A link has been added at the lower right to Leslie Sweetnam’s website where many aerial views of Woodstock can be viewed. Admin
We want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. We want each and every one of you to know how much you have contributed by participating in the discussion and by reading the articles and comments, becoming more aware of the issues that face Woodstock, and how much we appreciate your continued support. We believe that our ongoing interactions, both by those who speak and those who don’t, will have a positive impact on the challenges that are known today as well as the challenges that have yet to present themselves.
It is important to periodically reiterate our philosophy. We have repeatedly disclosed our belief and support of the value of anonymity in enlarging the scope of participants in discussions. Again, it must be said that it is the discussion we want to focus on and not the personalities. That being said, it is almost impossible to prevent the personalities of commentors revealing themselves in their written statements. We would ask that each of you try to focus on the discussion and not the personality of the commentors. Remember, for those of you that use a ‘handle’, nobody really knows who you are. Yes, that anonymity allows you to speak your mind, but you should not use this as an opportunity for less than civil behavior.
Our culture, in general, has been paralyzed by ‘political correct-ness’. Fortunately, there isn’t a lot of that here at the Café. Politically correct speech has made the normal discourse between people nearly impossible, and this problem has evolved to include politically correct thought. When someone says something that we don’t like, don’t want to hear, or are uncomfortable knowing about, we have learned to invoke some form of victimhood to stop the discussion, change the subject, or in some other manner monopolize the ‘stage’. We have nearly completely disabled ourselves from thinking, analyzing and processing ideas. Our cultural acceptance/encouragement of individual victimhood and self-indulgence has nearly eliminated our ability to achieve, do the right thing, or be the best that we can.
From the Café perspective, our discussions here are a primal form of communication. We expect them to be less than polished. The discussion will, through the exchange of the commentors, eventually refine itself. That process will often be uncoordinated and less than graceful. Each of us fights our own battles of free thought. We come to the Café to let our thoughts find voice. It is important that in bringing our thoughts, ideas and perspectives to the forefront, we let a little of that light shine into ourselves and grow with the exchange of ideas and thoughts with others.
So, enjoy this day, enjoy your families, enjoy your fellow Café-ers, and most importantly, enjoy the fact we live in a place where free speech is still relatively available.
Happy Thanksgiving and thank you for being part of the Café. Admin
MFATF meeting Monday Nov. 26 7:30pm Town Hall
Admin,
I believe I’ve brought this concept out to you before; most people fall victim to confirmation bias. That is, they do not like to expose themselves to views or ideas that contradict what they already believe. As soon as a person understands the ramifications of confirmation bias they can choose to work through it. Unfortunately most people do not do this and continue to never challenge their beliefs to see if they hold up under scrutiny.
If people with different beliefs come to the Cafe and in turn can speak their minds, we can all examine our beliefs and see where that leaves us. If anyone wants to know more about confirmation bias, Wikipedia is an excellent resource:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias
Kevin E. Ford
Reminds me of the proponents of ‘cold fusion’ back in the ’90′s.
When I was in research and my papers and grants were to be challenged in the per review process, those of us who survived in this arena knew better than to ignore the obvious alternative arguments and predictable criticisms of others. We dealt with them up front in the justification of our grants and defense of our research. The 70 papers that I shepherded through this process can be found in Google Scholar and my grants can be found in CRISP. You did not survive in this business if you were unwilling to consider the views of others.
Most in Woodstock are unfamiliar with the concept of listening to both sides of the argument with an open mind to resolve the validity of the argument. Instead we get statements like Ms. Wholean’s in the Villager this week that said “the Cafe spreads lies and gossip.”
Kevin, Political rhetoric depends on this doesn’t it? The danger lies in the person or organization that believes (or wants to believe) that constructive criticism is confirmational bias. A cat and dog chase begins where ego rules and allegating confirmation bias feeds it. Please try to be careful with this as a BOE member. John, you have given good advice.
I am afraid that ALL of the above is WAY over Rosendahl’s head, but good luck anyway!