7 ms·

Apologies if I'm just projecting, but this seems nihilistic. Why does it matter if we know or don't know anything? Why does it matter if we know or don't know

Apologies if I'm just projecting, but this seems nihilistic. Why does it matter if we know or don't know anything? Why does it matter if we know or don't know who wrote, lobbied, or voted for a bill? Authored a commit? Bought an ad? Wrote an article? Funded a study? Owns a newspaper? Holds a broadcast license?

Nasrudith 7y ago
I would call it a bit more utilitarian personally. Philosophically there is some value to that attitude in theory but only if everything else is known about a concept such that origin is irrelevant. If someone finds scientific and mathematical proof that say an antibiotic formulation is impossible for a prokaryote to develop resistance to it doesn't matter if it was done by a respected winner of a noble prize, funded by a meat industrialist who wanted everyone off of his ass about antibiotic usage, or a crackpot who stumbled upon something right for utterly wrong reasons. If it is right the origins don't matter. In practice however we don't and the source hints at other aspects including conflicts of interest. Perhaps the hypothetical universal antibiotic technically works but allows viruses to proliferate and fill in many ecological niches meaning overuse is still bad even when disregarding digestive bacteria. And perhaps the hypothetical meat industrialist knew that abd covered it up.
phkahler 7y ago
On the chance that you're not joking: Why does it matter if we know or don't know who wrote, lobbied, or voted for a bill? Bill's are supposed to be created and voted on by "representatives" for the people who elected them. Transparency is how we know if they're doing the job we elect them to do. Authored a commit? Code is copyrighted. We should know who wrote it. It can also be helpful for having discussions with the author if needed. Bought an ad? I'm for this with political ads to prevent undue influence. I'm actually in favor of banning political ads sponsored by anyone outside the state, including parties. For non political ads I'm not sure if it matters. Wrote an article? This is not required. Funded a study? If the study is going to influence public policy I think we have a right to know who funded it. Owns a newspaper? Same so long as they offer political content. Holds a broadcast license? That's a government grant of monopoly on an o thg otherwise public resource. We should know who the government is granting exclusive use to. Same for land ownership.
- ggggtez 7y ago
  >Wrote an article? This is not required. Required? Perhaps no, but it's common, especially in serious journalism. The reason to do so is similar to the other reasons. Imagine an article talking about an Oil company that is donating money to a charity. If an article is written by a professional journalist with a history of accurate reporting, you are likely to trust it more than if you found out the author was a PR rep for ExxonMobil. See: recent case of facebook trying to slip in PR garbage as real journalism (including FB CEO calling it "a great piece" without mentioning it was paid for by them) https://www.theverge.com/interface/2020/1/9/21056988/facebook-teen-vogue-ad-debacle https://www.theverge.com/interface/2020/1/9/21056988/faceboo...

Nasrudith 7y ago

I would call it a bit more utilitarian personally. Philosophically there is some value to that attitude in theory but only if everything else is known about a concept such that origin is irrelevant. If someone finds scientific and mathematical proof that say an antibiotic formulation is impossible for a prokaryote to develop resistance to it doesn't matter if it was done by a respected winner of a noble prize, funded by a meat industrialist who wanted everyone off of his ass about antibiotic usage, or a crackpot who stumbled upon something right for utterly wrong reasons. If it is right the origins don't matter. In practice however we don't and the source hints at other aspects including conflicts of interest. Perhaps the hypothetical universal antibiotic technically works but allows viruses to proliferate and fill in many ecological niches meaning overuse is still bad even when disregarding digestive bacteria. And perhaps the hypothetical meat industrialist knew that abd covered it up.

phkahler 7y ago

On the chance that you're not joking: Why does it matter if we know or don't know who wrote, lobbied, or voted for a bill? Bill's are supposed to be created and voted on by "representatives" for the people who elected them. Transparency is how we know if they're doing the job we elect them to do. Authored a commit? Code is copyrighted. We should know who wrote it. It can also be helpful for having discussions with the author if needed. Bought an ad? I'm for this with political ads to prevent undue influence. I'm actually in favor of banning political ads sponsored by anyone outside the state, including parties. For non political ads I'm not sure if it matters. Wrote an article? This is not required. Funded a study? If the study is going to influence public policy I think we have a right to know who funded it. Owns a newspaper? Same so long as they offer political content. Holds a broadcast license? That's a government grant of monopoly on an o thg otherwise public resource. We should know who the government is granting exclusive use to. Same for land ownership.

ggggtez 7y ago
>Wrote an article? This is not required. Required? Perhaps no, but it's common, especially in serious journalism. The reason to do so is similar to the other reasons. Imagine an article talking about an Oil company that is donating money to a charity. If an article is written by a professional journalist with a history of accurate reporting, you are likely to trust it more than if you found out the author was a PR rep for ExxonMobil. See: recent case of facebook trying to slip in PR garbage as real journalism (including FB CEO calling it "a great piece" without mentioning it was paid for by them) https://www.theverge.com/interface/2020/1/9/21056988/facebook-teen-vogue-ad-debacle https://www.theverge.com/interface/2020/1/9/21056988/faceboo...