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I think both the cause and solution to the problem lies in education. The general American public is alarmingly undereducated, and a well educated population is

by mixmax 17y ago

I think both the cause and solution to the problem lies in education. The general American public is alarmingly undereducated, and a well educated population is the foundation of a functioning democracy. This is btw. also why democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan is such a mirage.

extension 17y ago
Too late. Education may have done the trick at one point but now the internet has stepped in to fill the void. Citizens can now get all the education they can eat in whatever half-baked ideology they crave. The new problem is polarization. Truth is not an absolute fact to be uncovered, it's a trophy to be won by the team with the loudest and sexiest ideas, though the game never really ends. Just look at the comments for that article. You can pigeonhole every one of them and they're all trying to pigeonhole the author. The only thing we need to be educated in is rational, critical, dispassionate thought and I have no idea how to teach that.
- mixmax 17y ago
  Good observation. But I would say that the key takeaway from a good educational system isn't so much facts as it's the ability to discuss matters in a civil manner. Good discussion helps against polarisation. The Internet hasn't exactly helped in teaching the public civil discourse. As you point out - just look at the comments in the article. Or on youtube, Digg, etc. A proper educational system will teach people to disagree based on facts and evidence, learn from their mistakes, and help them discern fact from anecdotal evidence, bad science, and good old-fashioned yelling.
  - henrikschroder 17y ago
    It's a known fact that electronic communication actually encourages disagreement, as opposed to face-to-face communication which encourages agreement, and from that you could draw the pessimistic conclusion that people will never learn to broaden their minds by discussing things over the internet. But at least they're talking to other people. At least they're actually exposed to differing viewpoints, many many more differing viewpoints than if the internet didn't exist. There's probably something good coming out of that, even if it looks like people are as small-minded as usual.
    - hackerblues 17y ago
      "At least they're actually exposed to differing viewpoints, many many more differing viewpoints than if the internet didn't exist." (citation needed) It isn't at all obvious to me that this is true. It seems quite plausible that the vastness of the internet allows people to find specialised forums of people who all think exactly the same way they do. Eg, conservapedia.
      - extension 17y ago
        Much as the internet evolved from anti-social to ultra-social, I have to believe that one day, with the invention of the right tools, it will come to promote wisdom rather than exacerbate an existing form of ignorance, as it does today.
jacoblyles 17y ago
In an earlier age people were skeptical that you could ever get good policy from a mob, well-educated or not. Popular opinion will always be subject to the influence of demagogues.

by mixmax 17y ago

extension 17y ago

Too late. Education may have done the trick at one point but now the internet has stepped in to fill the void. Citizens can now get all the education they can eat in whatever half-baked ideology they crave. The new problem is polarization. Truth is not an absolute fact to be uncovered, it's a trophy to be won by the team with the loudest and sexiest ideas, though the game never really ends. Just look at the comments for that article. You can pigeonhole every one of them and they're all trying to pigeonhole the author. The only thing we need to be educated in is rational, critical, dispassionate thought and I have no idea how to teach that.

mixmax 17y ago
Good observation. But I would say that the key takeaway from a good educational system isn't so much facts as it's the ability to discuss matters in a civil manner. Good discussion helps against polarisation. The Internet hasn't exactly helped in teaching the public civil discourse. As you point out - just look at the comments in the article. Or on youtube, Digg, etc. A proper educational system will teach people to disagree based on facts and evidence, learn from their mistakes, and help them discern fact from anecdotal evidence, bad science, and good old-fashioned yelling.
- henrikschroder 17y ago
  It's a known fact that electronic communication actually encourages disagreement, as opposed to face-to-face communication which encourages agreement, and from that you could draw the pessimistic conclusion that people will never learn to broaden their minds by discussing things over the internet. But at least they're talking to other people. At least they're actually exposed to differing viewpoints, many many more differing viewpoints than if the internet didn't exist. There's probably something good coming out of that, even if it looks like people are as small-minded as usual.
  - hackerblues 17y ago
    "At least they're actually exposed to differing viewpoints, many many more differing viewpoints than if the internet didn't exist." (citation needed) It isn't at all obvious to me that this is true. It seems quite plausible that the vastness of the internet allows people to find specialised forums of people who all think exactly the same way they do. Eg, conservapedia.
    - extension 17y ago
      Much as the internet evolved from anti-social to ultra-social, I have to believe that one day, with the invention of the right tools, it will come to promote wisdom rather than exacerbate an existing form of ignorance, as it does today.

jacoblyles 17y ago

In an earlier age people were skeptical that you could ever get good policy from a mob, well-educated or not. Popular opinion will always be subject to the influence of demagogues.