Selective Disclosure
Apr. 14th, 2008 08:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
birdwatcherApril 14 (Kevin Hassett, Bloomberg) -- Suppose you caught wind that a preposterous story was spreading around town that you are a drug user. What would you do?
Your first thought might be to take out an advertisement in the newspaper announcing that you are clean. The downside of that approach is you would broadcast the false rumor to everyone and presumably raise as many suspicions as you quell.
A preferable alternative would be to call up a few influential people and show them drug tests proving your innocence, then trust that they would quietly spread the word.
Now imagine you live in a world where the government has made it illegal to defend yourself in private conversations. You're allowed to take out an advertisement yet not to make phone calls. In that world, presumably, many more false rumors would have a life of their own, since the law has made it so costly and difficult to defend yourself.
What does this little thought experiment have to do with current events? Everything.
Но вот смотрите: даже в исключительно осмысленном тексте не получается обойтись без войны с наркотиками. Почему, например, не написал в первой строчке "распространяется слух, что вы гомосексуалист", а?
Your first thought might be to take out an advertisement in the newspaper announcing that you are clean. The downside of that approach is you would broadcast the false rumor to everyone and presumably raise as many suspicions as you quell.
A preferable alternative would be to call up a few influential people and show them drug tests proving your innocence, then trust that they would quietly spread the word.
Now imagine you live in a world where the government has made it illegal to defend yourself in private conversations. You're allowed to take out an advertisement yet not to make phone calls. In that world, presumably, many more false rumors would have a life of their own, since the law has made it so costly and difficult to defend yourself.
What does this little thought experiment have to do with current events? Everything.
Но вот смотрите: даже в исключительно осмысленном тексте не получается обойтись без войны с наркотиками. Почему, например, не написал в первой строчке "распространяется слух, что вы гомосексуалист", а?
no subject
Date: 2008-04-14 03:50 pm (UTC)