I just heard this statement on NPR:

“There are more and more studies that show that giving people information does not change their mind.”

And although that is somehow not new in itself, and has been particularly obvious in the news business and the political world, it did put it quite starkly into focus. Fact-based reality is indeed a very fragile thing. The times in world history when facts did have bearing on human affairs are far and few apart, but what was achieved during these periods had a lasting influence.

Western civilization still resonates from the Greek philosophers’ insight into the physical world. Most of the stars in the sky have Arabic names, reflecting the intense interest in the calendar and orientation of the early Muslim scholars a thousand years later than the Greeks. On the other hand, these ideas reached a very small number of people.

The philosophers and mathematicians of the Renaissance looked back 1500 years to seek logic and reason from those who came before to guide their thinking process, which led to an evolving view of our world. These facts-based success stories were not widely understood by many until the 20th century, coinciding with a rise of the middle class in the western world. This was probably due in part to a more equitable education and success of the technology issued by the fact-based science behind it all. Unfortunately, the mismanagement and corruption of knowledge acquired was partly funneled into armament (the atomic bomb is a good example), and environmental abuse, which opened a wedge for doubt to fester.

Of course this is simplistic, but these drawbacks were enough for other forces to gain momentum, and utilize this breach of trust to declare full war on the factual philosophy that we still need so urgently. We cannot solve these problems by burying our heads in the sand. It is worthy to note that this development coincides with a widening of the gap between rich and poor.

There is a lot more to be said, but the main concern I have is: what can we do about it? Can we make facts sexy? Any other suggestions?