How do we know what’s really REAL?

Specifically, with world events, news, social media. If you weren’t physically present as an eye witness to an event, how can you be sure what actually happened? Especially today, with the explosion of AI tools that can make such realistic simulations? In fact if you haven’t seen how hyper-real it can get, I want to show you the trailer for a video game called Unrecord- for the folks watching this on video https://www.polygon.com/23691482/unrecord-bodycam-fps-steam-unreal-engine-5

I’ve had people ask how they can tell what is fake news. Or how can I be so sure what the truth is?
I know we could dive a lot more into specific headlines here but a lot of them are click-bait or distractions. Not that we shouldn’t take action or ignore what’s going on, but I think FIRST you need to be able to interpret what’s going on, to step back and look at THE BIG PICTURE. Today, I’d like to offer my 5 Top Tips for fighting fake news.

One of my biggest frustrations is to see people i love suffer unnecessarily. Either in physical or emotional health. In the case of emotional health logic discipline and Common sense can provide powerful immunity against neuroses brought on by doublethink. One of the biggest examples of this is a belief in the new double-standard of racism. It USED to be the belief or acting on the belief that one race is superior over another: I’ve got a 1993 copy of a dictionary here:

Miriam Webster:

Racism: a belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.

The NEW definition today says that “only whites can be racist” and “all whites are racist” This definition seems to have appeared at the University of Delaware in 2007:
“A RACIST: A racist is one who is both privileged and socialized on the basis of race by a white supremacist (racist) system. ‘The term applies to all white people (i.e., people of European descent) living in the United States, regardless of class, gender, religion, culture or sexuality. By this definition, people of color cannot be racists, because as peoples within the U.S. system, they do not have the power to back up their prejudices, hostilities, or acts of discrimination….’

There is a good article on National Association of Scholars website, explaining where we got the idea that only white people can be racist ARTICLE:

https://www.nas.org/blogs/article/where_did_we_get_the_idea_that_only_white_people_can_be_racist

I wonder what virus has inflected the brain so incapable of logic and able to hold contradictory facts simultaneously true. There can only ever be ONE truth. Reading and self reflection could be the medicine to cure this. I grew up in a library and have read every day of my life. I thank God for the gift of reading- and it has been a daily habit my entire life. But today, so few people can be bothered with books – and all too much of what information they do consume is mindless CANDY. and then are perplexed as to why they are so fat and unhealthy in body and mind. Just like eating healthy, Fat heads need mental fiber too.

So how can we sort TRUTH form nonsense? The simple answer is. Discernment. We need DISCERNMENT when we’re receiving information and when we’ve decided to share it.

Discernment

dĭ-sûrn′mənt
noun

a: the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure : skill in discerning stresses accuracy (as in reading character or motives)

b: Discrimination. the power to distinguish and select what is true or appropriate or excellent.

c: To distinguish between things.

Discernment doesn’t mean some kind of psychic capability. It means. Being intellectually honest. Being able to see clearly enough to have a valid point of view. Discernment gives us FREEDOM! As George Orwell said “If freedom means anything at all. It means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”
And that means being willing to listen to the other side. Even when you don’t like it.

So how do you get discernment? I sometimes think it’s just something God just gives us, if we’re willing to use it. But I also think it’s something we can cultivate and I’ve been doing some thinking about this. So here are what I think are the TOP FIVE secret weapons in the fight against “Fake News” (or what we old people used to call LIES) You could think of this as a class like a Harry Potter class like DEFENCE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

1. Have the right motivation.

Be FURIOUSLY CURIOUS. Be genuinely interested- absolutely determined to know the TRUTH, even if it may not be what you expected. We may not always be able to determine it, If you pursue it with passion, at least you will get closer to it that someone who has an agenda that they feel is more important than TRUTH. And then CARE about the people who you share with, not to be right or to sell something, but to be genuinely concerned for others welfare. Maybe e that can be a guide for how you pick your battles.

2. Check your emotions at the door.

Be humble, rational and open minded (not so open minded your brains spill out) willing to listen (God gave us 2 ears and one mouth) and if we listen vs talk in that proportion, you will be prepared to learn. Be open to new information that might go against what you previously believed. Become an outside observer. By calmly removing yourself from the issue, without emotion, you put yourself into a place of learning instead of defensive. For example don’t buy into Red Team/Blue Team IDENTITY POLITICS or people because if you’re so invested in some other entity’s identity then any criticism of that thing that is NOT YOU feels like a personal attack and makes you emotional an stimulates a part of the brain called the amygdala. AND BY THE WAY you can’t be rational when your AMYGDALA is running overtime. When we’re faced with a threat or perceived threat, our rational mind switches off and we shift to an instinctive fight or flight response. From a practical perspective “thinking too much” could delay your ability to escape. The new term for this is the “amygdala hijack”,and during this state, our brains going into emergency mode and that’s why it’s hard to think rationally during an argument. Why do you think the media and news is so emotional and hysterical? Remember back in 2021when CNN’s Technical Director was caught on hidden camera bragging “Yeah fear sells”? Yeah we know.

3. Read, Damnit!

I’ve often thought that would be a good name for another podcast. Get educated, learn about lots of different things, learn HISTORY. One of the reasons a lot of people lack discernment is because of insufficient data. How do I get more data? ASK QUESTIONS. It’s the same when you are making ANY decision. To make a good decision, with the least regret, you need sufficient data. Committing yourself to an opinion is the same as making a good financial decision- and making a hasty decision in either case can cost you dearly in lost credit or credibility. So don’t just take for granted what the news or anyone else tells you, until and unless they have proven their worth, and even then, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. If a source lies to you- either deliberately or unwittingly because they don’t have all the information- then they lose credibility. SO IT IS WITH GOOD REASON I am suspicious of MSM because I have seen them lie, distort and take information out of context repeatedly. Maybe that isn’t your experience yet, but if not, you would be naive to at least not be OPEN TO THE POSSIBILITY. And you are not being intellectually honest if your never ask questions of your sources of information. SO GATHER INFO. The more you read, and the more you experience, the more information you have to draw from, the more wisdom you gain, the more DISCERNMENT.

4. USE LOGIC.

This also means considering “QUI BONO” Or follow the money. When you’re in the weeds, you can’t see where you’re going. Get above it and look at the big picture. And if you have discernment, you will see the big picture behind the sensational headlines, you’ll understand the motives. You can smell the propaganda a mile away. But you have to be AWAKE first!

5. Don’t be intimidated

Don’t be afraid to question mainstream- don’t be afraid to be in the minority in your opinions. Sometimes you may even find you’re actually NOT in the minority, though the mainstream media will DEFINITELY try to make you THINK you are. I want to share a clip from Prager U I just saw of Judith Curry, a climate scientist as a great example to look up to

Don’t let anyone tell you what to think, not me not Rachel Maddow, not the Easter Bunny. If you’ve done your homework, you’ve found some credible sources and can back it up, then Have the courage of your convictions!

See full video with Judith Curry