Recently I’ve found that a useful way of understanding some otherwise baffling things is as products of what is sometimes called “epistemic collapse”. By “epistemic collapse” I mean the collapse of a shared reality, caused by the loss of reliable sources for distinguishing what is true from what is false. ...He goes on to disagree with this Cato article that says the misinformatikon problem is overrated. And he complains about string theory untruths, and those who deny a Gaza genocide.I find thinking in these terms helps to make sense of the bizarre and disturbing new political situation in the US and elsewhere, with a new form of Fascism on the march. Autocrats are coming to power on a wave of lies and the destruction of institutions that can provide the facts needed for a shared reality.
The Cato article is pretty sensible. Some like to blame misinformation for Donald Trump getting elected, for people not following official covid advice, and other matters. These stories do not hold up. Some of the supposed misinformation was a legitimate response to officials lying to us. Other misinformation was just fringe theories of no consequence.
The problem with string theory was not so much the untruths, but the failure of the whole high-energy theoretical physics program.
No, there is no Gaza genocide. The population is not even declining. It is called war. Wars are often fought until someone surrenders, and Gaza refuses to surrender. So the fighting continues. I do not have any answers. It is weird that Woit and some Columbia protesters make such an issue out of this, as it does not concern Columbia.
His rants about a new form of Fascism are even more bizarre. We have a popularly elected President, and he is carrying out his campaign promises. However much you may disagree with him, he is not radical, and is actually centrist compared to the Harris-Walz ticket he defeated. This is how our political system is supposed to work. Woit seems to have a bad case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.
The first test if someone is truthful, is when the person is willing (or not) to silence others they disagree with. If you think your truth permits you to silence questions or dissent in the name of 'misinformation', a 'higher cause' or 'maintaining order', congratulations, You're already very wrong, so any further discussion is pointless. No one who knows anything about history believes silencing speech and ideas leads to understanding or truth, It only leads to an attempt to control others.
ReplyDeleteThe truth can withstand both criticism and examination, it's meant to as that is how truth is revealed, not by 'experts' plotting to control their critics behind closed doors. Barring healthy skepticism, there is no truth, just empty ideology parading around in a veneer of authority.
Peter Woit has become unhinged, and it saddens me. He is attacking many of his own colleagues who would even try to be his allies, as many on the academic left fervently believe their hatred of Trump and republicans is political unity or some kind of intellectual identity, even as their own indoctrinated students now openly profess to be socialists and vote for communists. It is a shame Peter doesn't know enough history or have enough integrity to understand what fascism is or how to identify it correctly.