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> Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
> Benjamin Franklin
Did Ben really say that? How do we know? I did a search and found over 400
hits, but I don't intend to check out every one looking for proof that he DIDN'T
say it. (I seriously doubt that he did say it, because 1) it sounds very
contemporary, and 2) he wasn't known for such silliness.)
But this got me to thinking about the larger issue. It seems very common to
simply trust a cited source without checking out. I'm probably as guilty of
this as most people. For instance, take the quote in my sig. I have no idea
who Geri Weizman is or whether she actually said it. Suppose I wrote in my sig:
"You can take away all of a person's rights by removing them one at a time. --
Franklin Roosevelt" Would you think he did or didn't say that, and why or why
not?
If the publication from which a quote is taken is given, we can check it out.
Otherwise, we're left to either blindly believe or disbelieve. Comments?
--
Regards,
John Wilcox - Senior Technical Writer, TCSI Corp., Bothell, Washington USA
Sometimes you gotta create what you want to be a part of. -- Geri Weitzman
