Do You Have Evidence?
I just had an encounter elsewhere with the Do You Have Evidence Guy. DYHEG pops up and asks for a “study” or “proof” of something you’ve noticed that’s obvious.
This is him:
In this case, I was noticing the decline in literacy and knowledge among the young generations. DYHEG was not satisfied with this noticing, and demanded “evidence.”
Take a short but related detour with me about what “evidence” means. Call to mind a news anchor saying there's no "evidence" of, say, Covid vaccine harms. They're using the word wrong, but you don't pick up on it. Start picking up on it--it's crucial.
Yes, there is "evidence." Plenty of it. Testimony. Medical records. Videos.
That is, in fact, "evidence." It is literally what courts consider "evidence." It is what lawyers introduce and the courts accept as "evidence." What the "there's no evidence" people are ACTUALLY saying is "there's no final dispositive proof."
That's very, very different. They're slipping "evidence" past you to shut you down from even making the case necessary to get to the spot where you can have it out and adjudicate the entire thing with proof.
This is a manipulation and a lie.
Yes. Anecdotes are, in fact, evidence. In court, they're called "witness testimony."
Let’s return to DYHEG. What would it look like if he worked at a 911 dispatch center? (Sex changed for greater accuracy in context).
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Me calling 911: "My house is on fire!"
911 Dispatcher: "Sir, do you have any evidence of this supposed conflagration?"
Me: "Ma'am please my cats are in there!"
911: "Studies show that most people claiming a house fire are mistaken because. . ."
Me: "I can feel the heat burning the hair off my arms! Ma'am--please help me!"
911: "OK. I'm gonna need you to have access to text messaging so I can send you a secure link.”
Me: "What?"
911: "There is no need to get rood up in here, OK? Imma need you to follow the instructions in the app and take a selfie. Make sure the fire right behind you when you take the picture."
Me: "YOU'RE GOING TO LET MY CATS DIE IN A HOUSE FIRE!"
911: "Well sir maybe you should have come with better evidence before ringing me up and bein' all crazy. At the end of this call it's a short survey and I would appreciate a five-star rating on my customer service THANK YOU."
911: “SUH-KURRITAH? SUH-SUHKURRITAH!”
CODA: Here’s what I’d like you to “take away” (sorry).
1. DYHEG is not interested in evidence. Though he says he is, he is not. You must understand this at the first step.
DYHEG, instead, is interested in having a public contest with you. Servicing his ego is his actual goal. He is only interested in being seen by others to best you. This is narcissistically motivated.
This is NOT a good-faith argument over your proposition.
MOST IMPORTANT POINT: Do not ever accede to his demands. Never supply “evidence” or “a study.” Why? Go back and read numbers 1 through 3, and read them again until you have truly accepted them.
What to do instead? You can ignore him, or you can do it my way. I refuse to respond directly to DYHEG. Instead, I repost his posts and add my commentary to point out the specific manipulation tactics.
This has two benefits: a) I don’t waste my time believing foolishly that he’s actually interested in “evidence,” so I don’t do unnecessary work b) I can show others how the game works, making them more resistant to the next DYHEG.
DYHEG is the midwit at the top of the bell curve.
For the record, though it doesn't help with DYHE trolls, yes, there is often a study. For example:
https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/subject/publications/stt2022/pdf/2023010NP8.pdf
https://heytutor.com/heres-where-every-state-stands-on-math-and-reading-proficiency-amid-20-year-lows/
From the NCES:
Basic—This level denotes partial mastery of prerequisite knowledge and skills that are fundamental for proficient work at each grade. Proficient—This level represents solid academic performance for each grade assessed.
So yes, fewer than 70% of school children nationwide have the basic word-sounding-out, grammar-and-punctuation-decoding skills to allow them to independently complete their own classwork and homework correctly, while fewer than 30% have the proficiency to enjoy a novel or read a news story to the end and parse the information. Nationwide, proficiency drops to 15% for black kids. Meanwhile, certain public schools in places like Los Angeles have devolved into full-time ESL labs, while reading proficiency for the general ed population languishes only a few percentage points ahead of proficiency for the special ed population.
There have to be other factors to how obviously illiterate young people have become, because even though the schools love to blame COVID, the national percentages for 2022 are only a couple points behind 2019, and very similar to 1998. There seems to be a lot more sullen, belligerent pride taken in being resentful, entitled, blithering imbeciles that was less frequent and obvious for most people, most of the time, in earlier eras. It used to be fairly common to want to better yourself; now it seems standard to want to devolve and force others down with you, including the educational system.