3 ms·

Is this obsession with oversimplification of complex topics into two choices a uniquely American problem? As an American I cant help but think our entertainmen

Is this obsession with oversimplification of complex topics into two choices a uniquely American problem? As an American I cant help but think our entertainment "news" cycles and narrative compression from commentators has contributed to this issue and our inability to find zen as a people. 1. Story is reported on CNN/Fox News/MSNBC/etc. 2. "Now lets go to an expert to tell you what you should think." Not give you background on both sides without taking one or the other... we are going to beat you over the head with who is right and who is wrong. No middle ground.

stareatgoats 6y ago
No, I think it is intrinsic to human nature. We have a need to simplify our picture of the world; if we were to see all phenomena in all their various shades our brains would explode when we try to combine or compare two or more phenomena as we do. That doesn't mean we don't acknowledge the complexity of things (in say a research setting), it's just that we can't make a point if we were to always make such concessions in normal discourse. That said, in certain political climates, such as the US presidential election season, the tendency to see things as black or white certainly gets amplified.
- mistermann 6y ago
  > if we were to see all phenomena in all their various shades our brains would explode when we try to combine or compare two or more phenomena as we do Or you would achieve some level of enlightenment.
recursivedoubts 6y ago
I do wonder if it has some basis in the manichaeism of the dominant protestant sects of american history.
luxuryballs 6y ago
I actually think this has gotten worse in the past 10 years or so due to social media link sharing, because they realized, and this is purely speculation, that if you have a very sensational extreme article in one direction it will get shared by both the people who vehemently agree and the people who think it's absolutely absurd rather than a "boring" article that people are less likely to act on, especially people from both sides of a debate.

stareatgoats 6y ago

No, I think it is intrinsic to human nature. We have a need to simplify our picture of the world; if we were to see all phenomena in all their various shades our brains would explode when we try to combine or compare two or more phenomena as we do. That doesn't mean we don't acknowledge the complexity of things (in say a research setting), it's just that we can't make a point if we were to always make such concessions in normal discourse. That said, in certain political climates, such as the US presidential election season, the tendency to see things as black or white certainly gets amplified.

mistermann 6y ago
> if we were to see all phenomena in all their various shades our brains would explode when we try to combine or compare two or more phenomena as we do Or you would achieve some level of enlightenment.

recursivedoubts 6y ago

I do wonder if it has some basis in the manichaeism of the dominant protestant sects of american history.

luxuryballs 6y ago

I actually think this has gotten worse in the past 10 years or so due to social media link sharing, because they realized, and this is purely speculation, that if you have a very sensational extreme article in one direction it will get shared by both the people who vehemently agree and the people who think it's absolutely absurd rather than a "boring" article that people are less likely to act on, especially people from both sides of a debate.