AGNOTOLOGY - Culturally Induced Ignorance

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1.6K followers

We are all becoming stupider for the simple reason that as the collective knowledge of mankind grows exponentially, our ability to access new knowledge grows linearly. The gap between what we know and what the world knows just becomes wider and wider.

Big data and what Loes refers to as the GAFA's has completely swamped poor little old me. My educated daughters, in their 50's, don't even want to discuss the problems of the world with me. They want to talk about family, travel, sports, food etc. while the world goes to shit in a handcart. We are living in a post-truth world of fake news, spin doctors, GAFA's and the news outlets that report objectively incorrect information.

All I can do is seek to understand what is happening to us all. I try to slow down, step back and see the big picture: focus on my emotions and logic equally, in attempting to deal with the world I presently find myself in. Above all I try to be authentic and live with integrity.

I do see a ray of hope in the Blockchain and its ability to manufacture trust. It is the reason for my latest website. Having access to such a diversity of helpful individuals and ideas here at WealthyAffiliate, while gaining the skills to present my thoughts through technology, has me motivated to get up 2hrs earlier each morning. Life has become more meaningful!

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Recent Comments

20

hmmmmm....I've bought a domain name to rant about this sort of thing in my own country, even just to call out the lies they feed us

but I don't watch the news any more - none of that bbc etc etc stuff is true, everything has bias

had to google blockchain - if it is records - they still need interpretation - the question of 'truth' needs a context to account for the human factor

the issue is very clear if you try to access 'alternative' medicine and the health niche...big war between various groups trying to rewrite history there

'culturally induced ignorance' serves some groups very well - you think it's an accident?!

Thanks for your thoughts.

Culturally induced ignorance is not accidental. Presently I believe it is induced by those groups who gain more power and wealth as a result.

Live with integrity
Countries don't do it
Governments don't do it
Sports organizations don't do it
Our elected representative don't do it
People don't do it
I am being unfair some of the above live with integrity. The questions is, are they in the minority certainly hope not?

Yes, among family and small close groups integrity is most often present. The internet has us connected to individuals and groups that we do not know the history of and would be foolish to automatically extend total trust to. Even here at WA one wants to know more about the other over time and trust grows very gradually.

Individuals can publish anything for the whole world to see with little or no censorship.

In buying stock I trust no one completely, except myself. I do listen to others, but always start small and am willing to accept total responsibility for any buys I make.

My interest in the blockchain is its potential to create a trustless environment through the use of a mathematical protocol. Then I would not have worry about trusting others.

Roger...this is an excellent article. We humans lie all the time and we all begin to lie at approximately 6 months of age.

Tadeusz

Is there a place I can go to get just news rather some one's opinion?

It is getting harder to trust people I don't know, so I doubt it. I try to follow CNN, FOX, BBC, CBC and ChinaDaily; and then come to my own conclusions.

There is a the possibility that the blockchain could be the basis for a newsource that is "trustless". That means the blockchain would create news which you didn't have to trust because you would know that the mathematical protocol would automatically ensure it was true.

Please remember that I am still learning about the blockchain and I will be following developments through blogs on blockchainlearners.

All input from other WAs are much appreciated.

"The gap between what we know and what the world knows just becomes wider and wider."
This is a very true statement.

I have given up trying to follow all my passions for knowledge and skills. My need to communicate with other individuals either eye-ball to eye-ball or word to word take equal or greater priority.

Thanks, Roger...
I agree with your concern and thanks for highlighting the problem. Crime is diminished by good lighting and people who care to look.

My approach to this form of cultural decay is a little different; I still rely on my 'sniff test' to at least start the sorting process between real information and BS. Lies, BS, fake news are all very old, well-seasoned approaches to life and information, and probably can be found in cuneiform tablets and on cave walls. The difference as I see it is both the scale of new assaults on reality and the general recognition of it. We've always had lies, omissions and exaggerations baked into our history books, but now there are protests about them. We've always had corruption and falsification of the news, but now that mendacity IS news.

I do see tools like the Blockchain as ways to go "on the record" and ensure that our message is not altered, misquoted or otherwise mangled. I think that could be a useful tool, but only to touch a tiny part of this big, ancient and growing problem. If I'm missing something (and I expect I am) please educate us - much appreciated to learn more about this tech.

While there IS an uptick in major news outlets that are built on a foundation of opportunistic propaganda here in the US, this is simply a matter of degree, not a fundamentally new thing. The proliferation of political, economic and business related propaganda plus the explosion of digitized information of every stripe IS a painful and confusing combination, but it is STILL Possible to Apply simple filters and rely on valid trustworthy sources (not just the ones that agree with me). If we do that, keep a level head and apply the 'sniff test' I think we can get by without throwing in the towel or depending on our facebook friends for all our news.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents...

And thanks for the vocabulary lesson - always appreciated!
Steve

Your take on the situation is much appreciated. "Ignorance is not Bliss". WealthyAffiliates are learners for life.

Great to hear Roger! What's the latest on Bitcoin?

Bitcoin has collapsed equally as bad 3 times in the past, only to come back stronger than ever. I will write more on this on my website.

I own none, but wouldn't be surprised to see it quickly recover simply because it is the leader and there are a couple of billion unbanked people still to get involved. They do need to drastically decrease their transaction time and costs.

I haven't heard of this term but am more than aware of (and dismayed by) the phenomenon. Agnotology...it will be our cultural undoing, we can already see stuff unraveling...the interested, invested brainiacs need to stage a coup and get this sh*t back in line!

Foodies and foodology are recent terms Roger. A nice comfortable subject!

I like your title, Culturally Induced Ignorance...sadly enough, that's so true!

I have not succumb yet!

Hang in there, Roger :)

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