GEEZERWISE SAYS... What’s the Truth About What You’re Being Asked to Believe?
In a world where everyone wants your loyalty, the most powerful question you can ask is whether what you're being told is actually true.
There was a time when I worried about whether I was right or not.
These days, I worry about something else.
Am I being manipulated?
Turn on the television.
Open Facebook.
Watch YouTube.
Read a newspaper.
Listen to a politician.
Scroll through X.
Open ChatGPT.
Every one of them is asking you to believe something.
Some are right.
Some are wrong.
Some are honestly mistaken.
Some have an agenda.
The trick is figuring out which is which.
The older I get, the less interested I am in joining a team.
I’m far more interested in asking one simple question.
What’s the truth about what I’m being asked to believe?
That’s become my filter for everything.
Sometimes the loudest voice is a politician promising to save the country.
Sometimes it’s a corporation promising happiness if you buy one more thing.
Sometimes it’s a preacher claiming certainty about God.
Sometimes it’s an atheist claiming certainty there is no God.
Sometimes it’s a YouTuber exposing “the biggest secret ever.”
Sometimes it’s a television network telling me the other side is destroying civilization.
Sometimes it’s even an AI giving me an answer.
None of them gets a free pass.
Not one.
I ask the same questions every time.
Where did this information come from?
What’s the evidence?
Who benefits if I believe it?
What facts would change my mind?
If those questions make someone uncomfortable, that’s usually interesting.
One thing I’ve learned after seven decades on this planet is this…
The loudest voices rarely earn my trust.
They earn my attention.
Then they earn my questions.
Because the louder someone shouts...
...the more carefully I inspect the evidence.
I’ve seen too many headlines that turned out to be wrong.
Too many promises that never happened.
Too many conspiracy theories collapse.
Too many official stories change as new facts emerged.
That doesn’t make me cynical.
It makes me careful.
I don’t expect everyone to agree with me.
Frankly, I’d be suspicious if they did.
GeezerWise isn’t about recruiting people to my side.
It’s about encouraging people to think for themselves.
So if you remember only one thing from today’s article, let it be this…
Don’t panic.
Don’t worship.
Don’t dismiss.
Look.
Think.
Decide.
Because in a world where everyone is trying to win the argument...
I’d rather spend my time looking for the truth.
The Gut-Punch...
The easiest person to manipulate isn’t the one who knows the least.
It’s the one who’s stopped asking questions.
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Well, I guess you and I are doomed, Fred, as I (almost always) agree with you! (so I guess we now have to be suspicious of each other! ;-) ).
But seriously, a well-written summary about critical thinking - and something one has to really keep in mind when working with AI.
Whoever, whatever, whenever... when you are presented with a choice, and a sense of urgency that stops you from questioning the message, that's a great part of the problem. The message is delivered, changed, recanted, modified, and it's all done to keep your critical thinking in flux. We live in a time equally comprised of 15 minute breaking news, that while often valid, deprives the chance to weight and consider. Your points are valid. I get exactly what your highlighting.
Thanks Fred.