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This has been my position as well for a long time, but I'm starting to feel like there's an unexpectedly enormous number of people out there with zero ability t

This has been my position as well for a long time, but I'm starting to feel like there's an unexpectedly enormous number of people out there with zero ability to critically evaluate information, and it seems as if all a terrible idea needs in order to gain critical mass is that it be emotionally satisfying and generally known. I honestly don't know where we go from here - I continue to believe that giving the state the right to determine what speech is allowed and what's not to be far more dangerous than the alternative, and that's not likely to change. But it's almost as if we've discovered that idiocy is contagious, and the vector is the internet. Maybe it's temporary, because the internet is new - maybe society, having never dealt with a deluge of information like this before has no natural immunity to it, and it will develop over time. Or maybe we've found a loophole in human cognition that will end up destroying us. At any rate, I can't fault a private company for trying to do something about it; it's like a bus company finding out their seats are the vector for some horrible disfiguring viral disease and removing them in an attempt to stop the epidemic.

lylecubed 8y ago
> I'm starting to feel like there's an unexpectedly enormous number of people out there with zero ability to critically evaluate information, and it seems as if all a terrible idea needs in order to gain critical mass is that it be emotionally satisfying and generally known. Aristotle observed this in the 4th century BC. He wrote about it in his book Rhetoric. This is by no means a new development.
- CommieBobDole 8y ago
  To clarify, I didn't mean that people uncritically accepting bad information was new, it was that there's now a means of getting that information to everyone with little to no effort, and the same easy access to good information doesn't seem to do much to mitigate it.
- buth_lika 8y ago
  It's not in a vacuum though, other things multiply it. Radio was a phase shift and an important factor in enabling fascism along with industrialization. You can say WW2 and the Holocaust wasn't anything new because there's always been war and murder, but that's like saying a glass of water and the ocean are the same. Now we moving towards automated analysis and manipulation of billions of people in real time, combined with incredible means to observe and control, not to even talk of weapon systems; and an astonishing obedience or naivity about it on behalf of the subjects. "This is not new" is no excuse and of no help. You could say this about almost anything... as if we only get a chance to be critical of something and express that criticism (which is the first state of organizing change) the first time something "happens".
che_shirecat 8y ago
The alt-right playbook (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaPgDQkmqqM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaPgDQkmqqM) is a great summary of common experiences with this sort of cancer online. It's next to impossible to engage with these people for rational debate, when all they care about is spreading their hatred and ignorance through the virality of the internet, rendering pointless any civil discussion by arguing in bad faith.
- deficiencyresou 8y ago
  Bullshit! You people ban us from everywhere and try to get us fired for the opinions we hold. It's impossible to communicate with you people because you have a monopoly on what speech people are allowed to make, and you won't let our side be heard. If you want an open dialog, you can start by arguing for our ability to speak freely, otherwise you have absolutely no business complaining about how hard it is to have a civil discussion with us.

lylecubed 8y ago

> I'm starting to feel like there's an unexpectedly enormous number of people out there with zero ability to critically evaluate information, and it seems as if all a terrible idea needs in order to gain critical mass is that it be emotionally satisfying and generally known. Aristotle observed this in the 4th century BC. He wrote about it in his book Rhetoric. This is by no means a new development.

CommieBobDole 8y ago
To clarify, I didn't mean that people uncritically accepting bad information was new, it was that there's now a means of getting that information to everyone with little to no effort, and the same easy access to good information doesn't seem to do much to mitigate it.
buth_lika 8y ago
It's not in a vacuum though, other things multiply it. Radio was a phase shift and an important factor in enabling fascism along with industrialization. You can say WW2 and the Holocaust wasn't anything new because there's always been war and murder, but that's like saying a glass of water and the ocean are the same. Now we moving towards automated analysis and manipulation of billions of people in real time, combined with incredible means to observe and control, not to even talk of weapon systems; and an astonishing obedience or naivity about it on behalf of the subjects. "This is not new" is no excuse and of no help. You could say this about almost anything... as if we only get a chance to be critical of something and express that criticism (which is the first state of organizing change) the first time something "happens".

che_shirecat 8y ago

The alt-right playbook (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaPgDQkmqqM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaPgDQkmqqM) is a great summary of common experiences with this sort of cancer online. It's next to impossible to engage with these people for rational debate, when all they care about is spreading their hatred and ignorance through the virality of the internet, rendering pointless any civil discussion by arguing in bad faith.

deficiencyresou 8y ago
Bullshit! You people ban us from everywhere and try to get us fired for the opinions we hold. It's impossible to communicate with you people because you have a monopoly on what speech people are allowed to make, and you won't let our side be heard. If you want an open dialog, you can start by arguing for our ability to speak freely, otherwise you have absolutely no business complaining about how hard it is to have a civil discussion with us.