* Didier PH Martin <> [2005-08-11 10:21]:
> 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.
Oy! "Truth". That's worse that "facts". ;^)
--
Alan Gutierrez -
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