Gut is not best judge

Once, as I negotiated the narrow alleys of Boston’s Chinatown after lunch, searching for a way back to the Massachusetts Turnpike, my wife asked if I knew where I was going. I said, “I think I know …” Her brilliant reply was: “Yeah, thinking you know is the first step to true knowledge.”

If you’re not getting why her comeback was so hilarious: (1) It sounds like oriental wisdom from a fortune cookie, and (2) “thinking you know” is a first step to nowhere—it effectively stops you from pursuing and acquiring knowledge. And if you’re not getting why her reply has relevance beyond the male inclination to drive by “gut feel,” think how facts and data have fallen into disrepute in politics these days.

Too many people today are choosing to remain willfully ignorant of objective information that doesn’t fit with their preconceived worldviews. They call such data “fake” simply because they don’t like where it points. This is like ignoring smoke from a wildfire. If you do, you’ll get burned. And we, as a nation, are going to get burned bigtime if we ignore the well-documented facts of climate change, environmental degradation, foreign tampering with our elections, and presidential corruption, collusion, recklessness, lying and fear-mongering.

The situation we’re in is well described by a recent Dilbert cartoon. Our hero asks his clueless boss, “Why are we going ahead with the plan when the data says it can’t succeed?” The boss replies, “I manage by instinct and gut feelings,” to which Dilbert responds, “How is that different from being insane or stupid?” The boss concludes, “My gut says I shouldn’t listen to you.” If you’ve ever worked for a jerk like this, you know what Trump’s Cabinet and staff must experience as they troop through the revolving door of his favor and White House employment. Veritas. ALEX MIRONOFF

Fayetteville