Economy &Amp; Business

It is often said in these post-truth times, that a lie has gone half-way around the world before the truth has put its boots on. Why do lies, fake news and misinformation gain so much more political traction than evidence-based facts? The answer to that question can be found in the world of tribal epistemology.

In 2017, David Roberts of Vox news coined the term ‘tribal epistemology’ to describe a state of mind ’where you believe not what facts or reason or top experts say is true, but what your group or tribe say is true, especially its leaders’. Why bother going to all the effort of seeking the truth out for yourself, when you can hand that time-consuming, tedious task to someone in power, who you believe in and trust and then agree unquestioningly with whatever their version of the truth is instead? But, what if those leaders don’t go to the trouble of seeking out the truth. What if they abuse your trust and lie, would you still believe them because you are one of their tribe?

I remember starting my first business in Tokyo, making what became Japan’s number one English magazine. Like a lot of business owners, we used all our savings to get started. It wasn’t enough, but we worked really hard and took huge risks, taking on credit and debt. Slowly, over many years we built a profitable business employing 40 people. It was hard work, extremely stressful and full of risk—which is why I really feel for a lot of businesses in Scotland today.

The very first article on this site, Nicola Sturgeon’s five biggest failures, got a huge response, with over 14,400 views so far.  But, so many of you said ‘Only five..?’ And we agree, so here’s some more of our First Minister's failures. Share widely...

#5 Dude, where’s our superfast broadband?

Lockdown measures over the last few months have really shown the importance of a reliable and fast broadband connection. In their 2016 election manifesto, the SNP proclaimed they would ensure “100% of premises across Scotland will have access to super-fast broadband by 2021.”

The speech – entitled ‘A Plan for Jobs’ – contained several notable soundbites. The measures themselves were eye-catching, with a floundering hospitality sector receiving special attention in the form of a VAT reduction and a new policy dubbed ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ – cue much innuendo on Twitter.