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But what could possibly separate this from a hit piece by a competitor? Or lies made up by health-food advocates? Or someone with too much time on their hands m

But what could possibly separate this from a hit piece by a competitor? Or lies made up by health-food advocates? Or someone with too much time on their hands making up things for fun? If it's amplified enough, if it agrees with what people already think, the actual truth or reliability is lost. It's impossible to tell a doctor from someone pretending to be a doctor from someone pretending to be someone who saw a doctor. The impenetrable layers of deception practicable by average people, combined with the unfortunate necessity of credulity for the average person's sanity, means there's no way that outrageous lies won't be hopelessly amplified in an endless feedback loop. I'm sure you can fill in your own example (flat earth, 5G-covid lies, people who believe wifi gives them headaches...) When it's to something someone has vested interest in? The world has no chance.

rglover 6y ago
> But what could possibly separate this from a hit piece by a competitor? Or lies made up by health-food advocates? Or someone with too much time on their hands making up things for fun? Ultimately? Nothing but personal responsibility. If people want to be ignorant, they should be free to, whether you or I like it. Adults can and should make their own decisions. There is no need for babysitting or thought policing. Arguably, that's the beauty of natural selection—the water finds it's level. The solution, and arguably where efforts should be focused (as opposed to on censorship) is on education. Very few people know how to think critically, primarily because it's not taught. The inability for adults to parse truth from fact, or conversely, be critical of what they're told is fact should be core curriculum. It's not because, well, it doesn't benefit the system. A dumbed down mass is easy to control and cheap to employ, but that manufacturing of the mind has consequences. The reality is that companies like YouTube (and other social media co's) are reaping what they sowed. They built their networks and platforms on encouraging short-form, entertaining content and designing experiences that take advantage of human psychology. This is just the end result. Sadly, instead of working on remedying this—by educating critical thought—now they're just taking the 1984 route. This interview is telling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6e1riShmak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6e1riShmak
- freeone3000 6y ago
  So, what, Google should be funding schools? Facebook needs a Critical Thought Corner? Twitter should have enshrined the Steak-umm tweets? Social media can't solve people being uneducated. It simply adds to the noise.
  - rglover 6y ago
    They certainly could. I'd love to see a guide to navigating social media/social networks that gets delivered to school teachers for addition to their curriculum. These things are a part of our world and who better to suggest how to navigate them than the people making them? Far more constructive than censorship.

rglover 6y ago

> But what could possibly separate this from a hit piece by a competitor? Or lies made up by health-food advocates? Or someone with too much time on their hands making up things for fun? Ultimately? Nothing but personal responsibility. If people want to be ignorant, they should be free to, whether you or I like it. Adults can and should make their own decisions. There is no need for babysitting or thought policing. Arguably, that's the beauty of natural selection—the water finds it's level. The solution, and arguably where efforts should be focused (as opposed to on censorship) is on education. Very few people know how to think critically, primarily because it's not taught. The inability for adults to parse truth from fact, or conversely, be critical of what they're told is fact should be core curriculum. It's not because, well, it doesn't benefit the system. A dumbed down mass is easy to control and cheap to employ, but that manufacturing of the mind has consequences. The reality is that companies like YouTube (and other social media co's) are reaping what they sowed. They built their networks and platforms on encouraging short-form, entertaining content and designing experiences that take advantage of human psychology. This is just the end result. Sadly, instead of working on remedying this—by educating critical thought—now they're just taking the 1984 route. This interview is telling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6e1riShmak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6e1riShmak

freeone3000 6y ago
So, what, Google should be funding schools? Facebook needs a Critical Thought Corner? Twitter should have enshrined the Steak-umm tweets? Social media can't solve people being uneducated. It simply adds to the noise.
- rglover 6y ago
  They certainly could. I'd love to see a guide to navigating social media/social networks that gets delivered to school teachers for addition to their curriculum. These things are a part of our world and who better to suggest how to navigate them than the people making them? Far more constructive than censorship.