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Hello Len,
Len said:
When social networks become the dominant control for
organizing information, finding facts will become
even harder. The current brouhaha in the American
culture wars over intelligent design is emblematic
of the process of power seeking over fact seeking.
In the process, the Americans are destroying their
educational and scientific foundations for competition.
Watching the web replicate this process in the name
of 'democratization' is almost absurdist (as in
the theatre of the absurd).
Didier replies:
Good point. So the problem seems to be a question of feedback. The
scientific process has a feedback process. I can support a theory but the
latter can be proved false and hence close the feedback loop. The whole
process is the discovery of fact and truth. I agree with you, the bad side
of democracy is that is there is enough fool to propose any fool idea; it
could become "the official mindset". The problem with social manipulation of
data is mainly that the system believes that votes also mean truth when
instead it is manipulation of the truth.
I agree when power tries to confine truth, the ugly head of the medusa shows
up again.
Cheers
Didier PH Martin
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