\u201cSpeed plus mobs. A scary combination. Together, will they seriously reduce the accuracy of information and our thoughtfulness in using it? Somehow, we need what taking our time used to give us: thinking before we talk and questioning before we believe. I wonder\u2014is there an algorithm perking somewhere in someone\u2019s head right now that can act as a check against this growing hastiness and mobbiness?\u201d \u2013 Alan Alda<\/p>\n
I think this quote really goes hand in hand with the popular\u00a0 adage: \u201cNever underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.\u201d Living in the information era, we have found a way to give every person a platform to share their ideas. This has lead to a larger quantity information, and much less time to consider the validity or context of the information that has been presented to us. As far as Alda\u2019s algorithm to filter and diffuse through the \u201cmobbiness\u201d; even if there is an algorithm that could operate in such a way, it really shouldn\u2019t be up to the private sector like the media industry to monitor us. I think that we didn\u2019t quite understand the power of what the internet could be when it was introduced to us, which has led to lots of irresponsible media usage. Our best bet to move forward is to really push information responsibility in schools and in information campaigns to create cultural reform.<\/p>\n
Almost all of my memories that I would say were truly pre-internet were from anywhere before the 4th grade. Some of my most vivid ones of that time in my life came from the 40 minute bus ride to school each day. We\u2019d sit towards the front of the bus, and the older kids, closer to 4th through 6th would sit towards the back and get as rambunctious as kids that age do. This is when I learned what swears were, how I though they were supposed to be used, and got the opportunity to venture a guess as to what they meant. I wouldn\u2019t exactly consider this cuss hive mind as the same kind of direct communication that Alan Alda compared today\u2019s \u201cmobby\u201d communication, but it was as close as you\u2019d consider a proper exchange of \u201cideas\u201d as 4th graders were going to get. As I sat quietly and listened, I only had the information that their older brothers had told them and their own interpretations of what they thought they were saying meant.<\/p>\n
Now, fast forward to today\u2019s social media climate. While it is fortunate that most 3rd graders don\u2019t have Twitter (I hope), the big difference between my adolescent understanding of swears and getting in an argument over something the president retweeted, is that now everyone involved not only can communicate to a much larger group than just 7 kids on the back end of a bus, but they are all armed with an incredible wealth of information, not all of it necessarily accurate. Lots of people with a diverse range of opinions armed with various studies, articles, and facts which can lack context and even truth has made us feel more divided than ever, while somehow making us closer connected. While I\u2019m not applauding my 6th grade role models for their communication skills, they definitely were not as volatile as an everyone to everyone communication platform.<\/p>\n
I DON\u2019T TRUST ALGORITHM LIKE I TRUST INTUITION: Xeni Jardin<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t believe there\u2019s such a thing as too much information. I don\u2019t believe Google makes us dumber, or that prolonged Internet fasts or a return to faxes are a necessary part of mind health. But data without the ability to divine is useless. I don\u2019t trust algorithm like I trust intuition: the art of dowsing through data.\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u2019m curious to what he means by \u201cnot believing that Google makes us dumber\u201d. A lot of other people from the Edge articles and sources in class talk a lot about how we have began to retain less information because of how easy it is to access information, so we don\u2019t necessarily need to retain it. So, at large, a lot of people consider the individual to be dumber than they have been before. At the same time, we are more connected than we ever have been before, and with that comes a new wealth of knowledge shared faster than we could have imagined. We are more well informed as a culture than we ever been before, which leads us to ask the question: Which is it? Is being \u201csmart\u201d really the same thing that it once was?<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
LEVELING THE INTELLECTUAL PLAYING FIELD: Michael Shermer<\/p>\n
\u201cWho needs brick and mortar libraries when knowledge is available at fingertips\u2019 notice? Who needs acceptance into elite universities when the same knowledge is searchable by anyone from anywhere? Who needs access to exclusive clubs when knowledge is no longer the province of just the privileged?\u201d<\/p>\n
I chose this quote because this is what I genuinely believe this is the greatest advantage the internet has given us. Everyone is equipped with nearly any information someone could learn in a University, in the workforce, even in other corners of the globe. Regardless of the negative effects the internet has had that we have discussed, there is something beautiful offered by a digital omniscience. Sure, this may anger those who have spent time and money trying to gain that advantage on others who are less fortunate, but I for one am happy that we can consider the playing field \u201cleveled\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cSpeed plus mobs. A scary combination. Together, will they seriously reduce the accuracy of information and our thoughtfulness in using it? Somehow, we need what taking our time used to give us: thinking before we talk and questioning before we believe. I wonder\u2014is there an More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":9457,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[],"tags":[78],"class_list":["post-9456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-journal-1"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/wow-tech-look.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pahVQP-2sw","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9456"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9557,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9456\/revisions\/9557"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}