What to believe

Many people have a problem with the information generated on the internet due to the fact that it allows anyone to say anything they want with no citation to empirical evidence. Many professors and teachers shrink in fear at the idea of students using a source as un-academic as wikipedia and believing most of what they read on the internet without questioning where the information came from.

To this I say BAH! In America, information is CRAMMED into our heads from the time we are five years old. Information that has no more grounding in fact than much of the information available on the internet... Don't believe me? Try this on...

1. Quick, who discovered America?
2. Who discovered that the Earth was round?
3. How many planets are in our Solar System?

Did you answer Columbus to number 1? If Columbus discovered America, then where did the native Americans come from? What about the Vikings that knew it was here long before then? Columbus landed in a place that Europe was not aware existed. Where does pre-colonial American history come from? Europe. The fact is that Columbus lays claim to being the first European to step foot on American soil and thus is credited with the "discovery". American history, however, does NOT teach this, still today we celebrate Columbus day and the discovery of America.

Did you also answer Columbus to number 2? In fact Columbus did NOT sail around the world. Columbus sailed half way around the world then turned around and went home. He did not make it to India. Why then was I educated less than 20 years ago to believe that it was Columbus? Because that is European (England and Spain) history.

Did you answer 9 to number 3? Remember that recently Pluto was de-classified as a planter. Ever heard of planet X. Astronomers believe that there may be as many as 12 bodies that act like planets in our solar system.

Finding the "truth" and using only "reliable" sources is not a problem that is new to the internet. All scientific "fact" is simply a best guess and all history is slanted to the perspective of the person that recorded it. This problem of best guesses and false information is illustrated in the fundamental ideals that every American child learns in elementary school. How can we expect to teach children how to search for "reliable" "trustworthy" sources when the very books used to educate them continue to present false hoods and best guesses as known facts?

One thing the internet does allow for is a wider range of opinions to be voiced and discovered by those that are interested in learning multiple versions of the truth. Now try a google search to find out what an internet search will reveal in answer to those three "simple" questions.