The announcement states that the New Zealand government seeks to hire a Senior Epistemologist :
Your role will be to brief the Prime Minister and other senior Cabinet Ministers on the uncertainty underpinning all of human existence, especially the uncertainty of managing departments and being accountable for their performance in a universe that cannot be proved to be real.
As Senior Epistemologist you will have responsibilities across – but not limited to – the following areas:
- Did unemployment rise in the last quarter? How can anyone prove it did, and if they can, doesn’t that proof require an additional proof, and so on into infinity? You will play a key role in communicating the meaninglessness of negative economic statistics to the New Zealand public.
…
- You will co-ordinate junior epistemologists and other communications staff to disprove the existence of various events, statements, official reports, statistical findings and scientific facts as the role requires.
Sadly, it’s just a joke. But the more you think of it, the more you can see a place for such people not just in government, but major media.
Spotted via Leiter.
