February 2009

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Something funny happened the other day...I got e-mail from someone wanting to know if my journal entries were based on facts or if they were just my opinion.

Turned out the writer was looking for references to use in an upcoming debate, and a search on the topic had brought up an entry I wrote. I didn't know which entry at the time because my site statistics were running several hours off realtime and the writer had not noted it.

I replied that yes, the entries were my opinions, and if I meant something to be considered a fact I gave references.

I admit I did start to say that there were facts for which none of us needed to give references, like, "The sky is blue," but then I realized I was about to launch into lecture mode, which probably wasn't needed.

It amused me when I found out that the entry in question was from nearly seven years ago, and was on whether or not we were in moral decline (I said and still say no).

If the writer is after current information, well, that entry isn't it. And I hate to say it, but I suspect finding much that isn't purely opinion on that topic is going to be challenging.

At the same time, I'm glad the entry is still hanging around on a search engine, and that the person searching knew better than to cite it as fact without checking.