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Truth is the answer to lies. I wish this was true. I hope it was true. But I'm losing faith. People have a hard time believing truth if it goes against what

by dhimes 6y ago

Truth is the answer to lies. I wish this was true. I hope it was true. But I'm losing faith. People have a hard time believing truth if it goes against what they want to believe if the lies can be framed in any plausible way at all. This applies to everything from cults to businesses to abusive spouses to, of course, politics. Maybe I'm just getting old and cranky and tired of playing the long game of truth. Part of the problem is the liars are sometimes highly motivated to continue with the lies, and it takes a greater army of equally motivated truth "warriors" to come behind them and put out the fires. It's just so damn easy to spread bullshit. The other issue is that smart people are way outnumbered- and the others now have a helluva voice.

Traster 6y ago
I think one of the dynamics that we need to look at is the formation of cults. Cults are dangerous literally because persuasion is asymmetrical. It's not a matter of "Oh this guy persuaded these people of this stuff, and you just need to set them straight", once someone is in a cult it's close to impossible to pull them out of it.
- kerkeslager 6y ago
  One key to the formation of cults, is the control of information: instead of group decisions being arrived upon by informed discussion, there are ideas which are allowed and others which are not. Maybe the ideas are good (like "brush your teeth") but the enforcement is totally irrational and over the top (like "Sister Emily didn't brush her teeth, so no one will speak to her for 3 days"). This is because these ideas are beyond question so anyone who disagrees with them must be evil. Sound familiar?
blast 6y ago
Truth may not be the answer to lies (in any straightforward way), but bureaucratic committees deciding what's true is hella not the answer to lies. This is so obvious that the weird part is smart people acting otherwise. I'm surprised it has happened so easily. It seems that all that is needed are the right labels (words like 'science', 'public health', 'misinformation', and 'disinformation') to generate a high level of conformity. That this is a time of mass fear must be making a difference too.

by dhimes 6y ago

Traster 6y ago

I think one of the dynamics that we need to look at is the formation of cults. Cults are dangerous literally because persuasion is asymmetrical. It's not a matter of "Oh this guy persuaded these people of this stuff, and you just need to set them straight", once someone is in a cult it's close to impossible to pull them out of it.

kerkeslager 6y ago
One key to the formation of cults, is the control of information: instead of group decisions being arrived upon by informed discussion, there are ideas which are allowed and others which are not. Maybe the ideas are good (like "brush your teeth") but the enforcement is totally irrational and over the top (like "Sister Emily didn't brush her teeth, so no one will speak to her for 3 days"). This is because these ideas are beyond question so anyone who disagrees with them must be evil. Sound familiar?

blast 6y ago

Truth may not be the answer to lies (in any straightforward way), but bureaucratic committees deciding what's true is hella not the answer to lies. This is so obvious that the weird part is smart people acting otherwise. I'm surprised it has happened so easily. It seems that all that is needed are the right labels (words like 'science', 'public health', 'misinformation', and 'disinformation') to generate a high level of conformity. That this is a time of mass fear must be making a difference too.