We have become an anecdotally-educated society that would rather believe what we’re told, or our own experience, than think critically about issues. The basic thinking is that if it didn’t happen to me or to someone I know, it doesn’t happen to anyone. “Conventional wisdom,” a dangerously oxymoronic term, trumps everything—scientific evidence, historical records, critical thought, even the conventional wisdom of other groups.
Unfortunately, much of our “knowledge” comes from television. Google the term “cartoon physics.” You’ll be appalled (if not embarrassed!). Television has reduced the average person’s attention span to the length of a sound bite, and we’re suffering as a result. Continue reading