Mesofacts: slowly changing facts

A few weeks ago, Geoff Nicholson had an essay in the New York Times Book Review entitled The Joy of (Outdated) Facts. Nicholson writes of facts, our obsession with them, and how they change, though there is unfortunately no mention of mesofacts by name. Here is one passage, among many interesting ones:

"Of course, ideas of what’s worth knowing, and even what’s interesting, are constantly changing: The fascination with trigonometrical formulas certainly seems to have receded. But in a world where ever fewer people care about, or even understand the nature of, fiction, where readers and viewers demand facts and reality, outdated books of supposedly impartial information can be a useful reminder of just how slippery facts are — as unreliable as the most unreliable narrator."

The entire article is well worth a read.