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The experts involved in building / maintaining GPS haven't admitted to lying to him about it to preserve the use of GPS for people deemed more important, gone b

The experts involved in building / maintaining GPS haven't admitted to lying to him about it to preserve the use of GPS for people deemed more important, gone back and forth on whether or not he needs to use two GPS devices (instead of one) for the safety of others, and those experts' recommendations haven't led to policies that have destroyed the livelihoods of his or his friends' families--sometimes with unclear ties to actual societal well-being. It's not quite the same. The people who build / maintain GPS have a lot more reason to trust them, and as a result, people do.

oblio 5y ago
Your comment is funny, in a roundabout way. Until a while ago, if I recall correctly. GPS was <<lying>>. Its accuracy was deliberately hobbled to within tens of meters in order to prevent it being used for destructive purposes, I believe.
- moduspol 5y ago
  Framing "knowingly limited to accuracy within ~3 meters" as "lying" is a bit of a stretch.
  - oblio 5y ago
    It was ~5 meters and that wasn't the point. Did the GPS system know your position with a much greater accuracy ? Yes. Did the GPS system by design not provide this accurate information and instead sent something less accurate? Yes. How do you call that thing where you tell a partial truth? At best, a half truth. For example the US government remarks about masks in February 2020 (I think it was February), were partly true.
    - moduspol 5y ago
      Saying "your location is somewhere within X, up to ~5 meters" isn't lying. It's not even a half truth, but it's still pretty far from the point here. It's trusted because it's been far more trustworthy than public health guidance and policy. And the same goes for airplanes, brake pads, and other tired comparisons. Trusting one does not imply one should trust all other proclaimed experts in all other fields in all other contexts.
      - judahmeek 5y ago
        > It's trusted because it's been far more trustworthy... That's a tautology. It's more trustworthy because it hasn't been politicized.
manwe150 5y ago
Not sure that’s the most comforting analogy to pick. GPS is maintained and controlled by the US military. They can shut it off, used to secretly make it intentionally inaccurate, have dual-band devices to protect against failures of GPS by using competitors, etc
- moduspol 5y ago
  Perhaps, although I didn't pick the analogy, and even accepting at face value what you're saying: clearly there is justifiably a much higher level of trust in GPS than public health advice, and for good reason: its scope is limited and it's had a much better track record.

oblio 5y ago

Your comment is funny, in a roundabout way. Until a while ago, if I recall correctly. GPS was <<lying>>. Its accuracy was deliberately hobbled to within tens of meters in order to prevent it being used for destructive purposes, I believe.

moduspol 5y ago
Framing "knowingly limited to accuracy within ~3 meters" as "lying" is a bit of a stretch.
- oblio 5y ago
  It was ~5 meters and that wasn't the point. Did the GPS system know your position with a much greater accuracy ? Yes. Did the GPS system by design not provide this accurate information and instead sent something less accurate? Yes. How do you call that thing where you tell a partial truth? At best, a half truth. For example the US government remarks about masks in February 2020 (I think it was February), were partly true.
  - moduspol 5y ago
    Saying "your location is somewhere within X, up to ~5 meters" isn't lying. It's not even a half truth, but it's still pretty far from the point here. It's trusted because it's been far more trustworthy than public health guidance and policy. And the same goes for airplanes, brake pads, and other tired comparisons. Trusting one does not imply one should trust all other proclaimed experts in all other fields in all other contexts.
    - judahmeek 5y ago
      > It's trusted because it's been far more trustworthy... That's a tautology. It's more trustworthy because it hasn't been politicized.

manwe150 5y ago

Not sure that’s the most comforting analogy to pick. GPS is maintained and controlled by the US military. They can shut it off, used to secretly make it intentionally inaccurate, have dual-band devices to protect against failures of GPS by using competitors, etc

moduspol 5y ago
Perhaps, although I didn't pick the analogy, and even accepting at face value what you're saying: clearly there is justifiably a much higher level of trust in GPS than public health advice, and for good reason: its scope is limited and it's had a much better track record.