Posted by zeugma on October 30, 2005, at 15:02:24
In reply to the Ministry of Truth » Toph, posted by zeugma on October 30, 2005, at 13:35:25
One more point I would like to make: I see a close parallel between this civil devaluing of truth on a board run by a mental professional, and the fact that drug trials are industry-sponsored and hence tailored to produce results that avoid upsetting company execs whose moods would plummet if told that their new product was no better than placebo. It inspires great confidence that this view of stressing the positive is shared by members of the mental health community, who presumably have no financial stake in the products that pharmaceutical companies produce. And it is highly upsetting for patients to hear bad news, which can provoke relapses, 'side effects', loss of faith in the mental health system, etc.
My personal experience with mental helath professionals is that their credentials for the Ministry of Truth, if such a praiseworthy institution were ever established in this country (I hear that something like this was once attempted in the former Soviet Union, but I have a shaky grasp of history, since it is such a string of bad news- I practice what I preach, you see, and steer clear of disturbing information)would be unimpeachable.
By the way, 'unimpeachable' has a beautiful sound. It instills faith in the justice of our political system, and conjures up such similarly reassuring terms as 'unfalsifiable hypotheses' and the like, which are known to have speeded the progress of science since it was first observed that the sun revolved around the earth.
-z
poster:zeugma
thread:573181
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20051013/msgs/573449.html