We live in a world of truth and lies. Ask Johnny Cash.
Man has been forever confronted with right and wrong, fact and fiction, truth and falsehood. Is that tiger a maneater? Try patting it. Is that plant poisonous? Eat it and find out. Can that neighbouring tribe just over the hills be trusted? They gave us food. They could be OK.
True or false. The game never ends. It's an endless cycle that allowed man to evolve by trial and error: the only method that works. Animals don't search for truth. They search for food and reproduction and rest. The search for truth is evolution at work.
But it tricks people. When real events seem so unlikely that they challenge credibility, the alternative starts to look better. The prime minister went for a swim at a Portsea ocean beach and completely disappeared. Where was his security? There was none. That pushed credibility to its limits. So they said the Chinese got him. In submarines.
A couple of years later the US sent a metal cylinder into space, where it stopped near the moon, spat out a module, and waited while its pilot and co-pilot landed and got out, made obvious footprints like a corrupt cop planting evidence, and then flew the module back to the waiting cylinder, which was idling in neutral the whole time. Then they all rocketed back to Earth, and the men went home and went to bed, tired. Not credible. So the whole thing happened on Earth, in a studio or a desert. More believable.
Item from yesterday's paper:
Strict coronavirus lockdowns, which have crippled the world's economy, were encouraged by a sophisticated Chinese propaganda effort that used Twitter and Facebook to spread fear and panic about COVID-19 and admiration for Beijing's authoritarian approach. ... A damning forensic report ... found the viral videos largely drove the world's initial panicked reaction to news of a strange virus coming out of Wuhan. ... China's goal was threefold - weakening global economies ... spreading totalitarian values in nations whose leaders profess respect for human rights, and using their "success" at fighting COVID-19 to "give his oppressed people a victory". "It's very disturbing how gullible and dismissive of human rights many leaders have proven to be," (author) Senger said.
True or false? Don't ask me. I'm busy figuring out what to feed ravenous teenagers for dinner tonight. Last night was lamb cutlets with vegetables. The sprig of rosemary from the garden added an extra dimension. Panfried, and with aluminium foil around the bone to serve. Kind of a handle.
Man has been forever confronted with right and wrong, fact and fiction, truth and falsehood. Is that tiger a maneater? Try patting it. Is that plant poisonous? Eat it and find out. Can that neighbouring tribe just over the hills be trusted? They gave us food. They could be OK.
True or false. The game never ends. It's an endless cycle that allowed man to evolve by trial and error: the only method that works. Animals don't search for truth. They search for food and reproduction and rest. The search for truth is evolution at work.
But it tricks people. When real events seem so unlikely that they challenge credibility, the alternative starts to look better. The prime minister went for a swim at a Portsea ocean beach and completely disappeared. Where was his security? There was none. That pushed credibility to its limits. So they said the Chinese got him. In submarines.
A couple of years later the US sent a metal cylinder into space, where it stopped near the moon, spat out a module, and waited while its pilot and co-pilot landed and got out, made obvious footprints like a corrupt cop planting evidence, and then flew the module back to the waiting cylinder, which was idling in neutral the whole time. Then they all rocketed back to Earth, and the men went home and went to bed, tired. Not credible. So the whole thing happened on Earth, in a studio or a desert. More believable.
Item from yesterday's paper:
Strict coronavirus lockdowns, which have crippled the world's economy, were encouraged by a sophisticated Chinese propaganda effort that used Twitter and Facebook to spread fear and panic about COVID-19 and admiration for Beijing's authoritarian approach. ... A damning forensic report ... found the viral videos largely drove the world's initial panicked reaction to news of a strange virus coming out of Wuhan. ... China's goal was threefold - weakening global economies ... spreading totalitarian values in nations whose leaders profess respect for human rights, and using their "success" at fighting COVID-19 to "give his oppressed people a victory". "It's very disturbing how gullible and dismissive of human rights many leaders have proven to be," (author) Senger said.
True or false? Don't ask me. I'm busy figuring out what to feed ravenous teenagers for dinner tonight. Last night was lamb cutlets with vegetables. The sprig of rosemary from the garden added an extra dimension. Panfried, and with aluminium foil around the bone to serve. Kind of a handle.
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