I would like to share a quote that sums my take on your message-
“The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.”
― Charles Bukowski
The fact is, those of us who can do the math and accept the outcome are more willing to admit to being wrong. But, those who are content to be ignorant see no reason to change their point of view. This is ultimately the problem. The ones who would benefit from a change of perspective are the least likely to entertain looking for one.
I suspect the Fox News crowd is very comfortable in their position of ignorance. After all, they won the election, didn't they. They have now been confirmed to be on the "winning" side. So, why would they ever be motivated to question the false information that has been fed to them for the past 9 years?
I am pleased to see Meidas Touch doing so well. I wish all the Truthtellers on Substack had the same impact, could band together, and overcome the magaphone of lies (not just misinformation).
Any suggestions on how we go about that? Particularly with a wannabe dictator waiting in the wings ready to go to war with the American mainstream media- despite the fact that the majority of them actually did more to help him win the election than reporting the facts? The same guy who’s about to take a wrecking ball to our public education system, something that seems especially disastrous in light of the plague of ignorance slowly killing democracy here
I have training in the sciences. An important takeaway from this essay is how important it is to have at least some understanding of the scientific method. You have a hypothesis, something you think may be “true.” You test it as thoroughly as you can, trying to remove or at least acknowledge biases. And then you respect the results of your inquiry, whether your hypothesis is found to be correct or not. And as facts change you apply this process again.
I have found that many people lack any rigor or reality testing before they allow ideas into their minds. This is one of the most tragic facts about the 2024 election. People accepted lies as the truth and voted for an odious criminal over a person of character and achievement.
Without agreement on a common set of facts, nihilism takes hold. All is not lost, to be sure, but we have a lot of work to do.
Your 100% right .. we are supposed to think inside the box ...never believing something is beyond those lines or realistically outside the box ....I'm lucky . I'm old . I've always questioned the facts considering that We are supposed to believe what we're told and taught . Yet I have been able to see from afar what really is ...I've always been a dreamer ...and my dreams told me the reality , believe it or not .. I've allowed myself to see other dimensions and reasoning beyond reality , but , there's few that understand those facts without questioning my sensibility . When you know your boundaries aren't the same as others ,you don't waste time trying to point out your views and facts to anyone unless their on the same scope as you . But when you do find someone that is on the same plateau,it becomes so universally sane .. thanks for such wonderful thoughts to wake up and be thoughtful 🥰 and thankful of . Happy Thanksgiving , we are all in this together , expanding your mind and conscience together with those that truly appreciate the real reality
Thank you for this wonderfully written piece about something that has been infuriating me more and more. Misinformation, ill-education, and people basing supposed 'personal beliefs' and opinions on fallacies has always been a great irritant to me. Especially because I am 39 years old and fall into the unique time frame of technology advancement where most of those my age were getting cellphones upon graduation from high school. This, of course, after growing up and each year having more and more exposure and interaction time with computers until a good number of us had a home computer of our own – and if not, we were at least taking at least one computer course in school. This may be *slightly* anecdotal, but it's not to the level where it was a rare lived experience.
Anyhow, growing up with the ability to not only go to the library and do research the old-fashioned way but also being able to scour the world wide web gives, at least me, a different perspective into this canyon of existential dread based on misinformation derived beliefs society has plummeted into. It seems like every day I am inundated with the anger and frustration of hearing or reading another moronic and ill-informed idiot spouting their misinformation and nonsensensical beliefs and so-called knowledge as if they are gospel and concrete undeniable facts. It peeves me quite a bit more than I'd rather admit, but I'll own up to it, especially since those fallacies, that misinformation has been used *against* me. Dangerously. Violently. I, ugh I do hate to admit this, actually sit here while writing this with a black eye, a gash on my jaw, and three bruised ribs due to someone acting on their beliefs that are undoubtedly comprised of lies, misinformation, and let's be honest – actual stupidity.
That's the thing. Right there. I get squeamish when saying that or even typing it. Considering people 'stupid' and even worse... calling them on it, does not sit well with me. However, I can't *not* cast that out into the ether. Why? Because as uncomfortable as it makes me (especially with my background in mental health), it is true and, of course, it comes with reason. The entire reason that I have been angered and frustrated all along. Every. Single. Day.
I know everyone does not live a life of convenience or privilege. I know that there will be *some* people that this would not apply to (even though I know other avenues/routes, assistance, and resources exist I will still be *fair* and give *some* benefit of the doubt) but that group will be a smaller subset of the population – especially in today's technology driven society (and just to be fair, I speak about the U.S.) where it's actually quite difficult to not be exposed to technology and being almost mandated to interact with it.
So, with these factors taken into account, yes... a large swath people have proven to be stupid. Time and again. Why are they stupid? Because there exist people out there that are being put through hell, incurring violence, losing their lives because other people are believing and enacting rhetoric and actions based on beliefs and opinions that are swirling with absolutely ridiculous misinformation. This is happening all while people walk around with miniature computers in their pockets, there are libraries in almost every town/city, home computers are in many households, many tvs allow you to search the web. Basically, if you don't have the means to find factual information, you can find someone who does or find a way to inform yourself so much easier than you have ever been able to do before. Granted, you may have to sift through things and utilize critical thinking to ensure the legitimacy of the information you're digesting. But, I'm one to believe that if you have to use critical thinking to obtain the knowledge, you should also use critical thinking to apply it. Meaning that if you can't understand the ways to gather and weigh factual information for *yourself*, then you shouldn't be tasking yourself with applying information and opinions/beliefs based on that information on anyone else.
It's infuriating. People are ending up hurt. People are ending up dead because at a time in history where more people than not have ability to educate themselves, not many decide to (actually *many* decide not to because they are either lazy, don't care, want to be sheep to someone else, or think they know it all). Those who don't decide to educate themselves most of the time or those who decide not to, yes, are stupid. They don't find a way to inform themselves. They don't think it's inhumane to base actions and what they say on something that isn't a fact and may be critically harmful. Everything is just their 'personal beliefs', and by basing them as that in today's world, they erect a brick wall for anyone to not be able to tell them that they are wrong.
Well... guess what? If you don't base your so-called beliefs on something factual and if you don't take your opinions and put them to research or testing in some way – then the odds are high that you are WRONG, especially with all factors and variables breaking things down more and more to compound the likelihood of you being wrong. Yes, wrong. People can cry about being called wrong and even worse being called stupid, but I really don't care. I mean, I do, but I don't. Why? BECAUSE BOTH CAN BE CHANGED. Not only that, though. BOTH CAN BE CHANGED EASILY. Again, it is arguably easier to change now in 2024 than it has ever been any other time in history. I don't care if you're twenty-one or ninety-one. There is some way to inform yourself before applying misinformation that could literally kill someone on someone. And if there isn't, well then, maybe you just need to keep your mouth shut and not act on anything that you can't reasonably prove.
I think part of the problem is that so many of our politicians are too old to understand what a threat this is. They think it's business as usual, and it hasn't been for 20 years.
There is so much in your piece that I've also been thinking about. I hate trapping myself in some sort of post-modern questioning of what truth is, but it's such a struggle to know which sources are accurate. Especially with the amount of news, quasi-news, social media and babble bouncing around, there is such limited room for agreement about what is fact and what being a fact even means.
I remember in my naive youth thinking that if I just read enough I could understand the world and news and get to the truthiness of it all. But, even though I think now that was a silly idea, we at least had a shared frame of reference for our information. We could basically argue and discuss what we thought was happening and point to "sources" from a shared, but seemingly controlled media environment.
I don't think I realized it at the time, but it should have been very apparent where that divide was going when I was hanging out having a beer with some insurance adjusters from the south 20ish years ago. I have no idea what we were discussing, probably something social justice related from my leftier than thou standpoint, but I cited something I had read in the NY Times. These guys treated what I thought of as a reasonable source of information as stupid lefty propaganda. That shocked me, but looking back on it, that view of information ecosystems and bias has become embedded in our news consumption. Fewer and fewer people seem to be able or willing to agree on what the facts are and dismiss other's sources as tainted.
"Do your own research" But what? Where? I'm pretty sure I can find support for any possible position, no matter how ludicrous, floating around and citable. That doesn't make it valid. There has to be some sort of fact and truth but I don't know how we're going to decipher it from all of the noise. And that makes it possible for the loudest, cleverest, propagandiest voice to have the final say, regardless of its basis in fact or truth.
I'd start with google scholar, but then be sure to evaluate even the methodology of the scholarly papers that you find. Do the math yourself. It's not easy. Thanks for the comment!
I’m finding that the more I think either “oh neat!” Or “oh no!” The more I need to check sources. Also, before you share a lost-pet-social-media-plea, check if the pet has been found... the world doesn’t need to worry about a dog that was returned to his loving family a month (or a year) ago.
Yes, there has to be a nationwide concerted effort in educating adults and children about mis- and disinformation—LIES—of course that has to be part of the solution. But anecdotally, a huge hurdle I see is simply convincing people that they are actually misinformed. I am speaking personally and anecdotally.
My parents voted for dump. They are White and college-educated. My mother has a MSW _and_ a BS in engineering for gods sake, and she has been taken in by the disinformation she was fed by fox and I don't even know what other disinfo machine. But she is adamant that she is right, not just that it it's her opinion. I pointed out that he lied thirty thousand times while in office. She rebutted "Kamala lied, too!"
The false equivalency was stunning, as was the overall rejection of facts. She said, "I don't believe he's going to act like a dictator." Fact, he already acted like a dictator. She said, "He's got no connection to project 2025 and the heritage foundation. He said so." Fact 1: He lies. Fact 2: The Heritage Foundation said it wrote Project 2025 FOR HIM. Fact 3: People with public, direct associations with him are publicly acknowledged contributors of project 2025.
So what do we do with people who refuse to believe that they've been misinformed because they just reject that notion?
I just read this today, and I have to say that I am so happy to have joined a group that is so thoughtful and mindful of the situation we find ourselves in. You are attracting a family group that I would give up spending holidays alone to hang out with. ;)
Hi Walter,
I would like to share a quote that sums my take on your message-
“The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.”
― Charles Bukowski
The fact is, those of us who can do the math and accept the outcome are more willing to admit to being wrong. But, those who are content to be ignorant see no reason to change their point of view. This is ultimately the problem. The ones who would benefit from a change of perspective are the least likely to entertain looking for one.
I suspect the Fox News crowd is very comfortable in their position of ignorance. After all, they won the election, didn't they. They have now been confirmed to be on the "winning" side. So, why would they ever be motivated to question the false information that has been fed to them for the past 9 years?
Yeah, that’s the Dunning-Kruger effect. I’m a big fan of Bukowski too :)
I am pleased to see Meidas Touch doing so well. I wish all the Truthtellers on Substack had the same impact, could band together, and overcome the magaphone of lies (not just misinformation).
I'll have to look into that more.
Any suggestions on how we go about that? Particularly with a wannabe dictator waiting in the wings ready to go to war with the American mainstream media- despite the fact that the majority of them actually did more to help him win the election than reporting the facts? The same guy who’s about to take a wrecking ball to our public education system, something that seems especially disastrous in light of the plague of ignorance slowly killing democracy here
It starts with us. We have to make sure our personal sphere is free from lies, but they're going to encroach upon us, no question.
I have training in the sciences. An important takeaway from this essay is how important it is to have at least some understanding of the scientific method. You have a hypothesis, something you think may be “true.” You test it as thoroughly as you can, trying to remove or at least acknowledge biases. And then you respect the results of your inquiry, whether your hypothesis is found to be correct or not. And as facts change you apply this process again.
I have found that many people lack any rigor or reality testing before they allow ideas into their minds. This is one of the most tragic facts about the 2024 election. People accepted lies as the truth and voted for an odious criminal over a person of character and achievement.
Without agreement on a common set of facts, nihilism takes hold. All is not lost, to be sure, but we have a lot of work to do.
Your 100% right .. we are supposed to think inside the box ...never believing something is beyond those lines or realistically outside the box ....I'm lucky . I'm old . I've always questioned the facts considering that We are supposed to believe what we're told and taught . Yet I have been able to see from afar what really is ...I've always been a dreamer ...and my dreams told me the reality , believe it or not .. I've allowed myself to see other dimensions and reasoning beyond reality , but , there's few that understand those facts without questioning my sensibility . When you know your boundaries aren't the same as others ,you don't waste time trying to point out your views and facts to anyone unless their on the same scope as you . But when you do find someone that is on the same plateau,it becomes so universally sane .. thanks for such wonderful thoughts to wake up and be thoughtful 🥰 and thankful of . Happy Thanksgiving , we are all in this together , expanding your mind and conscience together with those that truly appreciate the real reality
Thank you for this wonderfully written piece about something that has been infuriating me more and more. Misinformation, ill-education, and people basing supposed 'personal beliefs' and opinions on fallacies has always been a great irritant to me. Especially because I am 39 years old and fall into the unique time frame of technology advancement where most of those my age were getting cellphones upon graduation from high school. This, of course, after growing up and each year having more and more exposure and interaction time with computers until a good number of us had a home computer of our own – and if not, we were at least taking at least one computer course in school. This may be *slightly* anecdotal, but it's not to the level where it was a rare lived experience.
Anyhow, growing up with the ability to not only go to the library and do research the old-fashioned way but also being able to scour the world wide web gives, at least me, a different perspective into this canyon of existential dread based on misinformation derived beliefs society has plummeted into. It seems like every day I am inundated with the anger and frustration of hearing or reading another moronic and ill-informed idiot spouting their misinformation and nonsensensical beliefs and so-called knowledge as if they are gospel and concrete undeniable facts. It peeves me quite a bit more than I'd rather admit, but I'll own up to it, especially since those fallacies, that misinformation has been used *against* me. Dangerously. Violently. I, ugh I do hate to admit this, actually sit here while writing this with a black eye, a gash on my jaw, and three bruised ribs due to someone acting on their beliefs that are undoubtedly comprised of lies, misinformation, and let's be honest – actual stupidity.
That's the thing. Right there. I get squeamish when saying that or even typing it. Considering people 'stupid' and even worse... calling them on it, does not sit well with me. However, I can't *not* cast that out into the ether. Why? Because as uncomfortable as it makes me (especially with my background in mental health), it is true and, of course, it comes with reason. The entire reason that I have been angered and frustrated all along. Every. Single. Day.
I know everyone does not live a life of convenience or privilege. I know that there will be *some* people that this would not apply to (even though I know other avenues/routes, assistance, and resources exist I will still be *fair* and give *some* benefit of the doubt) but that group will be a smaller subset of the population – especially in today's technology driven society (and just to be fair, I speak about the U.S.) where it's actually quite difficult to not be exposed to technology and being almost mandated to interact with it.
So, with these factors taken into account, yes... a large swath people have proven to be stupid. Time and again. Why are they stupid? Because there exist people out there that are being put through hell, incurring violence, losing their lives because other people are believing and enacting rhetoric and actions based on beliefs and opinions that are swirling with absolutely ridiculous misinformation. This is happening all while people walk around with miniature computers in their pockets, there are libraries in almost every town/city, home computers are in many households, many tvs allow you to search the web. Basically, if you don't have the means to find factual information, you can find someone who does or find a way to inform yourself so much easier than you have ever been able to do before. Granted, you may have to sift through things and utilize critical thinking to ensure the legitimacy of the information you're digesting. But, I'm one to believe that if you have to use critical thinking to obtain the knowledge, you should also use critical thinking to apply it. Meaning that if you can't understand the ways to gather and weigh factual information for *yourself*, then you shouldn't be tasking yourself with applying information and opinions/beliefs based on that information on anyone else.
It's infuriating. People are ending up hurt. People are ending up dead because at a time in history where more people than not have ability to educate themselves, not many decide to (actually *many* decide not to because they are either lazy, don't care, want to be sheep to someone else, or think they know it all). Those who don't decide to educate themselves most of the time or those who decide not to, yes, are stupid. They don't find a way to inform themselves. They don't think it's inhumane to base actions and what they say on something that isn't a fact and may be critically harmful. Everything is just their 'personal beliefs', and by basing them as that in today's world, they erect a brick wall for anyone to not be able to tell them that they are wrong.
Well... guess what? If you don't base your so-called beliefs on something factual and if you don't take your opinions and put them to research or testing in some way – then the odds are high that you are WRONG, especially with all factors and variables breaking things down more and more to compound the likelihood of you being wrong. Yes, wrong. People can cry about being called wrong and even worse being called stupid, but I really don't care. I mean, I do, but I don't. Why? BECAUSE BOTH CAN BE CHANGED. Not only that, though. BOTH CAN BE CHANGED EASILY. Again, it is arguably easier to change now in 2024 than it has ever been any other time in history. I don't care if you're twenty-one or ninety-one. There is some way to inform yourself before applying misinformation that could literally kill someone on someone. And if there isn't, well then, maybe you just need to keep your mouth shut and not act on anything that you can't reasonably prove.
I think part of the problem is that so many of our politicians are too old to understand what a threat this is. They think it's business as usual, and it hasn't been for 20 years.
“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but not their own facts.”
There is so much in your piece that I've also been thinking about. I hate trapping myself in some sort of post-modern questioning of what truth is, but it's such a struggle to know which sources are accurate. Especially with the amount of news, quasi-news, social media and babble bouncing around, there is such limited room for agreement about what is fact and what being a fact even means.
I remember in my naive youth thinking that if I just read enough I could understand the world and news and get to the truthiness of it all. But, even though I think now that was a silly idea, we at least had a shared frame of reference for our information. We could basically argue and discuss what we thought was happening and point to "sources" from a shared, but seemingly controlled media environment.
I don't think I realized it at the time, but it should have been very apparent where that divide was going when I was hanging out having a beer with some insurance adjusters from the south 20ish years ago. I have no idea what we were discussing, probably something social justice related from my leftier than thou standpoint, but I cited something I had read in the NY Times. These guys treated what I thought of as a reasonable source of information as stupid lefty propaganda. That shocked me, but looking back on it, that view of information ecosystems and bias has become embedded in our news consumption. Fewer and fewer people seem to be able or willing to agree on what the facts are and dismiss other's sources as tainted.
"Do your own research" But what? Where? I'm pretty sure I can find support for any possible position, no matter how ludicrous, floating around and citable. That doesn't make it valid. There has to be some sort of fact and truth but I don't know how we're going to decipher it from all of the noise. And that makes it possible for the loudest, cleverest, propagandiest voice to have the final say, regardless of its basis in fact or truth.
I'd start with google scholar, but then be sure to evaluate even the methodology of the scholarly papers that you find. Do the math yourself. It's not easy. Thanks for the comment!
I’m finding that the more I think either “oh neat!” Or “oh no!” The more I need to check sources. Also, before you share a lost-pet-social-media-plea, check if the pet has been found... the world doesn’t need to worry about a dog that was returned to his loving family a month (or a year) ago.
Yes, there has to be a nationwide concerted effort in educating adults and children about mis- and disinformation—LIES—of course that has to be part of the solution. But anecdotally, a huge hurdle I see is simply convincing people that they are actually misinformed. I am speaking personally and anecdotally.
My parents voted for dump. They are White and college-educated. My mother has a MSW _and_ a BS in engineering for gods sake, and she has been taken in by the disinformation she was fed by fox and I don't even know what other disinfo machine. But she is adamant that she is right, not just that it it's her opinion. I pointed out that he lied thirty thousand times while in office. She rebutted "Kamala lied, too!"
The false equivalency was stunning, as was the overall rejection of facts. She said, "I don't believe he's going to act like a dictator." Fact, he already acted like a dictator. She said, "He's got no connection to project 2025 and the heritage foundation. He said so." Fact 1: He lies. Fact 2: The Heritage Foundation said it wrote Project 2025 FOR HIM. Fact 3: People with public, direct associations with him are publicly acknowledged contributors of project 2025.
So what do we do with people who refuse to believe that they've been misinformed because they just reject that notion?
I just read this today, and I have to say that I am so happy to have joined a group that is so thoughtful and mindful of the situation we find ourselves in. You are attracting a family group that I would give up spending holidays alone to hang out with. ;)