Message Number: SG530 | New FHL Archives Search
From: "Church, Robert Ray (UMC-Student)"
Date: 2002-07-29 12:05:45 UTC
Subject: Bob C: Common Knowledge
To: <ferrethealth@smartgroups.com>
Cc: "Church, Robert Ray (UMC-Student)" <rrc961@mizzou.edu>
Message-ID: <43C5FBB91EB9CC468627C2BCB23391D32B9CC7@TIG-MAIL2.tig.mizzou.edu>

Q: =93Why are your posts so damn long and [veterinarian] posts so short? =
=85I wish your posts were shorter and [the vets] took more time to explain =
their answers.=94

A: My posts are too long because I have a double dose of the recessive lect=
ure gene. Vet posts are too short because they have better things to do an=
d are not generally as pathetic as I am.

Actually, we answer different types of questions. For the most part, vets =
are answering specific questions that can be done in a few sentences (take =
two licks of hairball preventative and poop in the corner). I am not a vet=
, nor do I pretend to be one, so I try to answer inquiries of an osteologic=
al, domestication, natural history or dietary nature, which reflects my ow=
n educational expertise. Because such questions require more explanation, =
they require more space to answer. Still, I readily admit most of my posts=
are longer than they need to be. Remember the old saying, =93Give a perso=
n a fish and you have fed them for a day, but teach them how to fish, and y=
ou feed them forever?=94 Anyone can post opinions on this list, but when I=
discuss things of a controversial nature or when presenting ideas of possi=
ble value, rather than just tossing out the facts, I try to supply a backgr=
ound of information that allow people to discern the reliability of other o=
pinions as well. In other words, rather than just tossing out the facts (f=
ish), I try to teach people how to use scientific techniques of skeptical i=
nquiry to, um, ferret out reliable facts for themselves (fishing). I abhor=
dogmatic thinking, and simply cannot post what I think are facts without s=
ome minor (major?) explanation of WHY I think they are correct.

A better phrase for dogma might be =93common knowledge.=94 Common knowledg=
e is nothing more than widely held and generally unsupported beliefs that a=
re held as true within a particular culture or group, such as the ferret co=
mmunity. Common knowledge, when erroneous, can be extremely difficult to o=
vercome. It is =93common knowledge=94 that ferrets will go feral that keep=
them illegal in California. =93Common knowledge=94 convinces people who h=
ave never owned ferrets that our harmless pets will chew the faces of babie=
s if allowed within a mile of infants. Not all =93common knowledge=94 is h=
eld by outsiders; ferret people have plenty of erroneous ideas held dogmati=
cally, without testable facts to support them. For example, common knowled=
ge leads people to believe ferrets are gregarious, although polecats and fe=
ral ferrets are not. Because it is common knowledge that ferrets can be su=
ccessfully housed in large groups, people ASSUME they are gregarious, when =
in actuality, the stress of overcrowding probably cause ferrets more discom=
fort, even deaths, than most ferret diseases combined. I sincerely doubt i=
f it is healthy to house more ferrets together than what is found in the ty=
pical litter. Common knowledge suggests a dry, extruded diet containing 40=
-50% carbohydrate is better for ferrets, even though ferrets evolved eating=
a high-protein, moderate-fat diets devoid of significant long-chain sugars=
. Common knowledge implies ferrets can be housed in 2 by 3 foot cages for =
23+ hours a day without causing mental distress, dispite a tremendous amoun=
t of evidence that suggests otherwise. Common knowledge suggests ferrets w=
ere domesticated by the Egyptians before the cat, even though the idea has =
been disproved by polecat genetics, domestication studies, natural history =
studies, archaeology, linguistics, biogeography, and common sense. Yet, in=
recent issues of =93Ferrets=94 magazine, there is continued support of the=
=93Out of Africa=94 idea of ferret origins. Feeding bone to ferrets is ba=
d because common knowledge disapproves, ignoring millions of years of evolu=
tion, thousands of years of domestication and hunting, and hundreds of year=
s of natural history studies. I could give dozens of other examples, but t=
he point is made. Just because something is common knowledge, even if wide=
ly held, it doesn=92t mean it is factually correct.

Fighting common knowledge is like swimming upstream in a rapidly flowing ri=
ver; you can expend a great deal of energy trying to move forward, only to =
glance at a shoreline reference point to discover you have hardly moved for=
ward at all. The only way to overcome common knowledge is education. Not =
dogmatic pronouncements, but real education where the intricacies and subtl=
eties of the subject are carefully explained so the reader can make informe=
d decisions for themselves. Unfortunately, if this is done correctly, the =
resulting posts are long and information dense. When posted to a forum whe=
re answers of a medical nature are typically short and sweet, such posts st=
and out for their length and information density.

Nonetheless, I readily admit I am quite sensitive to the issues of length, =
information density, and applicability of topic. I have actually considere=
d starting a =93Ferret Natural History=94 mailing list, but I don=92t have =
the time to answer my own email, much less moderate and review such an ende=
avor. Instead, I post here, and if Sukie likes the posts and thinks they a=
re applicable to the general ferret community, when she has time, she forwa=
rds them to the FML. She is a sort of a "Bob filter" so I don=92t appear a=
s a dogmatic demagogue to the ferret community, and I trust and value her j=
udgment.

There is one last comment I want to make. Privately, a ferret person joked=
with me, saying few people comment on my posts; the inference being that p=
eople were afraid to argue with a ferret deity. I absolutely don=92t deser=
ve such praise; everyone on this list has the same capacity for skeptical i=
nquiry as I. You don=92t have to masquerade as a genius to ask questions, =
or demand dogmatic statements be supported with empirical evidence. Passio=
nate debate--sans emotional attacks on the person--is the KEY to understand=
ing ferrets. If a scientist, or a vet, cannot withstand the rigors of inqu=
iry, they have no business being in the business. If given the choice, I w=
ould much rather defend every statement I make rather than have marshaled f=
ields of marionettes parroting everything I have to say. Don=92t be afraid=
to disagree with ANYONE on this list, especially me! Ask questions, disag=
ree, point out error, offer alternative hypotheses, try to falsify suggeste=
d hypotheses, demand empirical evidence, ask for, obtain and read reference=
s, and never, ever, ever forget dogma, disguised as common knowledge, is ou=
r common enemy. I am here to learn and teach about ferrets, not to build m=
y already considerable ego. I promise I will not get mad if anyone challen=
ges any facts (or opinions) I might post. I would even hesitate to mount a=
rigourous defense if you suggested it was too intimidating. We are ALL st=
udents here, so don't be afraid to offer contributions towards the collecti=
ve education.

Bob