The Stuff We Believe That Just Ain't So!

SEE HERE Walter Williams pops a few balloons by pointing out what ought to be obvious to those who do their homework before spouting off on all the various "doncha knows" that are out there. Two "balloons" that he zeros in on are global warming and the decline of American manufacturing.

It's a good read and should make you pause before swallowing the next obviously "true" thing that comes along. When I was a kid I used to read A. E. Von Vogt's Weapon Shops of Isher and Null-A books and I always liked something that I remember as "the null-A pause" a sort of moment of reflection before acting on something that appears to be true. It was just fiction of course, but the basic idea that you need to check your facts before getting too over the top has stayed with me all these years.

I think the rule of thumb I use is to doubt first and act later. I find that Richard Feynman, one of my other heroes offers similar advice. Ronald Reagan said "trust but verify" and that sort of fits into the matrix too. My current mantra is "Show me the data!"

There is a veritable tapestry woven from plausible sounding lies out there and before you get all "weewee'd up" as the president would say, you should check to see if there is anything to it but hype. The fact is that there are a lot more manufactured crises than real ones. Even the recent oil spill in the gulf has been shown to have been much less damaging than all the hype at the time suggested. So before believing all the propaganda, ask to be shown the data.