Let us look at this problem scientifically. If you are right and TV
etc has little effect we would expect everyone in the world to think
the same way. Well not every individual, but there would be no
systematic difference between countries. An Iraqi, Syrian, Cuban would
think the same way as a Westerner.

Your position has a name. It is called Platonism. Platonism is often
discussed in relationship to whether scientific discoveries are
objective. Whether ET would see the Universe in the same way as us. In
Politics Platonism is manifestly untrue. An Arab does have a different
viewpoint from a Westerner and that is due to his information
environment. Suicide bombers and other jihasrdists are not genetically
different from us, they have just had a different information
environment. Dawkins talks about memes, although Einar has said that
memes add nothing to orthodox sociology. Whether you follow Dawkins or
sociology it is clear that our information environment has a
tremendous effect on us.

On the scientific question. Yes Relativity is objective but General
Relativity might not have come so quickly had we lived under
permanently cloudy skies. Eddington actually saw a solar eclipse. You
are the first person I have met who has tried to expand Platonism
outside the scientific field.

The way forward with the world's problems (none of which would exist
in a Platonic world) is to study, and where necessary modify
information environments.


- Ian Parker


- Ian Parker