Fact or Fiction

In the past few months, I've been engaged in some serious debate about interesting things like black holes, particle physics, Thermodynamic Laws, and QM. In all these discussions, there are generally two types of contribution - the serious, factual, detailed opinion of someone who really knows their math or physics, and those seeking to learn from participating in the exchange.

What fascinates me is that most often the best learning conversations come from the questions and discussions contributed by those with the least formal math and physics experience.

And the reason is stimulating.

The "pros" talk in disciplined code, acronyms, and serious language, while the "not-so-pros" talk in more general terms, sometimes stories, but always in simpler language. More engaging, more curiosity, more open.

For many years we have understood the power of stories, and while our culture has very moved away from story telling as an art and a science, with language shortened and truncated into "btw" and "lol", most people still respond to a good yarn.

It seems to be embedded in our Race memory, and if you think about it, it stands to reason because for the first few thousand years of our evolution, oral history is all we had.

But my observation would be that in a story there is more than just a series of facts or statements, unless it is pure fiction.

There's a context, fabric, sometimes some seemingly irrelevant words that somehow enlarge our comprehension and engage our thinking processes making it easier for us to grasp the point or issue the story is telling us.

The other great attribute of a well told story is that it is less threatening that a "hard" statement of fact(s).

If I nod my head, smile, or shake my head, I am not understanding the story. If I shake my head at a bucket of facts, I am not understanding the facts, which might make me out to be a little less "smarter" than everyone else.

Also, stories can "wander" a little in the telling, allowing us to catch up if we don't understand something at the first bite.

In the modern world, blogs are rapidly becoming the story-telling media of the masses.

It will be very interesting to see where this all goes, because unlike traditional stories, a blog can change course based on the feedback the blogger gets, and the very essence of participation actually shapes the collaborative outcome.

So, fact or fiction? You choose, I know what I'll respond to!!

Honesty and Intellectual Integrity

One of the very few blogs I follow is NPR 13.7.

Recently a new "master blogger" has been added to the site, to introduce a "softer" side of the science debate.

Suddenly I find myself uncomfortable and confronted by some of the blogs this person writes. Really uncomfortable, and really confronted.

So much so that for the first time I can remember, today I actually challenged this person to be intellectually honest.

Now he may well be within his rights to proffer a point of view that is different to mine, but I challenge his right to use his position, academic learning and achievement, and his access to design an argument that is fundamentally dishonest, by disguising the content in such a manner that the core of the issue remains hidden.

Many will argue that the core is only hidden if no one challenges it. I would argue that the level the core is hidden at is only in the purvey of a handful of people in the world, most of whom will never read this blog.

The basis of a good honest argument or discussion is that the elements that we differ on are "apples to apples" - or Like to Like - you know from experience you cannot argue your case if the other side slips off onto a tangent, or does not pay you the resect of recognising your argument and countering it specifically and directly.

And I guess this is what upsets me most about the new blogger. He does not seem to respect his audience. It is almost as if he is talking down to the masses to demonstrate what a brilliant thinker he is.

In my experience, really brilliant people never have to demonstrate how clever they are, because simply by their actions and their thinking processes they provide leadership to others allowing them to learn from the experience, in their own time, and in their own way, and form their own mental maps from the encounter.

This whole process today reminds me of all that I dislike about political correctness, and rewriting history.

It's as if the older we get, and the more mature we get, the less we are trusted to work it out for for ourselves.

Noddy can no longer sleep with the policeman, and we can no longer believe in the tooth fairy.

Why?

Why can't a child's story be just that, a child's story?

Why do we suddenly feel the need to protect everyone from everything?

What happened to free choice, and personal responsibility?

A friend of mine said just yesterday after yet another bad experience with the airlines that "the terrorists have won, in a manner we still can't conceive of, and Big Brother is here to stay".

Sadly, I think he is correct. But we did it to ourselves, and we have to take responsibility for that.

That is being intellectually honest.

Now, incase some one will think I am taking a shot at the new blogger and not giving him the opportunity to respond, I am pasting this entire blog into an email to him, with an invitation to discuss my feelings.

I'll let you know the outcome.