I Am Bothered

I don't like the nonsense that passes for rational discourse so often in our society.  I am very much bothered by the inaccuracies, ambiguities, code words, slogans, catch phrases, public relation devices, sweeping generalizations, and stereotypes, which are used (consciously or otherwise) to influence people.

I am bothered by the way misinformation, disguised as scholarship, is used in social, political, and educational contexts to affect policy decisions.

I am bothered by the way misinformation is accepted uncritically, and by the way people are unable to recognize it or reject it.

-- Serge Lang (1927 - 2005), French-born American mathematician, The File: Case Study in Correction (1977-1979)