The lost art of knowing right from wrong
Please read the entire story of Norman’s cancellation for a recent NHS Health and Care Analytics Conference 2023. Here is the update on his story
I have read Norman’s entire story on this particular subject matter and I want to report two things:
- This story is better than any fiction novel I have ever read.
It’s got a hero. Villains. Intrigue. A plot twist. And dare I say, eventually, JUSTICE.
- Without knowing (the direct product of being capable of discerning between right and wrong) that he was cancelled for non-reasons, this story would never have seen the light of day.
Here are some examples of things that are wrong (this is NOT subjective – and yes I will argue with anyone on these points and they will lose) to appease confusion:
Censorship is wrong.
Sexualizing children is wrong.
Intentionally hurting other beings is wrong.
Norman is a good friend of mine and I don’t say this for clout; I say it in truth. We speak every day in a data analysis group we’re in together with a crew of dynamite people, and if any one of us has an issue, or a new paper, or a story to share, we do.
It’s like data analysis, constructive criticism and therapy rolled into one! This includes all of our stories on being censored and cancelled. ALL OF US HAVE BEEN.
And what’s probably more important is that we all know, and maintain our knowledge despite the ‘challenges’ of the past three years, that being censored or cancelled for simply doing the same thing we’ve always done, is wrong.
Furthermore, doing nothing about it, is the wrong course of action to take.
Being censored or cancelled due to tattle tales incentivized by greed and stupidity who wouldn’t know a Bayesian analysis if it hit them in the face with a what would make a billy goat puke, is wrong.
Recognizing a tattle tale in the first place requires the ability to know right from wrong, and this is probably my main point.
It struck me how it would have been so easy for Norman to go cry in a corner and ‘woe is me’ himself out of fighting back. We all do this sometimes because it hurts to be censored – it really does! We sometimes retreat simply out of disbelief that it happened.
It can’t be possible that my paper got force withdrawn because the publisher – the biggest publisher in the world – was bitch-slapped and told to do it ‘or else’. It can’t be so. But here’s the thing: it is.
It takes a certain… something (state of mind? past memory recall?), and in fact, stubbornness, to persist in your strong belief that everyone else is wrong and that, you, are right.
It struck me how if Norman didn’t know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was categorically wrong for him to be cancelled in this way – for reasons that were likely beyond ridiculous – he would not have sought out the reasons behind why he was cancelled, and the unethical, vapid people involved.
Consequently, this story would have been left out of the public sphere: no one would have known that, or why, Norman’s talk was cancelled, or even that he had a talk in the first place!
Imagine how many stories are left untold.
This is likely the reason, or at least a big reason, why we got into this mess we’re currently in. The mess we’re currently in could not have happened without the censorship/cancellation component.
It is simply incredible to me that propaganda works so effectively. It is even more incredible to me that after all we humans have done to each other, that we do not have readily accessible internal radar for the signs and symptoms of tyranny.
For me, if censorship is on the table, dictatorship is the goal.
How is it possible that we have seemingly lost our way and turned our blind eyes to what we know is right? Or at least, to what is wrong?
I am an eternal optimist and I believe that as a community of humans we do have the ability to heal ourselves, even from the extreme forgetfulness of what is right, and what is wrong. Perhaps when we do, we will uncover some of the massive lies and deception that have literally destroyed lives without impunity for decades.
In fact, I think we are doing that right now.
Thank you Norman for being a balanced, normal, kind, thoughtful human being. Thank you for following logic, fact and your sense of right.
You inspire a legion of people to shake off the veil of confusion and to see clearly the difference between right and wrong.
See more here substack.com
Header image: Foundation for Economic Education
Some bold emphasis added
Please Donate Below To Support Our Ongoing Work To Defend The Scientific Method
PRINCIPIA SCIENTIFIC INTERNATIONAL, legally registered in the UK as a company 
incorporated for charitable purposes. Head Office: 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX.
Trackback from your site.
Howdy
| #
I’ll lose the challenge will I? We shall see.
“Censorship is wrong.”
So allowing any level of language, filth, or lies used indiscriminately against anyone, for no reason at all, without justification, is ok then? I believe not. You see, at a minimum, context is paramount.
“Intentionally hurting other beings is wrong.”
“he was cancelled for non-reasons”
In the quote above these two, hurting people is claimed ok though. Make your mind up.
“It’s got a hero. Villains. Intrigue. A plot twist. And dare I say, eventually, JUSTICE.”
People live these events every day, what’s your point? Ah, It’s a friend, so, very important. Standing up for another is an admirable course of action, but would the same happen for a total stranger though, that’s the point.
The above quotes are in total conflict. I believe I have shown, even in this short post, that this is nothing to do with ‘lost arts’, which itself is nothing to do with truthfulness, and appears more an essay about lending a shoulder to lean on. A common, everyday occurrence.
Reply
Greg Spinolae
| #
Censors have declared that ANY objection to the Covid Atrocities is “filth & lies” AKA “disinformation”.
The “censorship is OK” cult are not able to see that ANYTHING can be DECLARED “filth & lies” on the whim of whomever they may arbitrarily accept as authorised to censor.
The only logical conclusion is:
Anything less than ABSOLUTE Free Speech is not actually Free Speech at all!
Reply
Howdy
| #
Are you claiming free speech trumps truth, Greg?
Reply
aaron
| #
but who’s truth is the truth?
and how would one know which is true
Reply
Howdy
| #
Your question is beside the point Aaron. Truth is absolute, there cannot be more than one truth. Surely you know that.
It is better not to repeat something claimed to be truth if one does not know it.
Society is a binding, so anybody who believes free speech is a right, should stick to talking to themselves, keep their writings away from others, or stay away from society.
No upsets from others, the speaker can do whatever they please, and we all live happily ever after. So simple, except for those who need to be heard, or believe themselves an authority, or the exhibitionist for example.
Reply
Howdy
| #
Sorry Aaron, I neglected your last point.
Knowing which is true comes with wisdom. Note that I do not mean age. Until such time, one will choose that which is suitable to the way one thinks or believes.
Greg Spinolae
| #
One single DENT in Free Speech is the DEATH of Free Speech.
One single comment censored is the floodgate to Tyranny.
Reply
Tom Anderson
| #
The watchword in my undergraduate days of the 1950s was attributed to Voltaire – “I disapprove of what you say but will defend to the death your right to say it.” As a policy it kept us straight and was a good air freshener.
Reply
Jerry Krause
| #
Hi Tom,
Read the article because of your comment and then tried discover more about Jessica Rose. While nothing is certain I believe she might be a Stanford medical professor whose paper was rejected without any any formal university support. What do you KNOW about her?
Have a good day
Reply
Howdy
| #
Interesting quote Tom, but were Voltaire to become the target of malicious lies himself, I guess his mind would change in favour of self preservation and the perpetrator would not in fact, be defended. Unless Voltaire was a self destructive fool of course.
Reply