I liked this. It serves as a useful followup to and expansion to the CGP Grey video "This Video Will Make You Angry" which explored the phenomena of how groups talk about events and each other. In short, people tend to self-segregate into opposing groups that don't talk to each other. Instead, they talk amongst themselves about how horrible the other group is.
I always get so depressed when I see things like this. I know they're true. I also know there is a concerted effort to influence the things i see/think.
How am I going to be able to sort through the noise to find the signal? Is there even a point? What is the purpose of even trying? Why not just step into traffic?
The signal can even be diluted by well-meaning people. For example, Washington did have a set of teeth that included those of slaves. However, his financial records include the purchase of teeth from "Negros" for the purpose, which at the very least indicates he didn't have someone hold his own slaves down and rip teeth out of their heads. It doesn't preclude there being an element of racism and abuse in the path those teeth took from their origin to their purchase by Washington, but it does show there may not have been, and that Washington wearing slave teeth is not a mark against him personally.
The whole "owning slaves" thing is of course, but that's a separate issue from the dentures.
