Author: William Kerr

…require extraordinary evidence, an idea popularized by Carl Sagan, a rewrite of Pierre-Simon Laplace’s principle, “The weight of evidence for an extraordinary claim must be proportioned to its strangeness.’

I kinda like Carl Sagan’s comment as it’s a bit easier to get at.

Extraordinary claims, or disinformation and fake news, have been around since the printing press was invented somewhere around 1436 because sensationalism always sells.

It had a role in catalyzing the Enlightenment. Early American colonial newspapers ran fake stories about France’s Louis XIV. And some late 19 Century American newspapers competed for audiences by reporting rumours as though they were facts.

Though our present-day disinformation seems to be supercharged through the internet and social media platforms, these same platforms, especially the internet, provide us with the means to locate the extraordinary evidence required to validate or discredit certain claims.

In a Noam Chomsky interview, the interviewer asked Mr. Chomsky how anyone can really know the truth of statements being made about a certain subject that was under discussion. Mr. Chomsky in reply simply pointed to his head.

All we have to do is take a bit of time and do a little digging to find some other sources or, as an early mentor suggested, triangulate the information. Then, as Noam Chomsky indicated, use our own intelligence.

I’m not sure whether either Carl Sagan or Pierre-Simon Laplace were actually referencing disinformation in their comments but it sure does seem to rhyme a bit.

Written while listening to Erik Satie’s Gnossiennes.

This blog post was thought of and written by me, no AI here, and is a mosaic of my experience, reading, and learning.

…I saw first-hand how surfacing withheld conversations opens other communication channels.

The initial brief was to be present and keep discussions on track or, as one partner mentioned, to stop them from crawling across the table and strangling someone.

As the main issue at hand was being resolved, a few long withheld conversations began to surface.

The slated one hour lasted close to three hours with a number of long-range discussions ensuing resulting in some forward planning and action steps being outlined, all of which hadn’t happened for quite some time.

As the withheld conversations were surfaced and explored, the space they were taking up was cleared so new ideas, possibilities, and discussions had a place to live and grow.

Oh! And BTW, no one was strangled.

Written while listening to Russian Folk Music.

One of the best things I’ve come across this week:

“As we look back on the failed civilizations of the past, we can see that they were so poor, their technology was so feeble, and their explanations of the world so fragmentary and full of micconceptions that their caution about innovation and progress was as perverse as expecting a blindfold to be useful when navigating dangerous waters.”

From, The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch.

This blog post was thought of and written by me, no AI here, and is a mosaic of my experience, reading, and learning.

…are somewhat inevitable in anything we try to do.

Though we kinda know that, when they arise we’re not only surprised but a little thrown because we’ve done all the planning, research, and work so it shouldn’t be.

When we keep our focus on what’s wrong instead of what’s happening the problem(s), challenge(s), or breakdown(s) often continue.

Here’s a thought, maybe we’ve possibly stumbled across an opening for taking some action.

It’s all just feedback, as I learned many years ago.

The problem, challenge, or breakdown could be an opportunity to find a way to move something forward and maybe locate something we missed in our planning and research. An opening for taking some action as mentioned above.

Angered, frustrated, baffled or embraced, valued, utilized; like most things, we have a choice of how to approach and frame it.

Written while listening to South African/Cuban mix.

This blog post was written by me and is a mosaic of my experience, reading, and learning.