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News Gathering vs. Confirmation Bias
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[S]cience is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking. I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time – when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.
The dumbing down of America is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30-second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance.
— Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark (New York: Ballantine Books, 1996) at p.32.
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[S]cience is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking. I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time – when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.
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Tag Archives: society
The Best Way to Spot an Idiot: Kindness as a Signifier of Intelligence
Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker’s commencement speech at Northwestern on 12 June 2023 (excerpted by John Gruber of Daring Fireball): The best way to spot an idiot? Look for the person who is cruel. When we see someone who doesn’t look like us, or sound like us, or act like us, or love like us, or […]
Also tagged education, quotes, rational thought / critical thinking
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Bubba Wallace: You won’t see Confederate flag ban protesters tear gassed and shot with rubber bullets
AL.com (a part of the Alabama Media Group): Bubba Wallace, a vocal advocate in getting the banners banned, was unfazed by the demonstrations outside the racetrack. “It’s their right to peaceful protest my man, so it’s part of it,” Wallace said on FOX Sports. “But you won’t see them inside the racetrack where we’re having […]
Also tagged change, commentary, equality, freedom, freespeech, government, history, law enforcement, race/racism
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Naomi Osaka: It’s Insulting to Tell Athletes to ‘Just Stick to Sports’
The TIME100 Talks: Why Naomi Osaka Says It’s Insulting to Tell Athletes to ‘Just Stick to Sports’ Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka is challenging the “weird stigma” around athletes who speak about political issues, arguing that it is not faced by other professions. “Everyone has a vote and a say, I think it’s really weird […]
Also tagged change, commentary, equality, freedom, freespeech, freethought, history, race/racism
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Dave Chappelle: Raw and Right on the Mark
Goddamn. Raw, honest, and righteous: very deeply moving commentary from America’s most important truth-teller. Dave Chappelle: 8:46.
Also tagged change, commentary, equality, freedom, government, history, race/racism
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Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Police
If police are trying to convince the public they’re not guilty of displaying excessive force, it’s probably not a good idea to repeated display excessive force on national television. — John Oliver, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, S7E14, 7 June 2020. Perhaps the most important episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver I’ve […]
Also tagged commentary, government, history, race/racism
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This is a Moment When Many People May Want Nothing More Than a Return to Normalcy
Tim Cook, in a memo to Apple employees in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on Thursday, 25 May 2020, which understandably sparked demonstrations, some of which turned violent, across the nation: Team, Right now, there is a pain deeply etched in the soul of our nation […]
Also tagged abuse, commentary, equality, government, history, law enforcement, rational thought / critical thinking, reason
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Times: Shootings Spur Debate on Extremism and Guns, With Trump on Defense
Alexander Burns writing in the paper of record: The politics of American gun violence follow a predictable pattern in most cases: outraged calls for action from the left, somber gestures of sympathy from the right, a subdued presidential statement delivered from a prepared text — and then, in a matter of days or even hours, […]
Also tagged commentary, guns, opinion, violence
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How the Koch Brothers Are Killing Public Transit Projects Around the Country
Hiroko Tabuchi in the paper of record: In places like Nashville, Koch-financed activists are finding tremendous success. Early polling here had suggested that the $5.4 billion transit plan would easily pass. It was backed by the city’s popular mayor and a coalition of businesses. Its supporters had outspent the opposition, and Nashville was choking on […]
Also tagged bullshit, government
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5 things white people can do before they call the cops on a black person
Reasonable list from Mashable, should be filed under “common fucking sense.”
Also tagged commentary, equality, reason
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Photos Show Difference in How Police Responded to Anti-Racism Protests and the Siege at the U.S. Capitol
The linked article is good and CBS’s photos of the attempted coup d’état at the U.S. Capitol yesterday by Trump-supporting domestic terrorists are telling, but I personally prefer this from The Recount: In case you can’t tell — and please, watch the linked video — the photo on the left shows a police officer in […]
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