Remember 2015, when gasoline prices were $2.49 a gallon, we had a biracial Black president, and we knew men could not give birth?
There was a major controversy that year over the color of a woman’s dress. You may recall it. This is the dress:
Everyone had an opinion, and everyone was certain the optical illusion was a) blue and gold or b) white and gold, or c) something entirely different. It was a social phenomenon, widely reported and ‘splained, such as by Wired magazine.
I have a purpose for bringing this up.
I am trying to show that humans perceive things differently and process information subjectively.
That applies to dress color, but not to math: 2+2=4. There is no getting around that.
You’ve heard the expression the glass is half full, or half empty. Both are factually correct. Measurably correct.
But, as to whether Brett Kavanaugh or Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was being truthful, that’s subjective. Neither had hard evidence.
Same thing a few days back with Cassidy Hutchinson, the former White House staffer with damaging information about Donald J. Trump.
One of her key anecdotes, about an altercation in a presidential limo (which she admitted was second-hand) is being challenged by the Secret Service, which will get its turn to appear before the House Jan. 6 committee.
There is an important line in the Wired piece:
“So when context varies, so will people’s visual perception.”
I will rewrite it this way: “So when content varies, so will people’s political perception.”
What do I mean?
If you are right of center, you believed Kavanaugh.
If you are left of center, you believed Ford.
If you are left of center, you believed Hutchinson.
If you are right of center, you disbelieved Hutchinson.
It’s not your fault. It’s not deliberate.
The way we see things, our perception, is deeply ingrained. It is the distillation of our life experiences, sometimes shaped by race, religion, gender, or where we live.
Most people won’t make the effort to step out of their silo to be open to differing points of view. And that is one cause of the deep fractures in our society.
HAPPY FRIDAY !!!
pallie,
As always, your words are full of truth and wisdom. Or is it truthful words have wisdom ?
Cassie Hutchinson for the most part was probably being truthful. I was not the fly on the wall, so I only have opinions.
I will say this as factual as can be said. When you are going to be called to the famous hot seat, be it supeama or otherwise, a lawyer will question you and ‘prepare’ you. Prepare. Is that the same as coached ? As in these hearings, when one is called, one is given as much time to answer ( embellish ) a question as one feels necessary. Knowing that there is only one side to a story can definitely cause one to exaggerate the truth, or flat out lie.
In these hearings, the committee is not interested in the truth. They are only interested in damaging the former President to the point where he will no longer be a threat to the swamp.
Tony
woopsie ! that word ‘supeama’ is a different dialect than ours. Should be SUBPOENA !
And sometimes, Tony, the truth can also be damaging. Just sayin’…
for sure Andy. Most of us older folks were born and raised with the truth. We embrace the truth. THANK YOU, Parents .
Most of us, in our chosen profession live with the truth and actually depend on others to be truthful. In construction, professionals don’t take a oath as we know it. They actually passed tests to gain their professional certifications . When that ‘seal’ is applied to their work, those professionals now OWN that work for their life.
hmmmm. Would that, could that happen in the swamp ?
“𝙈𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙪𝙨 𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙠𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝. 𝙒𝙚 𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝. 𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙉𝙆 𝙔𝙊𝙐, 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨.”
Trump’s parents as far as teaching Trump about embracing the truth…SUPER BIG TIME FAILURE!
Hearsay is not admissible in court. However it was allowed in these hearings. Everyone who has direct factual information concerning the January 6th event is invited to testify. Let’s hope they come forward to present factual information that can’t be compromised. America needs the truth about what happened on January 6, 2022.
“And the truth shall set you free!” We need some of that to set free our bedraggled brains of all this mess.
👍🇺🇸
And the biggest problem we have in the world today, IMHO, is that we can no longer agree that 2+2=4. When you cannot agree on facts, any reasonable discourse goes out the window. This is the “gift” the orange asshat has given us.
“There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur, or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: There is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to… The Outer Limits.”
Sounds pretty familiar at this point, eh?
👍 I soon will do a piece that embraces that. Post July 4th.
I misunderestimated him.
Stu, based on your theory we now know why our left leaning media report and opine the way they do. And you’ve given them the excuse, ‘it’s not their fault.’😉
The way I see it, both sides are at fault for living in silos and not listening to other points of view
Agree. In news reporting why is there two sides? FOX and others are there because of…go down the list.
I remember good old Walter Cronkite. I never thought of him as ‘one side.’ Yet, he was liberal.
The adage is there are THREE sides to every story — his side, your side, and the truth.
I agree with much of what you say, but your analysis does not account for highly transmissible genetic personality traits.
That is because I am a journalist lacking your medical credentials.