I’ve been thinking about a more basic problem. How do we know how much of what we’re told is the truth? Some things are verifiable against collateral sources. “Fair weather today.” Look out the window. “The prices of gasoline have fallen.” Go to the gas station. But a lot of facts today get their authenticity from the fact they’ve been widely reported. “I saw it on TV”. “I read it on the Internet.” For many people — maybe even most — that’s enough. But consider the following propositions: “the world is facing global catastrophe due to Global Warming”; “the War in Iraq made us less safe”; “missile defense sytems are unproven”; “we need stimulus to save the economy”. True or false? Every single one of those propositions is contested. I don’t know the truth value of any of them for a fact, one way or the other. There is no easy way to check, yet we make the biggest ticket decisions based on … what exactly?

It’s a helluva way to run a railroad.