The Problem With Facts
From: L. Michael Hall
2021 Neurons #82
December 27, 2021
Facts #10
In this series on Critical Thinking about Facts, we have seen that there are lots of problems with facts. While facts are essential to our well-being and sanity, they are not so easy to access or determine. What’s clear is that merely calling something a “fact,” does not make it so. And there’s a great many ways to distort a “fact” so that it is not factual.
The next time someone quotes a “fact” to you to make a point be sure to ask these questions: What is the context and background of the fact? What are you not saying about the fact?
Recent Biden went on the campaign trail declaring that the new three trillion bill “will cost nothing,zero.” “It’s all paid for already.” He repeated that so-called “fact” over and over. But it seemed fishy to me from the beginning. If it costs nothing and if it’s already paid for, why all the opposition? Why did Joe Manchin worry about the cost and did the Congressional Budget Office estimate it would cost three trillion? How could the government aim to spend 3 to 5 trillion dollars when it has a deficient of 21 trillion and it “cost nothing.”
Every news channel these days lead out on their evening news about Covid. They state “with the new variant omicron, cases of covid are rising.” But what are they not saying? Without more context, a fact like that is not actually a fact, but mere propaganda. So let’s get some more facts. Here’s one from the CDC: