hollombe@ttidcc.UUCP (The Polymath) (12/11/85)
In article <9300062@uiucdcs> ekblaw@uiucdcs.CS.UIUC.EDU writes: >Well, Jerry, maybe you've finally learned something about the national mass >media circuit. These people have great power, do their best to influence >others, yet will not admit when they are wrong! ... > ... I tried to deal with them on a segment I thought poorly >researched. I, too, received the form letter, sent two more letters (one >angry and one sympathetic yet forcefully) and received nothing in return. Well, it's good to know that others have fought the good fight. I'm glad to see the interest hasn't entirely died away yet, though I suspect some '.frp readers wish it would go away and let them concentrate on more direct frp subjects. They've probably hit 'n' by now anyway, so I'll ramble on a bit more. 60 Minutes has occasionally had the integrity to correct themselves on the air and I had some hopes of prodding them into doing it this time. I suspect part of the reason they didn't is the letters I wrote came to them a few weeks after the original broadcast rather than immediately. They probably figured most of their audience had forgotten the segment by then (and were probably right). Unfortunately, the D&D/suicide connection persists in many minds, even if they don't remember where they heard it. Though my letter campaign has been viewed by many as tilting at windmills, I like to think it had a few worthwhile effects. First of all, it turned up some reasonably hard statistics we can all use in support of our hobby. Next time someone demonstrates their ignorance of the subject, tell 'em what I told you. The figures have since been confirmed, to an approximation, by others. Second, it helped spread those figures among the frp'ers on the net and, I hope, through them to the rest of the frp community. Third it inspired others to write to 60 Minutes, so my voice wasn't crying out alone in the wilderness. Finally, 60 Minutes has once again been reminded they can't fool all the people all the time. Some of us, at least, can recognize snake oil and naked emperors when we see them and aren't afraid to say so. Also, thanks to the net, CBS and their ilk no longer have a complete monopoly on world wide media. Ho hum. Enough pontificating. Now, what was that about magical lasers? (-: -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe) Citicorp(+)TTI Common Sense is what tells you that a ten 3100 Ocean Park Blvd. pound weight falls ten times as fast as a Santa Monica, CA 90405 one pound weight. (213) 450-9111, ext. 2483 {philabs,randvax,trwrb,vortex}!ttidca!ttidcc!hollombe