Which is why we now have people like Conway and Spicer talking about "alternative facts", as though such a concept actually makes sense.
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Replying to @fozmeadows
As a teenager learning about subjectivity/objectivity, what terrified me was the realisation of how precarious our modern knowledgebase is.
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Replying to @fozmeadows
The modern world is so vastly huge & complex that no one person can ever understand *everything* underpinning it, so we rely a LOT on trust.
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Replying to @fozmeadows
Trust in the scientific method, journalistic integrity, educational institutions, politicians; trust in the accurate spread of information.
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Replying to @fozmeadows
We've always tried to hold our various institutions accountable, have always pushed back against or pushed for particular findings. But now-
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Replying to @fozmeadows
Now, we have the internet, where anyone can potentially learn anything, where very little is vetted, and where trust is easy to gain.
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Replying to @fozmeadows
As part of the same high school history class, we were taught how to assess the verity of websites as sources: basic digital fact-checking.
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Replying to @fozmeadows
We were taught this when the internet was still comparatively new; before Wikipedia & social media, before Google had become what it is now.
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Replying to @fozmeadows
It wasn't part of the curriculum; it was something my school elected to teach us on its own recognisance. Something we badly need more of.
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Replying to @fozmeadows
Because now, online, when True Believer objectivists encounter fake news and propaganda to suit them? Now they think they have "facts", too.
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What's so terrifying about the Kumquat's "fake news" accusations and "alternative facts" is that it undermines the very *concept* of trust.
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Replying to @fozmeadows
It preys on that intellectually honest admission of subjectivity and says, "it's wrong to rule out ANYTHING outright - facts are fluid!".
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Replying to @fozmeadows
It leverages the intellectually honest admission of potential bias to say, "Their doubts means my Alternative Facts are objectively true!"
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