In the August issue of Sojourners, Catholic peace activist and poet Rose Marie Berger has written an article focusing on the reaction to The Da Vinci Code and the discovery of the gospel of Judas. Berger’s thoughts, specifically on The Da Vinci Code were very insightful. First of all she states the obvious in writing that, “Dan Brown is a hack novelist who hit upon a winning formula”. Secondly and the part that caught my attention was this excerpt from her article:
“My greater concern is for those who are unable to distinguish between fact and fiction. Psychologists recognize this phenomenon in children who falsely perceive television programs to be “real.” When adults are unable to make this distinction because their knowledge is not broad enough to put the fiction in a factual context and they rely heavily on personal experience and individual emotions not tested in community, the results have been historically disastrous.”
I’ve been trying to find a way to communicate that thought, or at least part of it, for some time now. The problem is that in many communities the corporate knowledge base is not broad enough to distinguish between fact and fiction and the whole community falls into an ignorant groupthink. God help us love you with our minds.
Posted by David at 11:02 PM
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2 comments:
“My greater concern is for those who are unable to distinguish between fact and fiction."
Can anyone really distinguish between fact and fiction though without research and reflection. This is like any time I watch an episode of House or CSI...how do I really know the diseases and diagnoses which they're rattling off are real and proven or just made up nonsense that sounds medically accurate?? The problem is not that I watch the worthless fiction or are entertained by it. The problem would be if I tried to apply the last episode to a real-life situation and teach someone else about some bizarre condition which causes the tongue to swell and eventually rupture.
But that doesn't discount that the show gives me a healthy respect and interest for the medical field.
I think it is amazing that people will take everything at it's word without first checking into it. Though, seeing at how many people are scammed, it shouldn't surprise me. Don't take something for fact just because the author puts a blurb in the beginning stating it is so. At least, that is what I was taught.
Secondly, it goes to prove that not watering down and diluting true historical fact is something that schools need to take an initiative to do. You can't appreciate where you are going, all the breakthroughs if you don't fully realize where you came from.
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