Srijit Kumar Bhadra
srijit
Facts, Truth and Information
Discussions related to facts, truth and information are not new. They have been happening since time immemorial. They still continue to happen, more intensely, in this age of ChatGPT.
Thomas Jefferson was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. On 14th June 1807, Thomas Jefferson wrote the following to John Norvell who was a newspaper editor and one of the first U.S. Senators from Michigan.
“To your request of my opinion of the manner in which a newspaper should be conducted, so as to be most useful, I should answer, “by restraining it to true facts & sound principles only.” Yet I fear such a paper would find few subscribers. It is a melancholy truth, that a suppression of the press could not more completely deprive the nation of it’s benefits, than is done by it’s abandoned prostitution to falsehood. Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle. The real extent of this state of misinformation is known only to those who are in situations to confront facts within their knowledge with the lies of the day. I really look with commiseration over the great body of my fellow citizens, who, reading newspapers, live & die in the belief, that they have known something of what has been passing in the world in their time; whereas the accounts they have read in newspapers are just as true a history of any other period of the world as of the present, except that the real names of the day are affixed to their fables. General facts may indeed be collected from them, such as that Europe is now at war, that Bonaparte has been a successful warrior, that he has subjected a great portion of Europe to his will, &c., &c.; but no details can be relied on. I will add, that the man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them; in as much as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods & errors. He who reads nothing will still learn the great facts, and the details are all false.”
Even during the times of epic Mahabharata, we see a similar scenario while depicting a fact. From Prasad Modak’s Blog, we learn the following.
“Drona (Dhronacharya) was the royal guru to Kauravas and Pandavas. He was a master of advanced military arts, including the Devastras. Arjuna was his favourite student. Drona‘s love for Arjuna was second only to his love for his son Ashwatthama. During Kurukshetra war Drona was on the side of Kauravas.
All knew that defeating Drona was tough in the war. So, Lord Krishna played a trick. He asked Yudhisthira to tell guru Drona that Ashwathama was killed by Bhima. Yudhisthira was not ready to tell a lie. So, Krishna made a war trick and asked Bhima to kill an elephant which had the name Ashwatthama. And then they announced loud that ‘Bhima Killed Ashwathama’.
Drona approached Yudhisthira to seek the truth. This time on the pressure from Krishna. Yudhisthira gave an answer that was a halt truth. He answered “Yes, but Naro wa Kunjaro wa” meaning Yes, Ashwathama is dead but I am not sure whether it is your son or the elephant”. This explanation was not heard by Drona in full as it was morphed with the sound of drums that Lord Krishna had asked to play.
Drona believed that his son Ashwathama is dead. He dropped his powerful array of weapons and sat down to meditate towards atmasamarpan i.e. transcending his soul to the heavens. Draupadi’s brother Dhrushtadhumana took this opportunity and severed his head with a sword.”
#Facts #Fact #Truth #Lies #Information #Misinformation
cc: @srijit
0
1
0