IN A LOCAL newspaper there was a report of a young man who was observed “acting erratically” and was then found to have cannabis in his pocket although he didn’t think it was his.
This was probably laughed at by the police and the judge, although not publicly. Words that could apply include gullibility, naivety or misunderstanding although there might be less generous possibilities.
We have had fake news, misspoken briefings, even some straight out lies but now we have stupid news and the worry is what will be the end of this sequence?
Schooling should include some form of logical thinking or truth evaluation so that people will see what is true. Students will then be able to see that Astronomy is scientific whereas Astrology is pseudo-science even if it is more fun.
They will learn Elvis was a great singer, but he is now dead and has been for quite a while.
They will learn that man has walked on the moon, even if it was in a space suit and eventually women will walk there, too.
They will learn that vaccination is lifesaving, or they may sadly find out that not to be vaccinated can be life-taking.
There are so many people that are gullible or lack understanding of complex matters that we have much to fear although good schooling and good reporting will help to swing the balance.
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Been there, done that, can’t tell you about it
China has not always been a supporter of open information sharing although this has taken a weird turn now that they have blocked Tripadvisor as it considers it “illegal”.
Nearly every traveller would look at that site to get some idea of accommodation and local attractions. However, it does also include a “traveller’s forum” and that may be the problem as a cursory glance shows that not all feedback is positive.
Having visited China twice and enjoyed these visits, I am aware that there is a range of accommodation levels, as in all countries, and not all match up to the photos in their brochures or on their websites.
In reality, people will still be able to find out about China and its activities when this site is blocked but it is only one of many attempts to stop people criticizing the country and its leadership. If they are blocking comments about hotels, what else are they blocking?
Also, hasn’t China heard of VPNs and many other ways of accessing the internet?
If there is nothing to hide, then why pull down the blinds? (dfitzger@melbpc.org.au/PN)
