Terminal Social-Epistemic Disintegration?

AI-Generated Image: 'Confusion'

I'm struck by two features of the current coverage of and punditry on the new Middle East 'cease fire' ...

First is how radically divergent and indeed mutually incompatible the nevertheless deadpan, matter-of-fact characterizations of the resultant lull's significance are. Is there a ceasefire? Does it have terms? Is either side 'in a stronger position'? If so, what are the terms? What are the indicia and measures of strength? 

Second is how many such characterizations appear to assume that the lull is indeed the end - in effect, permanent - notwithstanding the complete incompatibility of the two sides' 'red lines' and accounts of the ceasefire's content going in to this weekend's 'negotiations.' Is this indeed more than a tactical lull?  

I have never encountered so thorough and complete an impossibility, where deriving any coherent conjectural picture of 'facts on the ground' from 'the public discourse' is concerned. The gulf seems much wider, by orders of magnitude, than I would have thought possible even five weeks ago.

One now must fill multiple gaps with creative conjectures even to formulate a single provisional, revisable vision. Even the JFK assassination seems more agreed upon than does the state of the 'war' (or whatever it is, and/or was, and/or will be ... ) with the mullahs and their proxies and secret police.

It's tempting to speculate, given the ongoing algothrithmification, botification, and AI-ification of all 'digital public squares,' that we have here a foretaste of what the public episteme will soon look like in respect of ALL matters of moment. Will there ever again be agreement even on what we disagree about? If not, what will 'disagreement' even be but a cognitively content-free, purely attitudinal mutual rancor? 

Under such circumstances, public and private health alike might demand that we all develop means of (a) getting verifiably 'to the bottom of things,' (b) cultivating personal ataraxia, or (c) both as quickly as possible. Meanwhile I'm guessing that booksales on Stoicism - the therapeutic philosophies formulated during the breakdown of Rome - will keep rising.

At least until such time as, if ever, we find means of publicly ordering the mentioned 'public square.'