[HN Gopher] Analysis of US congressional speeches reveals a shif...
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       Analysis of US congressional speeches reveals a shift from evidence
       to intuition
        
       Author : PaulHoule
       Score  : 17 points
       Date   : 2025-04-24 18:48 UTC (4 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.nature.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.nature.com)
        
       | ryandrake wrote:
       | We are swiftly moving to thoroughly reject the "Reality-based
       | Community"[1] of facts and expertise that (reportedly) Karl Rove
       | dunked on 20 years ago:                   The aide said that guys
       | like me were 'in what we call the reality-based community,' which
       | he defined as people who 'believe that solutions emerge from your
       | judicious study of discernible reality.' [...] 'That's not the
       | way the world really works anymore,' he continued. 'We're an
       | empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while
       | you're studying that reality--judiciously, as you will--we'll act
       | again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and
       | that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors...and
       | you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do'.
       | 
       | 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality-based_community
        
         | thisisnotauser wrote:
         | Perhaps such hubris is how all empires die
        
         | hodgesrm wrote:
         | Wow. That's the sort of hubris that precedes major military
         | disasters. Of course this is coming from the people who
         | directed the US invasion of Iraq, so that's not in the least
         | surprising.
        
       | timoth3y wrote:
       | I think the rise of C-SPAN was also a factor.
       | 
       | Once all congressional speeches began to be televised, everything
       | started to become campaign fodder. Members of Congress were no
       | longer talking to each other, but always and endlessly trying to
       | appeal to the voters.
       | 
       | Congressional hearings are even worse. Very few congresspeople
       | seem to have any interest and asking meaningful questions. They
       | seem to be focused on getting a video snippet that proves how
       | hard the are fighting for/against a particular issue.
       | 
       | It's all become an endless political campaign. Evidence has never
       | mattered too much in those.
        
       | mrandish wrote:
       | Of course, it's good to keep in mind that what politicians say in
       | public speeches doesn't necessarily reflect how they reason
       | internally, just what they _think_ will be most effective to get
       | the desired result from their current audience. There 's also the
       | factor of current stylistic trends among the congressional
       | staffers who write speeches and briefing outlines.
        
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       (page generated 2025-04-24 23:02 UTC)