Can you believe anything any more?

G

GP44

Member
I just answered the question someone asked about do you own a gun.
I told about trying to figure out how people defend themselves in countries where guns are banned.
One thing I know from searching for facts on the internet is that there are a lot of people who want to act like they are an authority on about anything that you can find on the internet.
For example I bought a used Ford diesel truck in 2007 that was a 2000 model.
Those older diesels and maybe the ones now too have to have an engine heater plugged in if left outside when the temperature gets below a certain temperature.
I searched for information about using the engine heater on a Ford diesel truck.
There were a lot of people who sounded like experts who claimed that you should only leave them plugged in for a limited amount of time.
OH YEAH! If you leave it plugged in too long it will ruin the engine heater and all kinds of expert advice.
I KEPT LOOKING.
Then I found one guy who said when he was in the air force in Alaska that they kept them plugged in 24/7.
BINGO! I could tell that advice was real and was from someone who actually knew what he was talking about.
Sometimes you can tell what is real and what isn’t but sometimes you have to look a little further to find the truth.
And sometimes you have to look A LOT FURTHER IF YOU CAN FIND IT AT ALL.
 

Very difficult to believe anything that is posted on the internet these days. If anyone posts anything that I'm interested in I always Google it to see if there are reliable sources that provide credible information. I'm in this forum, a political forum and a car forum and I always research any claims someone posts.
 
GP44 said:
I just answered the question someone asked about do you own a gun.
I told about trying to figure out how people defend themselves in countries where guns are banned.
One thing I know from searching for facts on the internet is that there are a lot of people who want to act like they are an authority on about anything that you can find on the internet.
For example I bought a used Ford diesel truck in 2007 that was a 2000 model.
Those older diesels and maybe the ones now too have to have an engine heater plugged in if left outside when the temperature gets below a certain temperature.
I searched for information about using the engine heater on a Ford diesel truck.
There were a lot of people who sounded like experts who claimed that you should only leave them plugged in for a limited amount of time.
OH YEAH! If you leave it plugged in too long it will ruin the engine heater and all kinds of expert advice.
I KEPT LOOKING.
Then I found one guy who said when he was in the air force in Alaska that they kept them plugged in 24/7.
BINGO! I could tell that advice was real and was from someone who actually knew what he was talking about.
Sometimes you can tell what is real and what isn’t but sometimes you have to look a little further to find the truth.
And sometimes you have to look A LOT FURTHER IF YOU CAN FIND IT AT ALL.
Click to expand...
Welcome to the real world.
 
Anytime anyone ever post something whether it be political, medical, historical or Financial the first thing I do is do a Google search on it. I've learned a lot where they state it as fact where you go to the website and it'll say "well it could happen, it might happen, it's a possibility"

In other words we don't know squat and we're not going to admit that we don't know, but we'll post a misleading post to get clicks.
 
GP44 said:
I just answered the question someone asked about do you own a gun.
I told about trying to figure out how people defend themselves in countries where guns are banned.
Click to expand...
In the seventy-nine years of my lifetime, the only time that I have ever seen a hand gun, in public, was when I went to a US Base where one of my drivers, who had been delivering there, when he had become unwell and was being cared for in the sick bay.
The young guard on the entry gate wore a gun, in a holster, John Wayne style.
Our country is not gun free, but you never see one.
 
I think that truth evolves. That is why scientists sometimes study things for years…and their findings sometimes change. I feel that no matter what truth you are looking for it behooves you to be thoughtful.
If you are reading the results of a study you need to look at how the study choose their subjects. Then think logically what factors or traits were or were not used to determine outcomes. Then decide if you are willing to take the results as conclusive.
 
My son is continually, albeit gently, cautioning me that a lot of what I'm reading online, or watching, is likely exaggerated, biased, or outright false.

He's referring to sites like Reddit, reality tv shows and AI searches.

I know, but I find some of it entertaining, so...

And I still think there are some people on Reddit who are just talking about their lives. My son remains dubious on this. There are some, though. Really.

People around my son's age, who have grown up with social media, are a bit jaded and probably rightfully so.
 
GP44 said:
I searched for information about using the engine heater on a Ford diesel truck.
There were a lot of people who sounded like experts who claimed that you should only leave them plugged in for a limited amount of time.
OH YEAH! If you leave it plugged in too long it will ruin the engine heater and all kinds of expert advice.
I KEPT LOOKING.
Then I found one guy who said when he was in the air force in Alaska that they kept them plugged in 24/7.
BINGO! I could tell that advice was real and was from someone who actually knew what he was talking about.
Click to expand...
So you found the answer you wanted and accepted that as truth? You believed "one guy" over "lots of people" because he sounded like he knew what he was talking about more than all the other expert advice you found.

That's kind of the trap people fall into when doing internet searches, not quite open minded as they should be, also going to sites that already lean toward their views. My thinking would be of course an Air Force base in Alaska would keep everything plugged in to be work ready, and if it causes premature ware so what, buy more, it's in the budget. lol

Anyway.. no I don't believe everything I read, even from the experts, because I believe much of the advise is self serving or simple opinion.

PS... As a self appointed expert(wink,wink) because I've had/have diesel equipment for many years the only time I use a block heater is if the equipment is sitting outside all night in the cold and I need to use it the next morning. So truck parked in the outside elements overnight, use the block heater. Truck parked in the garage for a week at a time unused, I probably wouldn't leave the heater on, but in truth I don't believe running it it would hurt anything, it's not like it gets very hot. Also shouldn't be a ridiculously expensive or hard item to replace when it does ware out. I say shouldn't be, but we've all been surprised by the cost of items at times.
 
GP44 said:
Sometimes you can tell what is real and what isn’t but sometimes you have to look a little further to find the truth.
And sometimes you have to look A LOT FURTHER IF YOU CAN FIND IT AT ALL.
Click to expand...
Yep, that's the name of the game. As for engine block heaters- I used to leave mine hooked to my Mercedes Diesel all the time during cold weather.
 
Muskrat said:
I think that truth evolves. That is why scientists sometimes study things for years…and their findings sometimes change. I feel that no matter what truth you are looking for it behooves you to be thoughtful.
If you are reading the results of a study you need to look at how the study choose their subjects. Then think logically what factors or traits were or were not used to determine outcomes. Then decide if you are willing to take the results as conclusive.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a scientific answer!!
 
C50 said:
So you found the answer you wanted and accepted that as truth? You believed "one guy" over "lots of people" because he sounded like he knew what he was talking about more than all the other expert advice you found.

That's kind of the trap people fall into when doing internet searches, not quite open minded as they should be, also going to sites that already lean toward their views. My thinking would be of course an Air Force base in Alaska would keep everything plugged in to be work ready, and if it causes premature ware so what, buy more, it's in the budget. lol

Anyway.. no I don't believe everything I read, even from the experts, because I believe much of the advise is self serving or simple opinion.

PS... As a self appointed expert(wink,wink) because I've had/have diesel equipment for many years the only time I use a block heater is if the equipment is sitting outside all night in the cold and I need to use it the next morning. So truck parked in the outside elements overnight, use the block heater. Truck parked in the garage for a week at a time unused, I probably wouldn't leave the heater on, but in truth I don't believe running it it would hurt anything, it's not like it gets very hot. Also shouldn't be a ridiculously expensive or hard item to replace when it does ware out. I say shouldn't be, but we've all been surprised by the cost of items at times.
Click to expand...
I just used the part about how some said that leaving them plugged in would ruin the engine heater as an example.
There were some that said it would completely destroy the engine too.
 
Naturally said:
I read somewhere on the Internet that pigs can fly, but I think it was on a bacon-themed conspiracy website, so I'm not sure.
An independent source said only if they're booked on first class with unlimited peanuts.
Strictly from personal experience? They’re terrible at parallel parking.
Click to expand...
horseless carriage said:
In the seventy-nine years of my lifetime, the only time that I have ever seen a hand gun, in public, was when I went to a US Base where one of my drivers, who had been delivering there, when he had become unwell and was being cared for in the sick bay.
The young guard on the entry gate wore a gun, in a holster, John Wayne style.
Our country is not gun free, but you never see one.
Click to expand...
I am not used to seeing the military carrying guns like what we saw while on vacation in Mexico.
Once when we drove from one province to another and once when we landed at the dock in Cozumel.
One of the soldiers at the dock had a gun with such big bullets that I told my wife that they weren’t for shooting people they were for shooting boats out of the water.
 
I love research and if posting something scientific or medical will cite sources.

Unfortunately, in our polarized world, sources other than favorite biased news ones don't matter to most people. The "Ivermectin is horse dewormer" folks are a great example. They breeze right by posts with excerpts from linked peer-reviewed studies showing its efficacy against some strains of bacteria, viruses as well as anti-parasitic properties.
 
AnnieA said:
I love research and if posting something scientific or medical will cite sources.

Unfortunately, in our polarized world, sources other than favorite biased news ones don't matter to most people. The "Ivermectin is horse dewormer" folks are a great example. They breeze right by posts with excerpts from linked peer-reviewed studies showing its efficacy against some strains of bacteria, viruses as well as anti-parasitic properties.
Click to expand...
Yes, such 'news' sources are damaging and have misled people to believe that the horse dewormer- Ivermectin is a drug that can be used to treat or prevent COVID-19. What is ivermectin? How a livestock dewormer became a rumored COVID-19 aid with bad side effects
 
Have you ever searched to find old news about things that happened many years ago and seen that it is getting harder to find.
No matter how important something was in 1973 you will be lucky to find any information about it today.
I thought for a long time that once it was on the the internet that it would be on there forever.
Not so!
 
Nathan said:
Yes, such 'news' sources are damaging and have misled people to believe that the horse dewormer- Ivermectin is a drug that can be used to treat or prevent COVID-19. What is ivermectin? How a livestock dewormer became a rumored COVID-19 aid with bad side effects
Click to expand...

Yes, news sources should've never referred to Ivermectin as "horse dewormer" which led panicked people who wouldn't have otherwise thought of veterinary sources to buy animal formulations. It should've been discussed in terms of it's human prescription use.
 

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