Not only that, but no one (or perhaps we can say for decorum's sake, nearly no one) really cares about the truth. > We care about what we like and we want it to

Not only that, but no one (or perhaps we can say for decorum's sake, nearly no one) really cares about the truth. > We care about what we like and we want it to win against what we dislike; all the rest is rationalization. This is a bleak, valueless and ascientific view of the world. It took a while for me to process it. It is consistent with the postmodern post-truth zeitgeist of tribalism and power being the only thing that matters. > Moderating HN has really hammered that one into me as well. Such is human nature, and trying to moderate against it would be futile, not to mention a fast track to burnout. I've tried, and have the scars. I can very clearly see why moderating HN would cause you to adopt this view. It’s interesting because it really doesn’t match the sense of who you are as you come across in your comments. My own view is that we are not in such a bleak world. Meaning structures are shaped by media and we are only a decade or so into the era where media has become social. This is such a monumental and unprecedented change that it’s bound to appear that there is no up or down for a while. I think it’s transient, and doesn’t reflect a universal truth about human nature. For one obvious contradiction - can you think of anyone who actually prefers the idea of a valueless ascientific world? If so, who, and why?