The Atlantic - "False Equivalence in One Tweet" - Nice!

[TomCADem]

This excerpt says it all about how the false equivalence of the media obscures the current debate:

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/02/false-equivalence-in-one-tweet/273451/

To anticipate 99 percent of incoming hostile mail and online trollery: the point of this distillation is not what it says about the two political parties. You can reverse them if you want -- although in the struggle over "the sequester," I think it's right as is. The real point is what this says about the predicament and habits of the press.

[SunSeeker]

1. Excellent. nt

[The Wizard]

2. Fair and balanced works for Pox (NT)

[padruig]

3. speaking statistically ...

the vast majority of Democrats would certainly agree that 1+1 = 2

the vast majority of Republicans would likely agree that 1+1 = 3

the vast majority of the media will present the mythos that the truth lay somewhere between the Democrats and the Republicans

this is similar to the difference between scientists and engineers

engineers see the world as three places after the decimal point

scientists see the world as one to three sigma (standard deviations)

whereas

mathematicians see 1+1 = 2

[Capt.Rocky300]

4. Thank you Sheldon Cooper.........

[Snake Plissken]

6. statistically speaking ...

the vast majority of Democrats would certainly agree that 1+1 = 2

the vast majority of Republicans would likely agree that mathematics is the work of the Devil

[BlancheSplanchnik]

10. heh heh!

[OnyxCollie]

12. Them numbers is A-rabic! nt

[wryter2000]

14. Welcome to DU, Snake

I have a pet corn snake.

[mwooldri]

13. I say it depends on how big 1 is.

If 1 is somewhere between 0.5 and 1.4 by rounding you will always get 1. If you add the two 1's by the actual values behind the 1 you can get any answer after rounding to be between 1 and 4.

So to the OP, the media and republicans are introducing "rounding errors". Because the original 1's were always 1.000 in the first place (yep the hidden engineer in me). This of course throws off the whole maths equation if rounding errors are in place and Republicans will get an answer that is wildly inaccurate.

[Cha]

5. VIRAL IT! Someday those pundit FAKE equivalency jerks

are going to be held accountable!

thanks Tom

[progressoid]

7. Yep. That about covers it.

[Earth_First]

8. Republicans' 1 +1 = *tax break compromise before they'll answer... n/t

[loudsue]

19. 1+1 = *destroy social security & medicare before they'll answer, is more like it.

They're obsessed with "entitlements".

[RoccoR5955]

9. Republicans would say

That 1+1=2 is a theory, and Mathematics is only theoretical, and thus is not in line with the Bibble. I mean Bible.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

11. Some could (and probably has) written a master's thesis on this subject.

National Park Guy does it in 140 characters. Awesome!

[Cosmocat]

15. Not for nothing, but the media is a lot closer to 1 + 1 = 3

I appreciate the attempt to capsulize how things are, and this pretty much nails the concept.

But, let's be honest. The media reports A LOT closer to the batshit crazy nonsense the republican's spew than reality.

For instance, the republican's advance this nonsense (when democrats in power) that austerity to achieve a balanced budget would boom the economy. Austerity is putrid for the economy. But, almost universally, the media connects shrinking the federal budget to affirmative economic growth.

Reagen is just off handidly recognized as the model of small government. He was the biggest government president in the last half century.

[pansypoo53219]

16. oh please. the gnews math abilities are far worse. 2.75 at least.

[Jamaal510]

17. False equivalence isn't exclusive to the media.

I have noticed that many supporters of 3rd parties also tend to make the claim that both major parties are "the same", despite all the evidence of the contrary. They affectionately stir up cynicism towards the 2-party system in an attempt to get people to vote for them.

The funny thing is that whenever somebody tells them about all the messed up things that the GOP has done such as the voter suppression laws, opposition to a woman's right to choose, opposition to marriage equality, protecting tax breaks for a small handful of Americans, and their stated top priority of ruining an incumbent's re-election chances, then all of a sudden they go quiet.

[pamela]

18. "You can reverse them if you want..."

That's another example of false equivalence. It's the old "both sides do it" when, in fact, both sides don't do it.

[BlueStreak]

20. This GUARANTEES that the difference-splitting press will be wrong 100% of the time

In a fact-based world, one of the parties is usually right and true on almost every issue. I'd like to think that is usually the Democrats, but it is not always that way. The parties each have an opportunity to be right at least some of the time.

When you are the false equivalence media that simply tries to average together the true position with the false position, you will ALWAYS be wrong. ALWAYS. No matter which party is right.