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* Didier PH Martin <martind@n...> [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 - alan@e...
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