Posted by
Nerdus Maximus on Wednesday, October 18, 2006 7:06:00 PM
Today we install the Colorometer (Colourometer if you are British) in
our bias detector. The colorometer performs a very important function.
It scans human communication much like an astronomer uses a spectrometer
to scan the stars. What both tell us is what colors are there, and
which are missing. An example will help us understand the function of,
and need for, a colorometer in our bias detector.
I could, quite accurately, describe the beginnings of my daughter's
relationship with her husband by saying that they first met at a movie
theater and had their fist extended conversation at a run down night
club that was later shut down and demolished. Quite the lurid portrait
of hedonistic young people, isn't it?
I could equally accurately describe this by saying that they
first met at a church service and had their first extended conversation
at a church event for young adults. That leaves quite a different
impression.
Either impression is deepened if you include the fact that he is
employed by a church. In the first case it adds the whiff of hypocrisy
to the odor of hedonism. To the second it adds a hint of
commitment to a fragrance of wholesomeness. Both accounts are
factually accurate, but the first could leave a very innaccurate
impression.
We found in part one that not being able to report everything
creates an opening for bias in choosing what to report. A second
opening for bias occurs because you can't report everything about
anything. We color any report we make when we, as we must, choose
which details to include. This inescapable coloring is why your
bias detector needs a colorometer.
The reporting of Pope Bendict's
address at Regensburg is an example of coloration. Most of the
speech was about "reason" as defined by the classical Greek
philosophers versus modern philosophers. What most reporters
chose to report about it was a centuries old quotation that happened to
refer to Muslims. In the context of the address any group known
to use violence to spread its point of view would have done just
as well, so the Muslim aspect of the quotation wasn't even the
most enlightening fact in understanding what was being said. It
was, however, what got reported. That is coloration.
Another classic example of coloration by reporting selective facts is the
reporting of Dick Cheney's finances. Search for reports
touching on this topic and you will find many articles that mention how
much money he has made, but very few that mention how much he has given
to non-political charities. I suspect that how much someone gives
to which causes tells you more about their character than does how much
they made and how they made it.
The importance to detecting bias of what details are, and are not,
included in a report makes the colorometer an essential component in
your bias detector.
Nerdus
RSS