Special numbers

Opinions, of course, can be different. Especially "special opinions." But where it is about numbers, opinions recede into the background. If someone has a special opinion that twice two will be six, well, in extreme cases, five, then this person is interesting for psychiatrists, well, in extreme cases, for teachers.

In my student years, I was practiced in one Moscow Psychiatric Hospital. There was such a very quiet patient who claimed that everyone in the world was controlled by a certain world backstage, sometimes taking the image of an evil crocodile, irradiating good people with special invisible rays. The unfortunate considered himself a good person and therefore hopelessly irradiated. He was absolutely convinced of his innocence, and no one argued with him. Well, a person has such a special opinion, what to argue?

It’s exactly why it is pointless to argue, for example, with Alexander Prokhanov, who affirmed in “special opinion” on “Echo of Moscow” that Russia is a country through which heavenly meanings are being realized. Or with Andrei Fefelov, who affirmed in the same program that people in the West are everywhere implanted under the skin of chips. True, to listen to these people, however, there is also no sense, but this is already a purely personal matter.

Another thing is numbers. If the leading Echo of Moscow has Lesya Ryabtseva, there is such an opinion that 8 million people live in Russia, then this is not a question of a special view of Russian reality. This is a matter of security for the radio host. More precisely, even an answer, not a question.

If the guest of “special opinion” Sergei Markov claims that the history of Russia has a thousand centuries, then this is a matter of Markov’s not particular opinion about Russian history, but the issue of respectful attitude of the radio station to his listeners.

The first writing known to science appeared about 5-6 thousand years ago, then the first states appeared. And Mr. Markov, “Director of the Institute for Political Research” and Putin’s confidant, reports to the radio listeners that Russian history includes a thousand centuries-one hundred thousand years!

Freedom of speech is indisputable. On the air you can carry any nonsense. However, it will be a pity if the Echo of Moscow radio station goes the same road as the NTV television company. If such a goal is already indicated and spit on radio listeners, then it is better to immediately call the State Duma deputy Evgeny Fedorov and that patient from a psychiatric hospital who dreamed of a world conspiracy and evil crocodiles.


Photo by TASS/ Mikhail Japaridze