"People always assume that if someone doesn't know something, it's because they haven't paid attention or haven't yet figured it out," Proctor says. "But ignorance also comes from people literally suppressing truth—or drowning it out—or trying to make it so confusing that people stop caring about what's true and what's not."I get into arguments all the time. Usually online, but sometimes, I just can't let some random comment by some random acquaintance slide by unchallenged. I also have a few drinkin' buddies and when we get together, it's time to play "What's Yer Fuckin' Problem?". It gets pretty heated on occasion, but we're still good friends and at least nobody's ever hit anybody. I've been trying to work on tempering my more aggressive impulses. I wouldn't say that I have a short fuse for the most part, but there are definitely some things that'll set me off, and this idea of WIllful Ignorance is at the heart of the matter for me.
I'm always looking for obscure (or just different) and seemingly unrelated concepts; trying to find ways of mixing ideas together to come up with something new or at least something that pushes me forward in my own development in whatever small way is possible. I guess I tho't everybody did the same, and I should hope that most still do, but it's pretty apparent that an awful lot of folks don't.
Anyway, my new synthesis has to do with putting Agnotology together with the ice cream scene from Thank You For Smoking. I can argue with somebody who is impervious to the facts all I want, but I'm never going to change his mind. So the point of the exercise is not to wear myself out on him, but to argue in a way that could influence whoever else might be listening.
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