One of the most prominent bear traps of the Brexit era is the epistemological bubble. That according to C Thi Nguyen is not the same as the more pernicious echo chamber. It’s where people of like mind come together to examine the world.
Slugger has tried to achieve a diversity of view, not as a virtue signal, but so that our readers (and us) be all the better informed. Lookouts on port and starboard means you’re less likely to hit any metaphorical icebergs.
So it is that I read in the News Letter this morning that the much vaunted increase in north south trade figures turns out not to be what it seemed to be at the time (even though it seemed to make logical sense at the time).
Paul Kingsley’s comment piece argues…
Here’s the explanatory note from the CSO in Dublin…
Look, I don’t doubt there is a huge potential for re-routing trade out through and in from the south. But in fact what we’re seeing here is a tightening of the accounting process and the squeezing out of unreconciled anomalies in the balance.
Any such drastic effects, if they were to happen because of shortages in east west trade, are unlikely to be seen until the grace periods are lifted. But clearly some had fun with it whilst the sun, briefly, shone…
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
