There’s a distinction between “misinformation” and “disinformation”—the latter being intentional while the former is a mistake. Today, disinformation doesn’t take long to morph into misinformation, courtesy of the individuals seemingly on standby for their public figure of choice to give them something to echo.

These echoes have invaded almost every industry there is, making the act of doing one’s job without triggering someone near impossible. People who’ve never read a health care system-related book will rattle off the truth about the medical industry. In other words, medical fiction. Check out this blog post that satirizes the way information is shared and promptly believed.

Fortunately for us, most doctors still have their wits about them and a strong commitment to the terms of the Hippocratic Oath. One Andy Lazris MD put out a book that perfectly captured the winding road that blind faith leads us down. Nominated for the Book of the Year award by The Magic Pen, January 6th and the Millenial Horde is a must-read 3D fictional book for anyone who looks out at the world and thinks, “Something’s not quite right”.

Famous Fallacies

You don’t have to read historical fiction to understand how quickly and effectively one piece of false information can snowball into a shared belief. If you purchase non-fiction books about history, there are plenty of incidents to read about. In some cases, just paying attention while walking down the street will have you aghast.

The Hilton Millenium

The great thing about January 6th and the Millenial Horde is that when you read the title or look at the cover, in nine out of ten cases, you won’t see anything wrong with it. In some cases, looking closely at it still won’t yield anything out of the ordinary. That’s what happens when mistakes are normalized.

For those who haven’t caught it yet, there’s a misspelling in the title. Millennial is meant to have two Ns. So what happened here? Was the author mistaken? Unlikely that a bestselling author with a complete medical education would put a mistake on the cover of a book, right?

Let’s take a closer look. The fiction book illustrates a world, much like our own, but with Lazris’s signatory outspoken characters leading the masses in vastly contrasting directions, using their oratory skills. So in true writer fashion, the intentional blunder alludes to a bigger story.

In New York’s financial district sat an upscale hotel: The Hilton Millenium. That’s right; Millenium, not Millennium. The reported intention in the name was to make the hotel stand out. What the owner at the time didn’t account for was the trust that society would go on to place on a signboard.

The result: millennium is one of the most frequently misspelled words around, even in published works. This didn’t happen overnight, either. Enough individuals thought if it looked right, it must be right. Today we have Millenium Skin Creams by Elizabeth Arden and a web-hosting provider called Millenium Systems.  Don’t be surprised if shopping at an online COVID-19 bookstore leads you to buy a nonfiction book claiming that COVID was the pandemic of the millenium.

The Alpha Dog

Humans love to refer to assertive people as alpha dogs. Well, a more accurate reference would be alpha ape. Nevertheless, professionals and celebrity trainers will tell you that when training a dog, the first step is establishing dominance because canines need a pack leader.

As always, there’s a root to this misconception. In the 1960s, Dr. David Mech conducted an ecological study using wolves. His observations showed him what he believed to be a system of hierarchy in the packs that would typically be enforced if strayed.

However, after introducing this information to the world, Mech issued a retraction. He found, after much research, that this behavior wasn’t present in all wolves. His prior study and findings didn’t apply to canines across the board. Alas, it was too late. Popular culture had grown too attached to the term, and despite decades of real scientists disproving the theory, it’s still used today.

More interesting yet, is that such behavior is more commonly seen in primates, which is possibly a clue about why humans took to it so quickly. Skimming a Civil War book or any history book will make it abundantly clear that humans seek dominance more aggressively than any dog you’ll ever meet.

Remedial Rumination

No one is immune to mistakes. No matter how educated or experienced we are, we’re bound to stumble down an erroneous path from time to time. However, the trick to avoid going too far in that direction is to stop and think constantly. Ask yourself how this information lines up with what you know to be the absolute truth. If necessary, research the opinions of people who work in the concerned field.

Better yet, train yourself to think critically by reading. Order nonfiction books to read or even fiction, and let them get your mind working. Books tend to raise questions, and therefore, instill the habit of raising questions.

Historical fiction may lead you to research the real story behind the plotline, and a nonfiction Jewish history book might make you question how nonfictional it is.

Andy Lazris has some excellent works available on his fiction and nonfiction book websites that, according to the Seattle Book Review, are a joy to read. Lazris, among many things, is also a historian; therefore, the books carry a unique and well-informed insight into the world.

If you’d like to buy Civil War-related books online, then Three Brothers from Virginia is a wonderfully empathetic piece of historical fiction. There’s also The Adventures of Yadel the Dreidel and The Geriatrics Vengeance Club for lovers of fiction. For those with a penchant for unfiltered reality, then his online bookstore is a great place to buy health care reform books.

 

About the Author

Sara Paul is a retired RN (Registered Nurse) who’s seen and treated many illnesses and injuries that could have been avoided if the patient wasn’t misinformed. She spends her time browsing her favorite online fiction book providers, volunteering part-time at a free-treatment facility, and fostering residents from her local animal shelter.

 

 

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