tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post6566654290197030337..comments2024-03-14T13:25:20.613-05:00Comments on Boston 1775: Alert for Historical HoaxingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-9626976910712838132008-12-19T14:12:00.000-05:002008-12-19T14:12:00.000-05:00Quick link to the beginning.Quick link to the <A HREF="http://lastamericanpirate.net/wp/?page_id=2" REL="nofollow">beginning</A>.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-70085442815643311442008-12-19T13:45:00.000-05:002008-12-19T13:45:00.000-05:00And now the truth can be told: http://lastamerican...And now the truth can be told: http://lastamericanpirate.netMillshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01256415678288524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-12739640952659235602008-12-11T19:00:00.000-05:002008-12-11T19:00:00.000-05:00In this particular case I know the hoax will be ex...In this particular case I <EM>know</EM> the hoax will be exposed, because if it hasn't been exposed by the first day of classes in the spring semester, we'll expose it ourselves.<BR/><BR/>The hoax has now been live for more than a week and for a brief period of time, meaning a couple of days, it made a very tiny splash on the Internet -- picked up in blogs, on social networking sites, etc. Now traffic on the hoax website has dropped to virtual zero. For that reason alone it will be necessary to expose it because, we learned this semester, hoaxes about something few people actually care about can live forever.Millshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01256415678288524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-54303262324896232812008-11-30T16:48:00.000-05:002008-11-30T16:48:00.000-05:00The weak spot of that outlook, I think, is that we...The weak spot of that outlook, I think, is that we have so few historical sources from some periods or on some aspects of life that there may not be enough contextual evidence to expose “factual problems.” <BR/><BR/>A lack of supporting evidence might make some historians suspect a hoax, but entrenched information usually stays entrenched until people can find strong counterevidence. In recent periods, and in public affairs, such evidence is much easier to come by than in the deep past and in private lives. <BR/><BR/>As a result, it’s no doubt harder to create a successful hoax about America in 2005 than about America in 1705, or Rome in 105. And a hoax about Rome in 105 created in 360 has a big head start since it’s deep embedded in our understanding of that earlier time.<BR/><BR/>All the hoaxes we know about have been exposed, to be sure. And that produces the appearance of a 100% exposure record. But the real denominator of that fraction should be all the historical hoaxes that have ever been created, and we can’t really know how many of them have ever been created.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-66459317871780951932008-11-30T16:25:00.000-05:002008-11-30T16:25:00.000-05:00Yes, I think they are all eventually exposed...som...Yes, I think they are all eventually exposed...some just take a few centuries. At least, that's the lesson my students came away with...that once historians get onto a topic and begin to research it in earnest, the factual problems inherent in any hoax eventually surface. I'm sure this will happen to my students' hoax as well.Millshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01256415678288524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-89900970761034882202008-11-26T21:32:00.000-05:002008-11-26T21:32:00.000-05:00once the hoax is exposed -- as all hoaxes eventual...<I>once the hoax is exposed -- as all hoaxes eventually are. </I><BR/><BR/>Oh, you are the confident one, Prof. Kelly! You’re sure there’s no hoax still alive in our history books and unrecognized? <BR/><BR/>For myself, I thought your class project was interesting, and I was a little surprised at the vehemence of the reaction from readers. It’ll be interesting to see how the reporter’s story is received.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-11718114993879675442008-11-26T20:19:00.000-05:002008-11-26T20:19:00.000-05:00Hi:Your two unhappy readers will be unhappy to kno...Hi:<BR/><BR/>Your two unhappy readers will be unhappy to know that my students are almost done with their hoax and will release it into the wild sometime next week. <BR/><BR/>I sympathize with their (the readers') angst over this, however, if they could have observed my class all semester and seen the depth of learning that occurred in this course, I suspect they would have been won over to my side. This has been, without a doubt, the most enriching teaching and learning experience in my 15 years of college teaching.<BR/><BR/>Your readers will soon have a chance to read more about what actually happened once the hoax took off, because a reporter will be with us on "launch day" and will publish an extended piece on the course once the hoax is exposed -- as all hoaxes eventually are.<BR/><BR/>Your readers will also be glad to know that perhaps the most generative debates in my course were over the issues of ethics and law. For instance, my students concluded, entirely on their own, that certain topics were out of bounds. For instance, they decided that because so many people depend on the Internet for information about medical conditions and their treatment, that our hoax could in now way have anything at all to do with medicine or medical treatments.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for noticing the post.Millshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01256415678288524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-53400754503562670822008-11-24T13:37:00.000-05:002008-11-24T13:37:00.000-05:00Agreed. Very irresponsible.As a non-scholar type o...Agreed. Very irresponsible.<BR/><BR/>As a non-scholar type of historian buff, and relatively new to this passion of history, I am constantly on guard for truth vs. myth. As an amateur, it's often impossible to know what's truth or not. I don't think we need to be intentionally misled. <BR/><BR/>The power of the internet makes this idea dangerous. This sort of stuff was pulled off long before the internet was around and its damage still is evident today. Just ask the cherry tree that George Washington chopped down.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-41530659955317186312008-11-24T11:26:00.000-05:002008-11-24T11:26:00.000-05:00Astonishingly irresponsible.My doctoral work was d...Astonishingly irresponsible.<BR/><BR/>My doctoral work was done at a university which had the motto, "Truth, even unto its innermost parts." Indeed.<BR/><BR/>What would be wrong, if the man feels that this is an educational enterprise, with keeping the experiment within the bounds of his class -- requiring them to determine what is wrong and what is right with each other's pseudowebsites? <BR/><BR/>I am bewildered by his effrontery.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com