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by douglaswlance 2706 days ago
The problem is that both sides of any big issue think they have the "facts" and refuse to compromise or engage with the facts from the other side.

The list of objective facts regarding any major issue is short. The list of subjective facts is infinite. When anyone can blast the world with their subjective facts, the objective facts are lost in the noise.
2 comments
pjc50 2706 days ago
The deeper problem is "option consequences" - what is doing X likely to result in? It's hard to call statements about the future "facts", but we can't plan without them. QV the Brexit debate upthread.
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vkou 2706 days ago
If economics were a hard science, then we could focus on the objective facts.

It's not one, though.

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dsfyu404ed 2706 days ago
If the science was hard then then we'd just abuse statistics and anecdotes (like we do to promote gun control and deny climate change).
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