{"id":78240,"date":"2019-09-17T14:58:18","date_gmt":"2019-09-17T20:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=78240"},"modified":"2019-09-17T15:13:58","modified_gmt":"2019-09-17T21:13:58","slug":"ignoring-evidence-redefining-woman-and-journalism-unbound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/09\/ignoring-evidence-redefining-woman-and-journalism-unbound.html","title":{"rendered":"Ignoring Evidence, Inventing Evidence, Redefining “Woman,” and Journalism Unbound"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Newspeak,<\/a>
The three principal government slogans of Oceania in George Orwell\u2019s dystopian novel \u201c1984\u201d
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I hate to break it to you, but news reports in the media can\u2019t always be trusted to be entirely accurate. \u00a0Here is an example of what I mean:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNot Only Didn\u2019t We Find Water On An Earth-Like Exoplanet, But We Can\u2019t With Current Technology\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t imagine that such foul-ups occur only in controversial areas like science. \u00a0They can also happen even with regard to more tranquil and settled subjects, such as politics:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

CNN: \u00a0\u201cNew York Times<\/em> reporters grilled about botched Kavanaugh story\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

National Review<\/em>: \u00a0\u201cNYT Reporter Blames Editors for Removing Exculpatory Information from Kavanaugh Story\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Times<\/em> leadership blames the reporters. \u00a0The reporters blames the Times<\/em> editors. \u00a0Where\u2019s my popcorn?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

CNN: \u00a0\u201cNew York Times\u2019 botched Kavanaugh story the latest in series of blunders from Opinion section\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

National Review<\/em>: \u00a0\u201cThe Ongoing Smear Campaign against Brett Kavanaugh\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

National Review<\/em>: \u00a0\u201cThe\u00a0New York Times<\/i>\u00a0Still Doesn\u2019t Understand What It Did:\u00a0It had blockbuster new evidence exonerating Kavanaugh but instead emphasized a flimsy allegation.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

National Review<\/em>: \u00a0\u201cThe Architect of the Latest Kavanaugh Smear Just Gave a Self-Damning Radio Interview:\u00a0Her approach to reporting the story is a textbook case of confirmation bias.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Seeing this was such sweet sorrow:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

CNN: \u00a0\u201cThe re-emergence of Kavanaugh controversy could hurt Democrats\u2019 Senate chances in 2020\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, even if you read no other news story on the latest Kavanaugh controversy, you should pay careful attention to this<\/em> one, which comes from an impeccably reliable source:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Babylon Bee<\/em>: \u00a0\u201cNew York Times<\/em> Reveals Source On Kavanaugh Allegations Was Reputable Nigerian Prince\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s get back to science!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMerriam-Webster Adds Non-Binary Definition of \u2018They\u2019 to Dictionary\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRedefine \u2018Woman,\u2019 Activists Urge:\u00a0And then they came for the dictionary.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s always a healthy trend in the sciences in particular and in language and culture more generally \u2014 well, isn\u2019t it? \u2014 when words lose precision and meanings become fuzzy.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

From the Wikipedia entry on \u201cNewspeak\u201d:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Newspeak<\/b>\u00a0is the language of\u00a0Oceania, a fictional\u00a0totalitarian\u00a0state and the setting of the novel\u00a0Nineteen Eighty-Four<\/i>\u00a0(1949), by\u00a0George Orwell. To meet the ideological requirements of English Socialism (Ingsoc) in Oceania, the ruling Party created Newspeak,\u00a0a\u00a0controlled language\u00a0of restricted grammar and limited vocabulary, meant to limit the\u00a0freedom of thought\u00a0\u2014 personal identity, self-expression, free will \u2014 that threatens the ideology of the r\u00e9gime of\u00a0Big Brother\u00a0and the Party, who have criminalized such concepts into\u00a0thoughtcrime, as contradictions of Ingsoc orthodoxy.<\/sup><\/sup><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

In \u201cThe Principles of Newspeak\u201d, the appendix to the novel, George Orwell explains that Newspeak usage follows most of the English grammar, yet is a language characterised by a continually diminishing vocabulary; complete thoughts reduced to simple terms of simplistic meaning. . . .<\/span><\/p>\n

The political purpose of Newspeak is to eliminate the expression of the shades of meaning inherent to ambiguity and nuance from Oldspeak (Standard English) in order to reduce the language\u2019s function of communication, by way of simplistic concepts of simple construction \u2014 pleasure and pain, happiness and sadness,\u00a0goodthink<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0crimethink<\/i>\u00a0\u2014 which linguistically reinforce the State\u2019s\u00a0totalitarian\u00a0dominance of the people of\u00a0Oceania.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

From \u201cThe Second Coming,\u201d by William Butler Yeats:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Turning and turning in the widening gyre\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;<\/span><\/div>\n
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;<\/span><\/div>\n
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,<\/span><\/div>\n
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;<\/span><\/div>\n
The best lack all conviction, while the worst\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Are full of passionate intensity.<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 I hate to break it to you, but news reports in the media can\u2019t always be trusted to be entirely accurate. \u00a0Here is an example of what I mean: \u00a0 \u201cNot Only Didn\u2019t We Find Water On An Earth-Like Exoplanet, But We Can\u2019t With Current Technology\u201d \u00a0 But don\u2019t imagine that such foul-ups […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nIgnoring Evidence, Inventing Evidence, Redefining "Woman," and Journalism Unbound<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    I hate to break it to you, but news reports in the media can't always be trusted to be entirely accurate. \u00a0Here is an example of what I\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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