I just have found this very relevant article:
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/07/11/how_facts_backfire/?page=full
at David Gurteen Knowledge Letter -one of my favorite sources of more-than-information.
The paper expalins why the the things have a natural trend to go from bad to worse.
The title is misleading, as 'facts' are not living entitles capable of 'backfiring'. It has been said that "figures don't lie, but liars can figurea". Selecting "facts" to advance agendas is like selecting jurors favorable to a client, or setting rules for a 'formal, logical' discussion. Humans in growing up grasp data suppoted their survival and self-worth, becoming part of what "I" am. Data, "facts" which conflict with that self-image threaten survival [I was wrong] and may be rejected. Polls are unreliable as the phrasing of the question influences the answer; the poll may be structured to "prove" any agenda.
ReplyDeleteThank you, dear Mike!
ReplyDeleteThe same situation is with memes,that are also not living entities, however they dominate us, create memecracies and sometimes lead to mass killings.