Just this one observation before Arch beats me to it....
Until the Internet became a part of our lives, only the media, well known
authors and politicians had the power to speak to multiple people at once...
a broadcast message.
For information that was of interest to a select group of people, most
previous exchanges of information were one-to-one or one-to-few. Most were
of a fleeting nature. In-person conversations, phone calls and the
occasional shared copy of a letter. The normal person did not find a
'concentration' of information in an area of interest to them without
effort.
I'm sure that Mondello's thermostat vs restrictor opinion was given under
these circumstances, to his primary clientele, Olds racers. That same rule
is probably true of a Michelin tire engineer's statements, a customer
service rep at Alcoa, a transmission rebuilder. A one-to-one conversation.
I'd offer that these statements are neither right or wrong, just that
they're now finding their way to a much wider audience than the original
recipient. In the old days, what was said to one person often didn't go much
further than those 6 to 10 people in his/her direct circle of influence.
My point (and I do have one) is that the rules of society have changed.
Those of us that are 'information enabled', have a new tool to get to the
truth. Together, we form a wider net of knowledge, experience and fact
gathering than existed before.
Now, even a fool like me can tell y'all to think about this total change as
you form your opinions. Don't leap to a hasty conclusion til you consider
the context of the original exchange of information.
Mark
Until the Internet became a part of our lives, only the media, well known
authors and politicians had the power to speak to multiple people at once...
a broadcast message.
For information that was of interest to a select group of people, most
previous exchanges of information were one-to-one or one-to-few. Most were
of a fleeting nature. In-person conversations, phone calls and the
occasional shared copy of a letter. The normal person did not find a
'concentration' of information in an area of interest to them without
effort.
I'm sure that Mondello's thermostat vs restrictor opinion was given under
these circumstances, to his primary clientele, Olds racers. That same rule
is probably true of a Michelin tire engineer's statements, a customer
service rep at Alcoa, a transmission rebuilder. A one-to-one conversation.
I'd offer that these statements are neither right or wrong, just that
they're now finding their way to a much wider audience than the original
recipient. In the old days, what was said to one person often didn't go much
further than those 6 to 10 people in his/her direct circle of influence.
My point (and I do have one) is that the rules of society have changed.
Those of us that are 'information enabled', have a new tool to get to the
truth. Together, we form a wider net of knowledge, experience and fact
gathering than existed before.
Now, even a fool like me can tell y'all to think about this total change as
you form your opinions. Don't leap to a hasty conclusion til you consider
the context of the original exchange of information.
Mark
