#31: Peter Kelly - The Thin Line Between Truth and the Appearance of Truth
Description
Can you ever exploit the truth to be untruthful?
Why is authenticity always in your own self-interest?
How can we trust ourselves living in a deceptive world?
These and other fascinating questions are addressed when video virtuoso Peter Kelly joins The Rabbi and the Shrink.
http://www.peterkellymedia.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterwkelly/
1:30 Everything you’ve seen slanted by the bias of its source
You can be 100% accurate in your facts but also not truthful
The Giver -- the movie was designed to transcend politics
Context is critical to perception, irrespective of facts
What am I trying to accomplish? The answer will guide us in our decision making
6:00 The world is not binary black and white, and ethics requires us to grapple with the gray
Authenticity requires us to represent both sides
Technology makes it easy to misrepresent without outright lying
9:00 Video allows us to fashion our virtual environment
What happens when we change our persona when we’re on camera?
Authenticity is self-serving
Virtual backgrounds?
13:00 Movies use illusion and deception to create an image of reality
The whole story is often overly detailed -- can we preserve the truth by editing the truth?
Expectations may require us to be fake to avoid the appearance of being fake
17:30 How will deep fake technology erode our confidence and trust in what we see?
22:30 Is the perception of polarization making us more polarized?
Don’t we have a responsibility to question sources, especially when they confirm our preconceptions?
What happens when the media don’t recognize their own responsibility to tell the truth?
It’s okay to say “I don’t know”
28:00 What can we do to check our own biases?
Media literacy: Awareness of camera angle reveals bias
32:00 When is it ethical to use tricks to promote our image or agenda?
If it feels inauthentic, it probably is
Make sure soundbites accurately represent the whole story
Overstating your case discredits your own cause
35:00 If I have to misrepresent my case or the opposing case, what does that say about my confidence in my own cause
Present the other side in the strongest way, then refute with an even stronger argument
How can we meet a public health crisis like COVID if we don’t debate them honestly?
All extremism comes from insecurity
41:00 We become emotionally invested in our preconceptions, even when we see them disproven
Listen to the other side before responding or attacking
The epidemic of ultracrepidarianism
Integrity of titles, sources, and statistics
53:00 The word of the day: Verisimilitude
the appearance or semblance of truth; likelihood; probability
It’s not enough to “tell the truth” if we present it in a way that isn’t truthful
Do we have honest, collective commitment to the truth, or are we exploiting biases to serve ourselves or our agendas?
One of the best ways to preserve mental health is talking to people you disagree with
57:00 Have faith in yourself to pursue the truth
Have objective contacts who will be honest with you and use them to check yourself and your integrity