Here is a very good but nevertheless distressing video, that frankly can be taken to call into question at least some of what this website is all about. Regardless of whether it does or doesn’t it’s certainly germane to what we do here at reasonandbalance.com.
In law, there’s one often finds the principle that people should (or indeed are required) to put other folks on notice, especially if there is a danger or a wrong that needs to be corrected.
The duty to warn.
We say that because on some level, the video below seems to suggest that at least when arguing about social policy and other human affairs, that at least some of the methodology suggested by this site is ….well…ineffective. This is because, during an argument with a person, with whom the listener disagrees, most people (the listeners) will filter out or disregard facts that are unfavorable to their pre-conceived notions. And, surprisingly, this tendency may even be worse (not better) when the listener is more intelligent or more educated!
(They did a study.)
It’s a very good video by BIG THINK. We firmly believe that rational debate requires that all sides be heard. And so, here’ the link, and we encourage our readers to watch it.
Regardless of whether the video above is partially or totally true, the facts must always be first ascertained before science, reason and logic can be employed and balanced along with psychological and other factors that take into account the human condition. But maybe the “science” of psychology says that the effective way to make one’s arguments is to make them in the way BIG THINK suggests in this video! Perhaps it is suggesting that one should focus on the solutions that benefit all parties and not on the parts (the possible negative ramifications) that folks often disagree about.