Certainty

09 July 2016

Why is everyone who’s anyone (and a lot of those who aren’t) dealing in certainties, in absolutes, these days?

How has it got to a point at which an insubstantial, purely emotional case can trump any number of facts, and be accepted as reality?

It pains me to see the moral high ground taken by winners at the expense of losers, and unachievable objectives put forward as eminently possible by authority figures then lapped up by people desperate for change.

Perhaps the only certainty remaining is that death and taxes will catch us up eventually.

Perhaps.

Engineering is my trade, that’s something to which I’ve referred in the past. Engineers don’t deal in absolutes, in certainties. Engineers reduce the possibility that edge cases can ruin a successful outcome. Engineers take facts and… It’s very rare indeed that 100% certainty intrudes into our world.

Discovering that vast numbers of people cannot begin to take on board and process even simple facts, cannot search out alternative sources and make choices independent of those handed to them on a gold platter (platter retained by those dispensing the advice) - it’s now just a part of this journey towards political awareness I started in May this year.

Criticism?

Regrettably, yes.

Everyone has the right to offer an opinion, especially after a vote that’s gone against them.

Anyone want to point at a worrying development: that two candidates for very high office (leading a country!) have seemingly exaggerated their competencies to lead, based their campaigns on the understanding that pandering to raw emotions will triumph over cold hard facts, and say it’ll be alright?

Meanwhile, in the real world, it was the school Summer Fair today. Stalls selling stuff, stalls offering games of skill and chance, face painting, glitter tattoos, a (non-traditional but fun) dance part-way through the afternoon, a stall selling bags for the children to decorate, and food and drink and, well, lots of fun!

From a purely personal perspective, the very best thing about today was the greatest of male achievememts: me tossing two out of the three hoops over a thing, and thus winning prizes for my girls. Tossing. Testosterone restored!

Unusually for me, I took something odd away from the decision by the PTA and school to setup indoors to beat the wet weather. Was it the soft toy as big as daughter 2? No. It’s adaptability, something that defines how successful an enterprise can be; a willingness to make plans to get the very best from a situation. Our political classes have failed to do so; preferring a Monty Python approach to responsibility: “Run Away!!”

Next up, a PTA takeover of British government. Don’t discount it.