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Isn’t this blaming the victim in a way? How is it their fault that they are susceptible to “fake news”. They didn’t chose to be born dumb. Additionally, does i

Isn’t this blaming the victim in a way? How is it their fault that they are susceptible to “fake news”. They didn’t chose to be born dumb. Additionally, does it even matter? Intelligent people have their own blind spots and biases. The biggest being that because they are smart they must be right. I think the only rational thing to do is to take a skeptical view of any information presented and not internalize it too much. It really irks me when I read something from a “reputable” news source and the only source is “officials familiar with the matter”. I know people are lapping that garbage up, regardless of how smart they are.

behindmyscreen 9y ago
Just remember, Skepticism isn't rejecting information, it is withholding your acceptance/distension until you have more data. Rejecting information outright is cynicism.
daveFNbuck 9y ago
Victim blaming requires actually blaming the victim, not just identifying and studying them. If this were an article about genetic predisposition to a particular disease, I don't think you'd call it victim blaming and point out that people without this predisposition get other diseases too. Victim blaming happens when you explain what they should have done to avoid being victimized. You get a lot closer to that with your final paragraph than the article ever does.
Broken_Hippo 9y ago
No. This is more similar to finding out that x virus causes y symptoms: that doesn't blame the sick folks for having the virus. It simply explains some stuff that is happening. When we better know what causes something, we are better prepared to do something about it. We have some fact-based reasoning to base our actions on. It is, indeed, rational to be skeptical of information presented, especially when things are still developing, it is likely that we don't yet have all the facts, or during times of high stress or panic. It is rational to realize we all hold misinformation, and that some of the stuff we've learned is no longer true. But it takes some intelligence to realize this stuff. Furthermore, it takes a bit of energy to do so. Hence otherwise smart folks believing the fake stuff or not being able to pick out truth from the mess. Cognitive ability varies during the day, after all, and with situations (stress, being sleepy or chronic lack of sleep, hangovers, and various other things affect this stuff temporarily at least). I'll add that some folks that appear "smart" aren't any smarter than the rest of us. Rather, we just meet them in a context that shines the best light on them, they are good at memorizing facts, or their knowledge base differs from our own.

behindmyscreen 9y ago

Just remember, Skepticism isn't rejecting information, it is withholding your acceptance/distension until you have more data. Rejecting information outright is cynicism.

daveFNbuck 9y ago

Victim blaming requires actually blaming the victim, not just identifying and studying them. If this were an article about genetic predisposition to a particular disease, I don't think you'd call it victim blaming and point out that people without this predisposition get other diseases too. Victim blaming happens when you explain what they should have done to avoid being victimized. You get a lot closer to that with your final paragraph than the article ever does.

Broken_Hippo 9y ago

No. This is more similar to finding out that x virus causes y symptoms: that doesn't blame the sick folks for having the virus. It simply explains some stuff that is happening. When we better know what causes something, we are better prepared to do something about it. We have some fact-based reasoning to base our actions on. It is, indeed, rational to be skeptical of information presented, especially when things are still developing, it is likely that we don't yet have all the facts, or during times of high stress or panic. It is rational to realize we all hold misinformation, and that some of the stuff we've learned is no longer true. But it takes some intelligence to realize this stuff. Furthermore, it takes a bit of energy to do so. Hence otherwise smart folks believing the fake stuff or not being able to pick out truth from the mess. Cognitive ability varies during the day, after all, and with situations (stress, being sleepy or chronic lack of sleep, hangovers, and various other things affect this stuff temporarily at least). I'll add that some folks that appear "smart" aren't any smarter than the rest of us. Rather, we just meet them in a context that shines the best light on them, they are good at memorizing facts, or their knowledge base differs from our own.