Flashback - NPR CEO Katherine Maher: Pursuit of Truth Is a ‘Distraction’ that Can Get in the Way of ‘Getting Things Done’

EXCERPT:

MAHER: "But what about the hard things, the places where we are prone to disagreements, say politics and religion? Well, as it turns out, not only does Wikipedia's model work there, it actually works really well. Because in our normal lives, these contentious conversations tend to erupt over a disagreement about what the truth actually is. But the people who write these articles, they're not focused on the truth, they are focused on something else, which is the best of what we can know right now. And after seven years of working with these brilliant folks, I've come to believe that they're onto something, that perhaps for our most tricky disagreements, seeking the truth, and seeking to convince others of the truth, might not be the right place to start. In fact, our reverence for the truth might be a distraction, that's getting in the way of finding common ground and getting things done. Now, that is not to say that the truth doesn't exist nor is it to say that the truth is an important. Clearly the search for the truth has led us to do great things, to learn great things.”