Brief Introduction: Intentional efforts to obstruct reality

 

We're going to start with ways people intentionally obscure, or prevent us from seeing reality.

 

 

• They try to tell us reality is all subjective so we can choose our own reality

• They tell us not to bother looking, it's not really out there.

• They sow seeds of doubt to minimize or obfuscate facts and negate what others might try to reveal to us about reality.

• Or they try to distract us and get us to look at things they want us to look at, so we won't see stuff that might tell us where the real threats to us are. 

• Or they try to keep us from looking beyond the surface. 

• Or they try to provide us with false or misleading information, including the idea that that's what others are trying to do to them is misleading, when it's not.

 To read about the "eye of the beholder" efforts to make us think all reality is subjective

 To read about reality only being a matter of opinion

 To read about denialism, a way to intentionally avoid reality

 To read about the misuse of doubt to persuade us to ignore reality

 To read about ignoring reality and clinging to existing beliefs

 To read about "something shiny," a way to divert our attention from reality

 To read about lying with statistics

 To read about "killing the messenger," an ad hominem attack on those reporting reality

 

 To go to the brief introduction to difficulties seeing reality

 To go to the Articles Page.