Media’s Use Of Argument To Attract An Emotional Audience

In a tweet by George Monbiot, writer for The Guardian, he stated, “There’s lots of common ground between feminism and trans rights, but in the media, division is emphasised. Let’s find the common ground between all our struggles, which are all sides of the same die. Sexism, transphobia, racism, economic exclusion, environmental injustice, intergenerational theft: a struggle against one is a struggle against all. Wealth and power seek to atomise and rule. We resist effectively when we stand together in solidarity.”

I agree with this. My reply to George, however, was, “In my view, George is only touching on a much larger issue: media’s use of argument to draw an emotional audience vs. having deep discussions to understand WHY people hang on to disagreement. We do it because of deep LANGUAGE FLAWS.” In my book, Collapse 2020 Vol. 1: Fall of the First Global Civilization, in ch 5, I discuss how human language flaws actually lead to this. In short, human brains are wired to produce language. The structure of this wiring allows humans to communicate in many very different forms around the world. BUT, in ALL of them, there are significant limitations due to how our brains are organized to produce language. In addition, the language process is further flawed due to the accumulation of evolved flaws over the entire history of human culture. The result is that, EVERY cultural institution found in human society is primarily a rolling snowball’s accumulation of ages of superstition!

I the first paragraph, I highlighted a number of terms: feminism, trans rights, etc. Each of these terms, by itself, is already a NIGHTMARE of confusion. If you want to test this claim, try to find a definition for any one of them. Good luck! And, to help you out, I’ll warn you not to turn to Merriam-Webster – or any other “dictionary” either. The reason is, from it’s founding, the editorial rules at Merriam-Webster were that its role was NOT defining any words! “What”, I’m sure you’re saying. “If that isn’t what dictionaries are for, then what are they for?” What Merriam-Webster actually does is to collect and precisely describe how words have been used over time. So, for any entry, it may list many “definitions”, some in direct contradiction to others.

For example, take the terms “hot” and “cool”. Hot might mean having a high temperature. That’s easy. But what about Kim Kardashian’s new hairdo? Is she “hot”? Or is she “cool”? Now, think about the term “rights” as in “trans rights”. Go ahead. Look it up somewhere. Getting to the bottom of it will eventually lead you to the Encyclopedia Britannica which will start you on a trail to ten thousand academic papers. Go read my book!

To sum this comment up, for society to free itself from 10,000 years of endless human conflict, and establish a sustainable future, the world is going to need many miracles. Will it take 50 years, or 5,000 years, or will we go extinct? My book doesn’t answer that question. What it does do is give a reader ways to determine which way society is heading. If you want to be a survivor, that’s a big help.

About Bruce Nappi

Founder/Director of the A3 Research Institute, the A3 Society, the Humanist Friendship Group of New England. Co-founder of the School of the Medical Arts, the first all medical high school in the U.S. Eagle Scout on the 1965 North Pole Expedition. Worked for 40 years at the bleeding edge of high tech covering areas like nuclear power, robotics, medical instruments, automation, and healthcare. Most recently focused on medical simulation training at the University of Florida, College of Medicine. In 2010, published two books to summarize major discoveries in science, sociology, psychology, and world sustainability. In 2013, founded the A3 Research Institute to gather people of like interests, to implement the discoveries which support sustainability. In 2015, completed and published a major scientific paper which proposes a new structure for matter in the universe, presents a model for the Grand Unification of matter and energy, and supersedes Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. BS and MSc degrees from MIT ’69. My current primary focus is on Personalized Democracy, a major breakthrough to overcome gridlock in governments and the breakdown of communication between people in society. Personalized Democracy will usher in a political system that, for the first time in history, gives citizens not only DIRECT access to all parts of government, but also control of legislation so that their personal needs are respected and implemented. Mr. Nappi holds BS and MSc degrees from MIT ‘69
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