“People always assume that if someone doesn’t know something, it’s because they haven’t paid attention or haven’t yet figured it out,” Proctor says. “But ignorance also comes from people literally suppressing truth—or drowning it out—or trying to make it so confusing that people stop caring about what’s true and what’s not.”
Wired has an interesting article by Clive Thompson claiming among other things that we have more and more information, but so much of it generated by organizations purposely attempting to confuse rather than inform.
I have wondered about this – twenty-five years ago, how much of the nightly news was a report of events and how much was interpretation. “Reporting” the news has changed. There are so many options and a version of the truth for every taste. I think the important question is whether we are being purposely misled or offered convenient options to support our biases? In other words, how much of the interest in “spin” is the fault of the individual who selects the channel.
I keep thinking about this topic (e.g., Ignorant as we want to be), but I no solution. Even my professional field (education) is plagued by special interest groups that would rather speculate than argue based on solid evidence. I do think that more people participating in the discussion is a good thing. But, participation means making an effort to evaluate a range of sources and to test positions taken against whatever evidence is available.
Thanks to Doug Johnson for the link to Thompson’s Wired article.
BTW – read the comments attached to the Thompson article. Hard to make a point without being accused of promoting spin yourself. Shows just how difficult it is to suggest there is a way to learn through accessing available information.
