How do you know who to believe?

  That's a topic that has come up here before; and it's one of the enduring problems of human existence. How do you know who is telling you the truth- when two or three or more opinions all clash, and claim expertise?  (Read Part 1, and Part 2, if you want to get the whole thing.)

  There's an excellent case in point today, from the NYT: Weapons experts raise doubts about Iron Dome.

   One of my deep secrets, I've actually been involved in technical discussions on the possibilities for "anti-missile" weapons since Reagan launched Star Wars.  I know a little about it- one thing being, you have to go a long, long, way to find any academic scientist who thinks shooting one missile with another is ever- EVER going to work.  From physicists to statisticians- they'll show you graphs and charts on why it's just plain not possible.

  The crux of the NYT article- multiple real experts say they can find little to no evidence that the Israeli "Iron Dome" missile defense worked.  Maybe not at all.  Ever.

   If you're interested- read the story.  Then think about this: who says what; and where is the "vested interest"?

  It turns out this way; the people claiming "it worked!" are either the makers, who are pocketing huge profits, and want more; or the soldiers shooting them- who humanly want to believe they're doing some good (but no, they didn't see it happen, of course; and they've been extensively coached by the makers); or the politicians who are appropriating the dollars.  They have multiple reasons.

   The people claiming "it didn't work" - are pretty uniformly genuine experts in their field, who don't work for the missile manufacturers.  And who aren't getting paid to stick their necks out.  Oh- and the police in Israel; who report far more damage on the ground than the military thinks should be possible.

   Besides the "facts" presented: yes; you have to comprehend the human motivations working behind the scenes.  They're always there.

A little perspective...

We have a little internal conflict these days in the Little House; Spice is deeply engaged by, and involved in, the US presidential election bustle; and I am not.

I freely admit that when I was her age, I was all tangled up by it.  But, having seen many presidential elections come and go (the first one I remember was Eisenhower...) - I find it all a great deal less exciting these days.

Is it important?  Well, sure.

But- it may help you relax if you can come to truly understand - that what you see going on in the public media is a performance; not government.  And the performances you see have little to do with what will actually happen after the elections.

So; really; you might as well relax a bit; and enjoy the chorus lines.  Because that's what they are; well rehearsed, singing and dancing scripts written by professionals who are not on stage, and yes, occasionally one trips and stumbles on stage, so we can all go "oooo!"

And, there are the old troupers, and the ingénues.

In amongst all the frenzied kerfuffing (neologism alert) about last nights Biden-Ryan tango, what came to my mind most prominently was Biden's better grasp of old, old advice, long available.

What matters is the emotions engendered, long after the dance; all the "logic" invoked will have been long since lost when voters step into their booths.  Was this person strong, or weak; is what will be remembered.

And in that vein of thought, what I dredged out of my ancient neuro archives was this patter song from a very old Danny Kaye movie; The Inspector General.

For those not familiar- Danny is playing an ignorant, illiterate, sub-peasant; who suddenly finds the people in this village believe him to be the Inspector General sent to root out corruption.  Admitting he is not, will likely get him hanged.  So- this is his pondering how to - fool everyone.

Which- is what politicians do, you know.

Enjoy the song; I love it dearly.  And the wisdom it contains is vastly larger than you might think at first.


As usual; if the Blogger player is cranky; go straight to YouTube for it.  Be patient!  It's a long clip, a bit uneven, but with very tasty bits.

Enjoy!!

Might as well.

One of my favorite lines of all times:  "Up off your knees!!  STOP LICKING MY BOOTS!"

:-)

That and the end of the song; "Give 'em the Fist! Give 'em the Wrist! Give 'em the ....  "  oh, my.  He slipped one past the censors there, the rascal!  The original audiences had to be gasping.