Post by Matkau on Oct 4, 2003 0:10:19 GMT -5
Let's say I was to write a book. In this book, Christopher Colombus was never born, and thus the modern discovieries of teh Americas were vastly changed. Hell, in this book, Portugal never existed, how bout that? Also within the pages of this volume is the lifespan of Frank Sinatra, where he never sang a note of music, but invented the television, signed the Declaration of Independance, and fostered the rise of communism in China.
Of course, all these statements are ludicrous and ultimately, false. We have Portugese maps, Sinatra albums, Hanthingy's name on the Declaration of Independance, and texts explaining Mao Zedong's rise to power over Communist China.
However, say I sold a million of these books. And each of those million people aceepted what was written in the book as fact. Now, to exactly one million people, the world is a different place. Who's to sya my book isn't correct? Who's to say that maybe the recounting of the War of 1812 wasn't anything but a fictional novel that happened to sell extremely well and was misinterpreted by historians? Who's to say that anythign at all happened? What is fact? Fact is what has been written. But whta happens when what has written is destroyed? It's still fact, isn't it? We know it happened. But now, do we have proof it happened? No. SO following this post-apocolyptic destruction of all records, I coudl come up and say that that a 100-year war between Africa and Asia spawned the discovery of America. What proof does anyone have that I'm wrong? That I'm right? History is fact, but to a million people, History is fiction. What is fact? What is fiction?
Of course, all these statements are ludicrous and ultimately, false. We have Portugese maps, Sinatra albums, Hanthingy's name on the Declaration of Independance, and texts explaining Mao Zedong's rise to power over Communist China.
However, say I sold a million of these books. And each of those million people aceepted what was written in the book as fact. Now, to exactly one million people, the world is a different place. Who's to sya my book isn't correct? Who's to say that maybe the recounting of the War of 1812 wasn't anything but a fictional novel that happened to sell extremely well and was misinterpreted by historians? Who's to say that anythign at all happened? What is fact? Fact is what has been written. But whta happens when what has written is destroyed? It's still fact, isn't it? We know it happened. But now, do we have proof it happened? No. SO following this post-apocolyptic destruction of all records, I coudl come up and say that that a 100-year war between Africa and Asia spawned the discovery of America. What proof does anyone have that I'm wrong? That I'm right? History is fact, but to a million people, History is fiction. What is fact? What is fiction?
