Let X=X

 For quite some time, the phrase "fake news" has been front and center in the discussion of events that affect us all. This is troubling, since news is sort of by definition what is happening now, and the afterglow of that is history. What we have been discovering on our own what Plato figured out more than two thousand years ago: there are truths to be discovered and that knowledge is possible. Truth is not, as the Sophists thought, relative. Instead, it is objective. Truth is that which our reason, used rightly, apprehends. Which is a lot of high talking to impress you all that I did, in fact, take a philosophy class in college.

And I believe that truth is objective. Though there is a line from Jesus Christ Superstar that rings in my head as I writ that. The scene in which Pilate is questioning Jesus, he wonders, "We both have truths, are mine the same as yours?" And this is the moment where I pivot only slightly to compare the current political climate to that of ancient Rome. If Joe Biden gets elected, the "president" says, he'll listen to scientists. Joe Biden replied as one might hope a sane person would. "Yes."

How about that? After all these years of philosophical and scientific exploration, we might begin to take some of it into account. I referenced the political climate earlier, but it would be nice to imagine a planet on which the climate of that planet was not a source of debate. It is what it is, and the notion that human beings have an impact on their environment is no longer a talking point. What remains to be discussed is how we can stop simply using up what we have and hoping for some sort of free pass or divine intervention. Which may be why I invoked the Son of God in that last paragraph. 

Or maybe we should stop wishing for miracles and start applying math. When someone points a camera at something and points out the cracks maybe we should stop blaming the poor lighting. When someone puts a microphone in front of you and your voice goes through all those magic wires to become part of a record of what you were saying, it is proof of what was coming out of your mouth at that time. This is what news should be. Yes, I understand that human beings are involved in all this camera pointing and microphone placing, and as such there will be judgments made about when and where to turn on those machines. But if you make those same faces and noises enough, it's probably fair to start to believe that they establish a trend. Windmills don't actually make noise that cause cancer. People with advanced medical degrees carry more information around in their heads about infectious diseases than game show hosts. Two plus two does in fact equal four, no matter who your accountant is. 

I look forward to a day, and I hope it comes soon, when knowledge is possible again, and truth is just a little more objective.