I am sure there are people who would discredit everything they say because it isn't what the mainstream media is telling us.
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STOPI sometimes wonder whether people are really more fueled by emotion now than in the past, or whether mass media and then the internet have just made it easier to see.
People have always preferred to rationalize over being rational. Then again, social media and the news industry have objectively driven toward a soundbite culture. It's one of the reasons I prefer HIVE to Twitter and Facebook.
I am philosophically an anarchist because I started poking at the inconsistencies I saw in politics, and wanted to better understand society and economics. I got tired of authoritarians pissing on my back and telling me it was raining, and only that OTHER party wanted to piss on me.