Barrett Garese: Barrett Garese, Y'All Stupid: 3 Ways Language Is Tearing Us Apart (& How to Fix It)
Justin Kownacki
· 1 month ago
I don't think it's a case of information having "no value," but a case of MISinformation being so ubiquitous that it's impossible to prove which information *is* valuable. For every fact or claim, there's an equal and opposite reaction on the Internet that uses spurious logic and doctored claims to refute the original. See enough of those and you start to distrust ALL information.
I've been considering this recently, and I have a prediction: within the next century, we'll see a return to rustic living and "making things with our hands." Why? Because once the majority of the public gives up on being able to tell truth from lies, they'll search out something provable that provides them with a reliable structure for their lives. You may not be able to convince anyone that global warming does (or doesn't) exist, or what its effects may (or may not) be, but you understand a potato when it comes out of your garden. Once the noise ratio drowns out the signal, we'll experience a massive scaling-back and starting-over of our culture, and of the values we decide cannot be misconstrued.
Barrett Garese
· 1 month ago
Once again I find myself agreeing and disagreeing with you. Funny trend, that.
I agree that there will be widespread frustration over the coming century, and I agree that it will manifest itself in vast changes to what we consider to be "society." I don't see it as a scaling back, though. I think what we'll see is a self-segregating society where portions of the population wall themselves off (figuratively or literally) from other portions of society based on shared viewpoints. I don't see it as communes, but rather a return to the tribal mentality where commonality becomes king.
I don't like it, and I don't agree with it, but at this point I feel like it's almost inevitable. When the world's technology changes to make it easier to share "dangerous" ideas and ideologies, the only solution is a literal break from the world. I don't think people will give up their conveniences ("work is hard, man") but I can absolutely see them deciding to self-segregate to escape the ideas they don't agree with.
I just hope that the ideas of science, logic, and fact don't deteriorate as far as I'm afraid they will. My biggest fear is that we're about to witness the second Dark Ages.
Justin Kownacki
· 1 month ago
My bad; maybe my original comment seemed absolute. What I meant was, we'll see a return *in popularity* of rustic values, and probably a re-integration of handmade work into our daily lives. Not a complete rejection of technology (or science) by any means, but a more even balance between tech and nature.
As for the "second Dark Ages," we've had asinine political and theological constraints for centuries, but we've never allowed them to stop the continued spread of logic. If communism (and McCarthyism) couldn't send the world back to caves and ramparts, I doubt Sarah Palin or the Taliban will. (Except for the people already living in caves in Afghanistan, but I digress...) There's too much money to be made by ensuring that the population remains smart enough to want the things we're capable of making.
All Comments
I've been considering this recently, and I have a prediction: within the next century, we'll see a return to rustic living and "making things with our hands." Why? Because once the majority of the public gives up on being able to tell truth from lies, they'll search out something provable that provides them with a reliable structure for their lives. You may not be able to convince anyone that global warming does (or doesn't) exist, or what its effects may (or may not) be, but you understand a potato when it comes out of your garden. Once the noise ratio drowns out the signal, we'll experience a massive scaling-back and starting-over of our culture, and of the values we decide cannot be misconstrued.
I agree that there will be widespread frustration over the coming century, and I agree that it will manifest itself in vast changes to what we consider to be "society." I don't see it as a scaling back, though. I think what we'll see is a self-segregating society where portions of the population wall themselves off (figuratively or literally) from other portions of society based on shared viewpoints. I don't see it as communes, but rather a return to the tribal mentality where commonality becomes king.
I don't like it, and I don't agree with it, but at this point I feel like it's almost inevitable. When the world's technology changes to make it easier to share "dangerous" ideas and ideologies, the only solution is a literal break from the world. I don't think people will give up their conveniences ("work is hard, man") but I can absolutely see them deciding to self-segregate to escape the ideas they don't agree with.
I just hope that the ideas of science, logic, and fact don't deteriorate as far as I'm afraid they will. My biggest fear is that we're about to witness the second Dark Ages.
As for the "second Dark Ages," we've had asinine political and theological constraints for centuries, but we've never allowed them to stop the continued spread of logic. If communism (and McCarthyism) couldn't send the world back to caves and ramparts, I doubt Sarah Palin or the Taliban will. (Except for the people already living in caves in Afghanistan, but I digress...) There's too much money to be made by ensuring that the population remains smart enough to want the things we're capable of making.