Theresa asked a very intelligent question:

You don't think that people let preconceived ideas influence how they remember things? Or how the interpret things? Or how they report things?

Psychologists call this phenomenon a "mental filter". Probably no one is immune to its effects. I certainly don't pretend to be.

Scientists who are earnestly and sincerely trying to discover what laws govern the physical universe, are just about the only example of "seekers after truth" that comes to mind. Unless you count Diogenes, who roamed ancient Greece day after day holding a lantern while searching for an "honest man".

The virtue of trying to find "what is really true" is essential for an encyclopedia writer, but for practical reasons we have to report our findings in NPOV format. This is hard, with so much going on, as Cat Stevens once sang. Yet "It's harder to ignore it."

Ed Poor