‽istis reclaims COWPATs[i] (weekending
June 20th 2020)
This week ‽istis is
on the look-out and the hear-out for COWPATs… Constructs[ii] or Opinions Which
may Present As Truth/s… [iii]
‽ perhaps constructs come in many forms: personal, social, religious,
scientific, political, historical, national, international, etc. – possibly
building, reflecting, reifying and representing many narratives and meta-narratives
and all manner of thoughts, feelings, articulations and actions that may be
based upon them…?
‽ possibly constructs are formed from a more-or-less conscious and quite
probably complex process of exposure to ideas (overt or more subliminal) and a
formation and evolution in to ‘residual messages’; ideas that ‘stick’ at
conscious, or sub-, or unconscious levels…?
‽ maybe they provide us
with ‘sense-making’ and ‘response-forming’ tools… to help somehow navigate the
world and each other, influencing affect, cognition and behaviour…?
‽ perhaps, possibly,
maybe constructs provide the (sometimes overly firm) foundations for
opinions..?
But
‽istis wonders whether some of the problems with cowpats might be that the
matter from which they are formed seems essentially to be undigested and
bacteria-packed, that they can provide a hazard to health and they can make a
right mess when trodden in! Oh, and they do seem to be very common - apparently
the average dairy cow dumps 15 tons of dung a year[iv].
A search of ‘cowpat’ or ‘cowchip’
produces a ‘no results found’ response on ‘Emojipedia’[v] despite the apparently 117 new
emojis coming to devices in the second half of 2020.[vi] So ‽istis also wonders
whether this might be the time for a COWPATs emoji: a pat or chip of dung
overlaid with a question mark or even an interrobang for when ‘really?’ or
‘what?’ turns into ‘really?!’ or ‘what?!?!’
But, ‽istis ponders
further. If perhaps, possibly, maybe
· we considered the notion of ‘truth’ and the existence
of ‘facts’ as somewhat contested or even problematic
· elevating opinions beyond their basis in reliable and
verifiable evidence (or even a reasonable consensus of interpretation) was
recognised, ‘called out’ and challenged
· the words used (by me and you and us and them) to
explain, justify, persuade, influence, guide, insist, order or enforce were a
little more qualified
· there were more abbreviations peppering our text-talk
and ‘tweets’ alongside IMO (in my opinion) – such as: ICBS (it could be said),
IB (I believe), IWS (I would suggest), IR (I reckon), ITBINS (I think but I’m
not sure), IWBWDYT? (I wonder, but what do you think?)
· there were more ‘perhapses’, ‘possiblies’, ‘maybes’
(PPMs)...
NB:
further reflections linked to this week’s theme and past blog
entries to be found on Twitter replies, retweets (which don’t necessarily
indicate approval, sometimes the very opposite!) and ‘likes’: @Pistis_wonders
[i] This may not work quite so well
‘in translation’ – sincere apologies. US friends may think of cow dung and cow
chips… but then the acronym (and therefore some of the joke) doesn’t work so
well; further apologies!
[ii] ‘an idea or an imaginary
situation’ CED: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/construct
[iii] A variation on OMAUTs ‘Opinions
Masquerading as Universal Truths’ that ‽istis has mentioned before…
[iv] https://www.countrylife.co.uk/nature/11-things-you-never-new-about-cowpats-173541
[v] https://emojipedia.org/search/?q=cowchip
