In the Wheel Of Time series the Aei Sedia (a guild of sanctioned magic users) are bound always tell the truth via magical means. This is ostensibly done to convince non-magic users to trust them but in practice it has the opposite effect because due to this binding members of the Aei Sedia often become quite adept at word-games, lies by omission/implication, and using nitpicky technicalities to get around their "limitation". Of course, the normies notice this tendency and naturally come to trust the Aei Sedia even less.
Reading this along with Bounded Distrust I find myself wondering if Scott is being purposely obtuse as a means of currying favor with his ingroup (wealthy bay-area progressives), or genuinely doesn't grasp the above dynamic.
In fact, Scott completely grasps the dynamic you describe. That's the whole point of his post! He says that while media sources aren't technically lying, they still are giving misleading impressions with their work. He isn't at all saying "these media organizations don't outright lie therefore they are trustworthy".
When I was in High School, I thought the Aes Sedai were oh-so-clever, but making the truth dance is still immoral even if you don't speak literal falsehoods. That journalists of all stripes continue playing this game is partly why I consider their moral development on par with teenagers'.
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Notes -
In the Wheel Of Time series the Aei Sedia (a guild of sanctioned magic users) are bound always tell the truth via magical means. This is ostensibly done to convince non-magic users to trust them but in practice it has the opposite effect because due to this binding members of the Aei Sedia often become quite adept at word-games, lies by omission/implication, and using nitpicky technicalities to get around their "limitation". Of course, the normies notice this tendency and naturally come to trust the Aei Sedia even less.
Reading this along with Bounded Distrust I find myself wondering if Scott is being purposely obtuse as a means of currying favor with his ingroup (wealthy bay-area progressives), or genuinely doesn't grasp the above dynamic.
In fact, Scott completely grasps the dynamic you describe. That's the whole point of his post! He says that while media sources aren't technically lying, they still are giving misleading impressions with their work. He isn't at all saying "these media organizations don't outright lie therefore they are trustworthy".
When I was in High School, I thought the Aes Sedai were oh-so-clever, but making the truth dance is still immoral even if you don't speak literal falsehoods. That journalists of all stripes continue playing this game is partly why I consider their moral development on par with teenagers'.
Oh, for sure. I don't think Robert Jordan intended the Aes Sedai to be moral role models.
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