(07-01-2023, 12:21 PM)quintessentone Wrote: We don't have to be qualified we just need the desire to read with an open mind, understand the methodology and the results. If it's peer reviewed then others have qualified the study for us. I think the truth in all of this is we have to want to understand someone else's life experience even when it disagrees with our programming and/or cemented values.
But you are right and here's another wise adage - You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.
That seems to be the general consensus among people, but I do. I have to be qualified. I don't feel comfortable forming an opinion based upon information I cannot comprehend. But I do agree, it appears that most folks are not burdened by any such disability.
"Peer review" doesn't cut much ice with me, especially in matters that I cannot understand the nuts and bolts of. At one time it did, but in this day and age of politicized science, not so much any more - peers can be just as politicized as principles, so reality lies in the data itself rather than anyone else's interpretation or evaluation of it, in my estimation.
So, my fallback in these matters is what @Freija has to say, because she lives it, and I can't even comprehend it. Her experience tends to carry more weight than any peer review board that ever sat in the matter, but I also have to temper that somewhat, and account for potential biases, because everyone sees things through their own eyes.
It can get exhausting some times, but I just keep on slogging along, and may eventually get there.
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