Good read; appreciated. I think you hit the nail on an unfortunate truth being that people learn through consequences. I probably more or less have the same aversion as you do to something like repealing Section 230, but it is good to think about. I agree that people need to believe in objective truth—I was hoping that looking at historical examples would be a great alternative for people to learn from past mistakes, but I don't think that works...least of all in this digital age. Something I'm going to ponder on now.
I'm not going to reference a specific article but I write about similar topics as this. If any of them interest you, I'd love love to see your thoughts on them.
Hi @Silver Wolf thanks for taking the time to read and comment. Confronting reality by putting your hand on the stove seems to be the only way people can break out of their delusion or Matrix dream world.
Great essay and I'd only add that we have always been post truth. That's not a very new thing mostly because, as you mention at the start, we create our truths. We also believe things because we want them to be truth not because they are true. That's a tale as old as time, all the way back to the story of Cain and Able in the justification of murder. We never have defaulted to truth unless it's in our perceived interest.
Thanks Michael! Very good points and I definitely agree.
I'll check out your piece but my initial reaction is that what has changed, is that we increasingly have algorithms or alternative news sources that can reinforce our believes instead of showing us conflicting or challenging views.
I’ve found that we only have a very very thin window when we could have called the news ‘objective’ and that was like 1950-1970. Even then, you had the vietnam protests screaming about disinformation. During the revolutionary war each side had their own little newspapers, their own little clubs, and their own echo chambers.
You hit the nail on the head: we don’t want to hear the truth. Humans naturally seek information that confirms their biases, and the media is happy to serve it up…with a side order of sensationalism.
I haven’t found a viable solution for this, so what is my advice? Unplug the TV! Come to Substack!
Here, I can read writing that someone put their heart and soul into. Most people on Substack are writing for small audiences, it’s not profitable, not made for an agenda…it comes from their heart.
Even if I disagree with what is written, it’s coming from a genuine place.
I really appreciated this piece, as always! Thank you a lot Ben for the citing me in the article!
of course, you are one of the greatest on Substack.
Thank you Ben, this sincerely means a lot!
Good read; appreciated. I think you hit the nail on an unfortunate truth being that people learn through consequences. I probably more or less have the same aversion as you do to something like repealing Section 230, but it is good to think about. I agree that people need to believe in objective truth—I was hoping that looking at historical examples would be a great alternative for people to learn from past mistakes, but I don't think that works...least of all in this digital age. Something I'm going to ponder on now.
I'm not going to reference a specific article but I write about similar topics as this. If any of them interest you, I'd love love to see your thoughts on them.
Hi @Silver Wolf thanks for taking the time to read and comment. Confronting reality by putting your hand on the stove seems to be the only way people can break out of their delusion or Matrix dream world.
Great essay and I'd only add that we have always been post truth. That's not a very new thing mostly because, as you mention at the start, we create our truths. We also believe things because we want them to be truth not because they are true. That's a tale as old as time, all the way back to the story of Cain and Able in the justification of murder. We never have defaulted to truth unless it's in our perceived interest.
As a complementary investigation, I wrote on the idea of Defaulting to Truth here: https://www.polymathicbeing.com/p/default-to-truth
Thanks Michael! Very good points and I definitely agree.
I'll check out your piece but my initial reaction is that what has changed, is that we increasingly have algorithms or alternative news sources that can reinforce our believes instead of showing us conflicting or challenging views.
We have certainly always been post truth though.
I’ve found that we only have a very very thin window when we could have called the news ‘objective’ and that was like 1950-1970. Even then, you had the vietnam protests screaming about disinformation. During the revolutionary war each side had their own little newspapers, their own little clubs, and their own echo chambers.
100% there were a few great newsmen like Walter Cronkite who were really in a league of their own.
They were able to be respected and call it like they see it for the most part without resorting to partisan hackery.
Great piece Ben.
You hit the nail on the head: we don’t want to hear the truth. Humans naturally seek information that confirms their biases, and the media is happy to serve it up…with a side order of sensationalism.
I haven’t found a viable solution for this, so what is my advice? Unplug the TV! Come to Substack!
Here, I can read writing that someone put their heart and soul into. Most people on Substack are writing for small audiences, it’s not profitable, not made for an agenda…it comes from their heart.
Even if I disagree with what is written, it’s coming from a genuine place.
Thank you @J.K. Lund !
Really appreciate the kind words.
It’s not easy to avoid the biases ans tricks your brain will play on you.
Journaling and writing things down generally helps so can possibly follow your logic chain.
Your information diet also plays a big role.
It’s not. I think schools should teach human biases. It would go a long way for people to, at least, be cognizant of their own limitations.
There are a lot of changes I would make to the high school curriculum
Facts matter.