To die by the sword is a fine way to die..

What day is it today? It is Wednesday. I was inspired by one of my dad's
posts to comment and I feel I should elucidate a little further.

The question to be asked is firstly can we trust what we're told by the
national press/media and by extension, can we trust anything we hear secondhand?

The cartoon here discusses a similar issue and concludes in probably much the same way that I will (ie. facetiously). I haven't planned this ending yet, but let's be fair, the odds aren't going to be long are they?

I'm not an expert but I'm guessing that whenever you read something the following factors will enable you to come to a conclusion on whether you believe what you're reading

• Your knowledge of the subject matter including:
• previous first-hand experience
• previous knowledge acquired through second-hand means
• Your knowledge of the author including the same
• Your gut reaction to the piece which will be based on a number of factors
• the first two factors above
• the author's style and language
• your mood
• probably a number of other factors such as upbringing, worldview etc etc.

Added to this, you have the probability of something you read being 100%
correct based on a number of other factors.

• The author's knowledge of the subject matter as above
• The author's motives for telling the truth, dictated by
• money
• power
• sex
• poops and giggles
• other
• The complexity of the subject matter and the inherent difficulty in fully understanding it
• The limitations of written language to communicate an exact thought - both on the part of the communicator and the communicatee
• If the piece of writing is constrained in length, whether the subject can be fully explained in that length.
• The author speculating or hypothesising
• I'd imagine this list is far from exhaustive

Bearing in mind I'm specifically thinking of supposedly objective pieces of
writing about events and such. Bring in opinion and you're on a whole 'nother level.

The issue of whether to trust a source to my mind seems arbitrary. There are so many mix and match circumstances that unless you are a first-hand observer how can you know what to trust? Even as a first-hand observer can you fully know your subject?

My conclusion? Well this is historically where it all falls apart of course. I was never really cut out to be a philosopher or a jedi. I guess I'm saying I don't know who to trust. Cynical? Bitter? Jaded? Yeah but I'm one helluva party-animal as well..

You shall know the truth and it shall set you free. Indeed.