Politicians always claim to work for the benefit of the poor, and the opposition parties claim to save the people from from their own government. Farmers make up a large part of the electorate and actively wooed for their votes. Trusting and passionate farmers are easily manipulated.
I recall the time when opposition politicians misled the farmers near Delhi stating that “The government is so evil, they have set up hydroelectric power projects on the river where they extract electricity from water, and such water whose energy is stolen becomes useless for agriculture.”
Surprisingly on this platform the unscrupulous politicians won the elections by opposing progress and prosperity.
This type of manipulation is also called ‘Zohnerism’.
In 1997, 14 year old American Nathan Zohner presented his science fair project to his classmates, seeking to ban a highly toxic chemical from its everyday use.
The chemical in question? Dihydrogen monoxide.
Throughout his presentation, Zohner provided his audience scientifically correct evidence as to why this chemical should be banned.
He explained that dihydrogen monoxide:
Causes severe burns while it’s in gas form.
* Corrodes and rusts metal.
* Kills countless amounts of people annually.
* Is commonly found in tumours, acid rain etc.
* Causes excessive urination and bloating if consumed.
* Zohner also noted that the chemical is able to kill you if you depend on it and then experience an extended withdrawal.
43 out of the 50 his classmates present voted to ban this clearly toxic chemical, dihydrogen monoxide.
However… this chemical isn’t typically considered toxic at all.
In fact, dihydrogen monoxide is simply H2O, which is nothing but water.
Nathan Zohner’s experiment wasn’t a legitimate attempt to ban water, but instead an experiment to get a representation of how gullible people can really be.
Also, all of the points that Zohner used to convey his point were 100% factually correct; he just skewed all of the information in his favour by omitting certain facts.
The term “Zohnerism” has come to to refer to “the use of a true fact to lead a scientifically and mathematically ignorant public to a false conclusion”.
The latest and ongoing ‘farmer’s agitation’ near Delhi provides ample evidence of ‘Zohnerism’ at work.
‘Zohnerism’ is now a menace to society with the media in bed with politicians, questionable financiers and ill informed celebrities. Proving once again that,
