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I think "being informed" is very overrated in general. Often it means being informed about palace intrigue and intelligence service/corporate narratives. I woul

I think "being informed" is very overrated in general. Often it means being informed about palace intrigue and intelligence service/corporate narratives. I would say that in general media consumption or "staying informed" should be seen as a vice not a virtue

declan_roberts 2y ago
Self proclaimed "news junkies" are some of the most insufferable people I know.
deltarholamda 2y ago
"If you don’t read the newspaper, you are uninformed. If you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed." -- Col. Jack O'Neill (with 2 Ls)
stackedinserter 2y ago
It's not overrated, it's often confused with "to understand what's happening". To "be informed" is like to take a look at a chess or go board: positions are clear, black and white pieces are here and there, but it takes skill to really understand the current dynamics of a game. Add media bias ("let's show the board at this angle that looks better for our side") and now we have "informed" population that's being surprised by reality every day.
- svilen_dobrev 2y ago
  in some handwavy simplification: [start] data --(meaning/interpretation)--> information --(interpretation/understanding)-> knowledge ----> ... probably more levels. At any step one can take action.. faster if more to the start but also less thoughtfull/"correct". primal instincts are at the start the whole point of news-machine is to never get to beyond information.. same as <2sec video-frame switching..
johnnyanmac 2y ago
So what's your alternative? Living in ignorance until it's too late?
- turbojet1321 2y ago
  That's a false equivalence which is at the heart of the issue. You seem to be be assuming that "being informed" makes you better placed and/or more willing to take right action, but I'm not convinced that's the case
  - cocacola1 2y ago
    Not being informed doesn’t even give you the option to consider getting involved.
  - johnnyanmac 2y ago
    I'm not arguing. I'm genuinely asking for your approach. I can imagine being overloaded with information. And "research hypnosis" is a genuine thing (and issue I sometimes struggle with). I'm open to accepting I may be falling for it again and am open to other approaches. I genuinely don't know much more to do than keep calling my reps. I still fundamentally believe that an info overload (as long as you are scrutinizing your news healthily) is better than being in complete ignorance.
    - solaire_oa 2y ago
      Better how? And by what measurement? What are you gaining from info overload opposed to ignorance? You say you fundamentally believe in one over the other, but you haven't made the case for info overload, and have even made some points against it (hypnosis, futility, etc).
- lmm 2y ago
  How often do you actually act on something you saw in the news, within, say, a month? I avoid news qua news as much as possible and try to read up on things after a month or so, when the heat has gone out and more sober analysis has taken place. E.g. I'm vaguely aware there was a plane crash recently and look forward to reading a proper writeup of that at some point, but I doubt there's anything to be learnt from diving into detailed coverage right now.
Clubber 2y ago
Most people think being informed is reading the NYT or the WP. That's being half informed. That's like listening to the prosecutor and ignoring the defense. You have to read both sides of the stories and guess where in between the actual facts lie (no pun intended).
- snapcaster 2y ago
  See i even go further, i disagree that consuming _more_ propaganda is somehow an antidote to other propaganda you consumed. My strong belief on this is that the more media you consume the less accurate your worldview becomes
  - Clubber 2y ago
    I can certainly see that. I try not to consume daily news. If it's actually important, someone will tell me about it.

declan_roberts 2y ago

Self proclaimed "news junkies" are some of the most insufferable people I know.

deltarholamda 2y ago

"If you don’t read the newspaper, you are uninformed. If you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed." -- Col. Jack O'Neill (with 2 Ls)

stackedinserter 2y ago

It's not overrated, it's often confused with "to understand what's happening". To "be informed" is like to take a look at a chess or go board: positions are clear, black and white pieces are here and there, but it takes skill to really understand the current dynamics of a game. Add media bias ("let's show the board at this angle that looks better for our side") and now we have "informed" population that's being surprised by reality every day.

svilen_dobrev 2y ago
in some handwavy simplification: [start] data --(meaning/interpretation)--> information --(interpretation/understanding)-> knowledge ----> ... probably more levels. At any step one can take action.. faster if more to the start but also less thoughtfull/"correct". primal instincts are at the start the whole point of news-machine is to never get to beyond information.. same as <2sec video-frame switching..

johnnyanmac 2y ago

So what's your alternative? Living in ignorance until it's too late?

turbojet1321 2y ago
That's a false equivalence which is at the heart of the issue. You seem to be be assuming that "being informed" makes you better placed and/or more willing to take right action, but I'm not convinced that's the case
- cocacola1 2y ago
  Not being informed doesn’t even give you the option to consider getting involved.
- johnnyanmac 2y ago
  I'm not arguing. I'm genuinely asking for your approach. I can imagine being overloaded with information. And "research hypnosis" is a genuine thing (and issue I sometimes struggle with). I'm open to accepting I may be falling for it again and am open to other approaches. I genuinely don't know much more to do than keep calling my reps. I still fundamentally believe that an info overload (as long as you are scrutinizing your news healthily) is better than being in complete ignorance.
  - solaire_oa 2y ago
    Better how? And by what measurement? What are you gaining from info overload opposed to ignorance? You say you fundamentally believe in one over the other, but you haven't made the case for info overload, and have even made some points against it (hypnosis, futility, etc).
lmm 2y ago
How often do you actually act on something you saw in the news, within, say, a month? I avoid news qua news as much as possible and try to read up on things after a month or so, when the heat has gone out and more sober analysis has taken place. E.g. I'm vaguely aware there was a plane crash recently and look forward to reading a proper writeup of that at some point, but I doubt there's anything to be learnt from diving into detailed coverage right now.

Clubber 2y ago

Most people think being informed is reading the NYT or the WP. That's being half informed. That's like listening to the prosecutor and ignoring the defense. You have to read both sides of the stories and guess where in between the actual facts lie (no pun intended).

snapcaster 2y ago
See i even go further, i disagree that consuming _more_ propaganda is somehow an antidote to other propaganda you consumed. My strong belief on this is that the more media you consume the less accurate your worldview becomes
- Clubber 2y ago
  I can certainly see that. I try not to consume daily news. If it's actually important, someone will tell me about it.