When distant and unfamiliar and complex things are communicated to great masses of people, the truth suffers a considerable and often a radical distortion. The complex is made over into the simple, the hypothetical into the dogmatic, and the relative into an absolute.

Summary

This quote suggests that when complex ideas and concepts are communicated to large audiences, they are often oversimplified and distorted. The original truth is transformed into something simple, hypothetical assumptions become dogmatic beliefs, and the relative nature of certain aspects is portrayed as absolute. As information spreads across distances and reaches unfamiliar audiences, it tends to lose its nuanced and intricate nature, leading to a distortion of reality in the process.

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