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I'm not sure there is a 'solution' per se. I'm not even 100% convinced any of this is a problem. If we allow a single outlet to become our filter for what's t

I'm not sure there is a 'solution' per se. I'm not even 100% convinced any of this is a problem. If we allow a single outlet to become our filter for what's true and false, then they wield too much power over us and history shows at some point in time they will exploit it. If someone wants to be informed, I'd say go out into the world, talk to people and experience things, but even that has its limits (one person can only see so much). You can take in many different sources and try to filter out the noise, but that takes a lot of time. I try to be informed on topics that matter to me but I'll gladly admit that some topics simply don't matter to me so I don't put in the effort. In the end, maybe this is the inevitable result of our system. It's far from perfect but I still think it's better than some alternatives.

magicsmoke 7y ago
It seems like the issue is that it takes a lot of time and effort to be informed enough on any topic to make a good decision on it, and people are limited on how many topics they can be reasonably informed about. However, we have an expectation that people should take a stance on any particular event happening in the world when asked for their opinion. The default answer to such a question shouldn't be yes or know, but I don't know, and there shouldn't be any shame attached to not knowing because no one can know everything. Also, another part of the problem might be how news media implies that by consuming their publications in a few minutes you can be just as informed as the expert who has been studying a topic for years, and how they overinflate people's confidence in what little they know.
- xtiansimon 7y ago
  > ‘...you can be just as informed as the expert who has been studying a topic for years...’ Reminded me of the BREXIT vote.
  - scruple 7y ago
    Reminds me of the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect.

magicsmoke 7y ago

It seems like the issue is that it takes a lot of time and effort to be informed enough on any topic to make a good decision on it, and people are limited on how many topics they can be reasonably informed about. However, we have an expectation that people should take a stance on any particular event happening in the world when asked for their opinion. The default answer to such a question shouldn't be yes or know, but I don't know, and there shouldn't be any shame attached to not knowing because no one can know everything. Also, another part of the problem might be how news media implies that by consuming their publications in a few minutes you can be just as informed as the expert who has been studying a topic for years, and how they overinflate people's confidence in what little they know.

xtiansimon 7y ago
> ‘...you can be just as informed as the expert who has been studying a topic for years...’ Reminded me of the BREXIT vote.
- scruple 7y ago
  Reminds me of the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect.