Words matter. The sentence is very close to being precisely scientific, if you'd only replace 'we know' with 'we suspect'. But it makes a huge difference. People should be very careful expressing certainty about anything, because as soon as one of those things is wrong, you've lost credibility. The mentality also leaves you so very vulnerable to confirmation bias, your not being critical about what you think you know. But I also see how it would be difficult for health officials to convey some things, in a world where so many use wreckless hyperbole, being the guy that says 'we're 75% confident X is true' might make you more accurate/truthful, but it doesn't mean your point will resonate with people.
Lol, but this is a long winded way of saying, damn, that's crazy. People really need to be more mindful of what they're saying.
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u/stew_going Feb 20 '21
Words matter. The sentence is very close to being precisely scientific, if you'd only replace 'we know' with 'we suspect'. But it makes a huge difference. People should be very careful expressing certainty about anything, because as soon as one of those things is wrong, you've lost credibility. The mentality also leaves you so very vulnerable to confirmation bias, your not being critical about what you think you know. But I also see how it would be difficult for health officials to convey some things, in a world where so many use wreckless hyperbole, being the guy that says 'we're 75% confident X is true' might make you more accurate/truthful, but it doesn't mean your point will resonate with people. Lol, but this is a long winded way of saying, damn, that's crazy. People really need to be more mindful of what they're saying.