Is It Good, Even If It Isn’t Accurate?

Is it true?

Recently, I received an e-mail from my sister in which she was forwarding something that was, supposedly, written by Andy Rooney. Here is an excerpt of what she sent.

“If you will take the time to read these. I promise you’ll come away with an enlightened perspective. The subjects covered affect us all on a daily basis:   They’re written by Andy Rooney , a man who has the gift of saying so much with so few words. Enjoy…….

I’ve learned…. That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

I’ve learned…. That when you’re in love, it shows.

I’ve learned…. That just one person saying to me, ‘You’ve made my day!’ makes my day.

I’ve learned…. That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.

I’ve learned…. That being kind is more important than being right.

I’ve learned…. That you should never say no to a gift from a child.

I’ve learned…. That I can always pray for someone when I don’t have the strength to help him in some other way.

I’ve learned…. That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.

I’ve learned…. That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

I’ve learned…. That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.

I’ve learned…. That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I’ve learned…. That we should be glad God doesn’t give us everything we ask for.

etc………………..”

The entire message can be found here.

I went to Snopes.com to see if they thought that Andy Rooney had written it. They said no, it was not written by Rooney. When I searched, through Google, using the following four words, “andy rooney i’ve learned,” I got close to one million hits. The first few pages of the search results were websites of people using what Rooney supposedly wrote or said. Most said it was from Andy Rooney and even gave a bibliography of him. According to snopes, it isn’t something he wrote or said. If Andy Rooney didn’t write it, is it good? If you think so, then I guess it is good for you. But, what about the lack of accuracy regarding who wrote it?

I’m surfing for the truth!

Suppose someone incorrectly says something is from the Bible? Suppose someone incorrectly says something is from the written law of the land? In cases like these, we are often less skeptical due to the mentioned source. In other words, we accept them and their message because we respect the source. I think this is happening much more due to the ease of getting information from the internet. The problem is, how do we determine the accuracy of the information we are getting through our new social media?

We need a way to assess the information we get. What should we use for our standards of assessment? The one standard that immediately comes to mind is “accuracy.” How do we determine accuracy? Well, I used “Snopes.com” for one reference to help determine accuracy. I say one, because, “Snopes.com” could be wrong. I think, if we are wanting to be sure of its accuracy, we are going to have to find different unrelated sources that reflect the accuracy or inaccuracy of what we are checking.

In summary, I think the inaccuracy of something being attributed to Andy Rooney in the above example doesn’t make the message bad, but it could have! We, as consumers of the information we find on the internet, must take on the responsibility of determining its accuracy, especially before using it or passing it on.