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This is the really dangerous consequence of chasing after stories that have nice narratives. If a story fits your ideological narrative perfectly, you should b
by Fede_V 12y ago
This is the really dangerous consequence of chasing after stories that have nice narratives. If a story fits your ideological narrative perfectly, you should be twice as skeptical - real life stories are messy, imperfect, and very rarely perfectly illustrate whatever theory you have in mind.
- defen 12y ago> If a story fits your ideological narrative perfectly, you should be twice as skeptical That's exactly what Richard Bradley said (first prominent person I know of who publicly doubted the Rolling Stone UVA story; he was Stephen Glass's editor at George magazine) http://www.richardbradley.net/shotsinthedark/2014/11/24/is-the-rolling-stone-story-true/ http://www.richardbradley.net/shotsinthedark/2014/11/24/is-t... "The lesson I learned: One must be most critical, in the best sense of that word, about what one is already inclined to believe."
- danielweber 12y agoOn another forum I was on, there was a guy with the handle Japhy who coined Japhy's Law: that which you most want to be true is that which you should be most skeptical of. It came up all the time in political discussions as various participants would pull in sources showing how their side was right, but would crumble when subjected to the slightest examination.