According to the cache of comments being submitted, the voices of our industry have quite the wide range. Viewpoints can be heard from a field’s front lines as well as from the outskirts of reality. Either way, I enjoy digesting the full breadth of what our readers are dishing out to each other and the industry in general.
Conviction counts for a lot. It reveals much about one’s character. And there are plenty of topics that evoke an “us vs. them” mentality.
How far are you willing to go to defend your opinion? In scanning through reader reactions to articles, many are standing by their beliefs, and no amount of scientific proof or bullying will lead them to sway. Two recent reader comment standouts include:
“Atomic bomb testing and wars in Middle East always throws the weather patterns in chaos. The 1991 and 2003 invasions of Iraq resulted in rain most of summer in Northeast Ohio.” — Scientist Warns Southeast U.S. To Prepare For Wild Weather From Climate Change
“This is like letting the fox watch the henhouse, it’ll be all show and no go.” — Researchers Ready To Testify Before Congress About GMOs
It goes to show some of the “best” content begins after an article ends.
Not Going To Budge
A recently released University of Florida study suggests once people have something made up in their minds, even the most convincing of evidence is not likely to change their stance.
The two topics researchers based their results on are GMOs and climate change. Both issues certainly can stoke the ire of those who are either defending or refuting.
In fact, results show people who were taking part in the study actually grew more bull-headed in their beliefs even after reviewing information affirming the contrary.
In the article we posted about this study, we inserted a reader poll question that asked: Has more recent scientific evidence convinced you to change your initial opinions on GMOs and/or global warming? A little more than half (54%) of respondents said no.
But shouldn’t we all be more open-minded and less heavy handed with our opinions? Perhaps. But where is the fun in that?
For What It’s Worth
After reading my column last month, one reader felt inspired to call me a “business desk jockey.” Did this offend me? No. In fact, I was grateful to get the feedback. It shows people are reading/listening to what you have to say.
So, please keep your comments coming. The more we talk to each other, the better off we’ll all be as an industry and society.