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NuclearFart · 12-14-2011, 01:19 PM

Does anyone else feel that the exponential rise of the internet and digital media has unleashed excessive "information" upon a naive population?

While the internet can be an unbelievable information resource, it remains a completely unregulated wasteland without the accountability of data integrity. Historically, one would go to the library for information, which did contain high quality sources (eg. encyclopedia) that had at least passed a chain of command of editors, fact verification, revisions/corrections from expert input, etc. Publishers established a credibility by striving for the truth, and were held accountable to this standard by their physical identity and the market.

Now, we rely on the internet for our information needs, while the library has become an irrelevant anachronism. Anybody can internet post whatever myth they want as "fact", often followed by others citing that post as fact, which others then cite as fact...etc, and before long it becomes a house of cards built entirely on a foundation of nothing. The problem is, few can/will ever probe to these depths, and even if someone does, the sheer volume of misinformation on this point outnumbers the truth. The internet universe doesn't get corrected or deleted; its a forever expanding mesh of past & present ideas. Given that the only real currency of the internet is number of hits (aka sheer volume), the stage is set for a vicious cycle of misinformation. We are forever left with a perpetuation of myths.

Do I think we are condemned to this fate forever? No, as the internet is not all garbage, and there remain credible resources outside of it like textbooks and publications. Open discussions here on CP certainly have merit, as there is usually someone here who genuinely knows alot about something. But moving forwards, I do think it will be integral to arm the public with the proper tools to sort through all the crap for themselves. Basic data analysis techniques, logic, statistics, and methods of critical appraisal to name a few are lacking in much of the public, however these are concepts that can be taught no differently than any other subject (and at a high school level).

Agree/Disagree/Nothing new? I'd be curious to hear others thoughts.

12-14-2011, 01:19 PM	#1
NuclearFart First Line Centre Join Date: Mar 2006 Exp:	The age of Misinformation Overload? Does anyone else feel that the exponential rise of the internet and digital media has unleashed excessive "information" upon a naive population? While the internet can be an unbelievable information resource, it remains a completely unregulated wasteland without the accountability of data integrity. Historically, one would go to the library for information, which did contain high quality sources (eg. encyclopedia) that had at least passed a chain of command of editors, fact verification, revisions/corrections from expert input, etc. Publishers established a credibility by striving for the truth, and were held accountable to this standard by their physical identity and the market. Now, we rely on the internet for our information needs, while the library has become an irrelevant anachronism. Anybody can internet post whatever myth they want as "fact", often followed by others citing that post as fact, which others then cite as fact...etc, and before long it becomes a house of cards built entirely on a foundation of nothing. The problem is, few can/will ever probe to these depths, and even if someone does, the sheer volume of misinformation on this point outnumbers the truth. The internet universe doesn't get corrected or deleted; its a forever expanding mesh of past & present ideas. Given that the only real currency of the internet is number of hits (aka sheer volume), the stage is set for a vicious cycle of misinformation. We are forever left with a perpetuation of myths. Do I think we are condemned to this fate forever? No, as the internet is not all garbage, and there remain credible resources outside of it like textbooks and publications. Open discussions here on CP certainly have merit, as there is usually someone here who genuinely knows alot about something. But moving forwards, I do think it will be integral to arm the public with the proper tools to sort through all the crap for themselves. Basic data analysis techniques, logic, statistics, and methods of critical appraisal to name a few are lacking in much of the public, however these are concepts that can be taught no differently than any other subject (and at a high school level). Agree/Disagree/Nothing new? I'd be curious to hear others thoughts.