“The first job of the historian and of the journalist is to find facts. Not the only job, perhaps not the most important, but the first. Facts are the cobblestones from which we build roads of analysis, mosaic tiles that we fit together to compose pictures of past and present. There will be disagreement about where the road leads and what reality or truth is revealed by the mosaic picture. The facts themselves must be checked against all the available evidence. But some are round and hard--and the most powerful leaders in the world can trip over them. So can writers, dissidents and saints.” WorldFirstsImportantHardFactsRealityTogetherJobsPastPowerfulLeaderFitTruth IsEvidenceRoundsSaintAvailableJournalistAnalysisMost PowerfulHistorianDisagreementPast And PresentDissidentsMosaicsPowerful LeadersTilesCobblestone Author:Timothy Garton Ash
“History is replete with examples of what happens when any group of authorities do not have to answer to empirical evidence but are free to define truth as they see fit. None of the examples has a happy ending. Why should it be otherwise with therapy?” ShouldHappensAnswersGroupsExampleFitAuthorityEvidenceTherapyHappy EndingsEmpirical Evidence Author:Robert Todd Carroll
“You could paper the globe with evidence that there are demonstrable cognitive and physical disparities between what are crudely called human "races." But you could fit all the evidence of innate equality on your pinkie fingernail with room to spare.” HumansRoomsRaceFitPaperEvidenceHuman RaceGlobesSparesInnateCognitiveDisparityFingernails Author:Jim Goad
“For too many of us, it's become safer to retreat into our own bubbles, whether in our neighborhoods or on college campuses, or places of worship or especially our social media feeds, surrounded by people who look like us and share the same political outlook and never challenge our assumptions. And increasingly, we become so secure in our bubbles that we start accepting only information, whether it's true or not, that fits our opinions, instead of basing our opinions on the evidence that is out there.” PeoplePoliticalChallengesAcceptingOpinionShareCollegeFitWorshipEvidenceSocial MediaAssumptionNeighborhoodBubbles Author:Barack Obama
“I wish there was a serious investigation into flying saucers that wasn't conducted by crackpots. Unfortunately nearly all of the people who are interested in them kind of manufacture the evidence to fit the theories rather than the other way around. So it's very hard to find any dispassionate treatment of them. Maybe there isn't any scientific basis in which case that's why you never see any scientific evidence.” PeopleKindWishSeriousFitEvidenceFlyingDispassionate Author:Brian Eno
“Not only does the modern person often think that sight is more important than sound - there's no objective evidence to indicate that. Many people, even audiologists who study the science of human speech and hearing, have assumed for a long time that the human ear evolved to hear the human voice, rather than the voice changing to fit the human ear. And the human ear is actually not a perfect match if we map its sensitivity to the different frequencies in the human range of hearing; it's an unequal curve, it's kind of a wavy line.” PeopleThinkingKindLongImportantDifferentPerfectStudyModernFitEvidenceSensitivityPerfect Match Author:Gordon Hempton
“In the things that really matter--our covenants, the commandments, and following the prophet--we need to be completely united. In the non-essentials, we have our agency to handle things as we see fit. But, in all things, regardless of whether we make the same choices or not, we are to treat each other with dignity and respect, both of which are evidences of charity in our hearts and lives.” NeedsHeartMatterChoicesUnitedFitEssentialsEvidenceAll ThingsDignityTreatsCharityFollowingHandleAgencyProphetCommandmentsCovenantLdsDignity And Respect Author:Sheri L. Dew
“Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted. It would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance. And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize, ignore and even deny anything that doesn't fit in with the core belief.” PeopleImportantSometimesFeelingsFaithBeliefStrongFitProtectEvidenceInvestingAtheistDenyAcceptedCoreUncomfortableOpennessVery StrongCognitiveRationalizeDissonanceCognitive DissonanceCore Beliefs Author:Frantz Fanon
“[Theory is] an explanation that has been confirmed to such a degree, by observation and experiment, that knowledgeable experts accept it as fact. That's what scientists mean when they talk about a theory: not a dreamy and unreliable speculation, but an explanatory statement that fits the evidence. They embrace such an explanation confidently but provisionally - taking it as their best available view of reality, at least unil some severely conflicting data or some better explanation might come along.” MeanHas BeensFactsRealityMightViewsAcceptingTheoryFitDegreesEvidenceScientistEmbraceAvailableExperimentsStatementsObservationDataExplanationExpertsSpeculationKnowledgeableUnreliableDreamy Author:David Quammen
“If I had admitted my guilt, it would have been the same as putting my head on the chopping block - lifetime ban. Death penalty. I spent my entire life on the baseball fields of America, and I was not going to give up my profession without first seeing some hard evidence ... right or wrong, the punishment didn't fit the crime, so I denied the crime.” IfsGivingFirstsHas BeensHardAmericaSeeingCrimeFieldsFitGiving UpEvidenceBaseballGuiltLifetimeProfessionPunishmentBlockDeniedPenaltiesDeath PenaltyBansChoppingBaseball Field Book:My Prison Without Bars Source: My Prison Without Bars