tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156536327610779049.post490955082967418850..comments2024-02-23T11:23:45.971-05:00Comments on Lost Motorcyclist: Is Fact Checking a Lost Art?Lost Motorcyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873504561959138792noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156536327610779049.post-58598394416260817702010-10-25T09:40:48.309-04:002010-10-25T09:40:48.309-04:00I can just picture the standard reaction: 'Gas...I can just picture the standard reaction: 'Gasp! And I better warn my friends and relatives about this' ... and then promptly reaching for the 'Forward' button.<br /><br />From my viewpoint, these chain emails (as well as many blogs, 'political opinion' shows, &c.) are simply the latest incarnation of the 'rumour mills' that have been with us throughout human history. <br /><br />As far as those chain emails, common sense would suggest that, if things were as dire as the email makes them out to be, there would have been mention of it in the mainstream media.<br /><br />Or that, by the time you get the email warning you about that dreaded new computer virus, the 'news' is weeks old and that, without a viable virus checker running on your computer, there's a good chance you would likely already be infected (which is why most sensible people rely on virus checkers, rather than chain emails).<br /><br />Considerable scientific data indicates that, to a surprising degree, people believe what they want to believe. <br /><br />Which yields an interesting generalization: If much of this alarmist propaganda is right-leaning, in conflict with what most reasonable people believe is (or may be) true, there may well be much more of an incentive on the part of centrists and leftist readers to check the verity. <br /><br />Where the fears and prejudices of those on the right are being confirmed, there is, naturally, less motivation to debunk the rumour.<br /><br />As I clear those chain emails from my inbasket, I'm reminded of the lyrics of the Buffalo Springfield song, 'For What It's Worth' ...<br /><br /><i>Paranoia strikes deep<br />Into your life it will creep<br />It starts when you're always afraid ...</i><br /><br />(As far as the 1948 presidential election: that was one of the greatest examples of hubris in American political history. The Republicans were so confident that they would sweep the election (based on polls early in the campaign) that Dewey's campaign was completely lacklustre. One editorial writer summarized Dewey's position as, '<i>Agriculture is important. Our rivers are full of fish. You cannot have freedom without liberty. Our future lies ahead.</i>' Meanwhile Truman worked his butt off, <i>whistle-stopping</i>, and produced the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1948" rel="nofollow">greatest upset</a> in American political history.)Madeyehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02593933575568389288noreply@blogger.com