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0 pointslogicalmonster3y ago0 comments

> If you have e.g. a reviewed scientific report on an issue, you will not be better informed if you augment that information with a rant from a bumbling fool.

1) The scientific method is a great thing. But given how many peer-reviewed scientific papers are not reproducible, having a healthy skepticism of all forms of knowledge you see might be wise.

2) It's sometimes a challenge to look past our own biases, but wisdom can come from many sources. A deranged looking country bumpkin can give a raging rant that's 80% illogical nonsense, but he might come up with 1 connecting idea that nobody else thinks of due to a unique vantage point and life experience.

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pornel3y ago· 1 in thread

No, it’s not. That’s the point. You may have flawed or incomplete information, but that does not make contrarian reactionary voices any more right, because truth isn’t in the “middle” between the best information available and its uninformed opposition (especially in the context of the aforementioned Alex Jones).

logicalmonsterOP3y ago

Alex Jones is an entertainer at heart. He sensationalizes news to get peoples' attention, but he's directionally accurate about a lot of things far more often than he's completely wrong. And yes, I acknowledge he has been completely wrong about some important things before, but not as often as he's been substantially right.

The thing he's been mocked about hardest (his claim that "they're turning the friggin' frogs gay") was one of the all time best calls. Not 100% scientifically accurate, but close enough to convey the general meaning.

1) His memed rant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tVrntKgdN0

2) The science: https://calag.ucanr.edu/Archive/?article=ca.v056n04p116a

> Exposure to atrazine demasculinizes tadpoles and can turn them into hermaphrodites with both male and female sexual characteristics, UC Berkeley scientists have found.

You're probably missing important things about the world just because you don't like the messenger. Go drink the river water in Ohio if you trust officialdom about the safety you're told. These guys certainly are willing to fake drinking the water right on camera. https://www.reddit.com/r/therewasanattempt/comments/1195704/...

I'd just like to say the following in conclusion. Within the context of filter bubbles, Alex Jones presents no threat to the world because you are completely certain about what his biases are. It's the news sources that act professional and claim to be unbiased that present the biggest threat because any claim by anybody to be unbiased is bullshit, leading to misplaced trust where nobody wants to really verify what they're told.

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