Skip to content

makeUthink

Menu
  • Home
  • Categories
    • Philosophy
    • Politics
    • Life
    • Miscallaneous
  • Support Us
  • Explore Further
    • Books
    • Videos and Documentaries
    • Magazines and Publications
    • Affiliated Websites
  • About Us
Menu

Our Disconnect With Information

Posted on January 17, 2021January 20, 2021 by Duro Adebayo
MTG 2

It is often stated that we live in the ‘information age’ and that we have ‘unlimited amounts of knowledge ‘at our fingertips.’ But is the idea of ‘access to unlimited knowledge’ really a true reflection of our day to day reality? Of course, we can simply type in any question into google and come out with an answer, yet do we and can we really trust it? This led to me to ask, how do much we really know?

One noticeable feature of today’s society is that many of the ‘facts’ that people quote to each other begin with the word ‘apparently.’ This signifies two very important things: one being that the person is unsure of the reliability of the information and secondly that the person has no responsibility for the information. If it is not your ‘fact’ then you take no responsibility if it is incorrect, very similar to the famous saying ‘don’t shoot the messenger.’

Taking a step back this ‘apparently’ is a perfect demonstration of our general disconnect with a lot of information out there.

The issue of what we can know is by no means a new one and has been the focus of many philosophers over the years. Even if we accept that it is possible to ‘know’ things, the main problem that we face is that as an individual there is only so much that we can verify. This has become more of an issue as the world gets evermore interconnected.

If we rewind time and imagine a small village community, verification is less of a problem. If someone claims that there is ‘a tree half a mile away’, one can easily go and check. Alternatively, nowadays we are faced with much larger claims on a regular basis. If someone tells you that ‘the population of the UK is exactly 65 million’, as an individual how can you verify it? And even if you could, would you? 

Even for those out there willing to count every person, it is nearly impossible to verify a population of 65 million people by counting them yourself due to the simple fact that before you have finished, the population will have changed.

This means that in essence we just have to ‘take people’s word for it’ and hope that they verified it themselves. This explains the ‘apparently’ that appears before a ‘fact’ when somebody passes it on.

Something that complicates this disconnect even further is that we are widely aware of prejudice with regards to the information that we receive. Many are aware that individuals and organisations do not always tell the truth and sometimes it is even in their best interests to lie. The term ‘fake news’ repeated endlessly by Donald Trump and his Administration is a perfect example of this; adding to the problem as it suggests that the government are the victims of this misinformation and not just the perpetrators.

Due to this, we often meet ‘facts’ with a healthy degree of scepticism. Many of us now consider the likelihood of a ‘fact’ to be true as something directly related to the amount of motivation that the owner has to lie about it.

However, this new way of interacting with information has led to an ‘echo chamber’ effect; if we hear a ‘fact’ repeated by enough people then we assume it is true. We assume that somebody along the chain must have done their due diligence and checked the ‘fact’ and the reliability of the source.

Yet, with all the other issues highlighted above, presumably it is possible that we have all been repeating things that aren’t true to each other and then believed them? This was certainly the case with Lisa Holst’s ‘fake fact’ that each person swallows up to 8 spiders per year in their sleep; it still remains one of the most shared pieces of ‘information’ on the internet.

Thinking back to everything that you hold to be true. Could you verify it? Are you sure it is true? How much do you really know? Because personally I don’t know.

 

© Durodoluwa Adebayo 2021

References


Holst, L. (1993)  'Reading Is Believing', PC Professional  


Mikkelson, D. (2001) 'Do People Swallow 8 Spiders a Year?', available online at: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/swallow-spiders/

2 thoughts on “Our Disconnect With Information”

  1. Shirley watson says:
    January 20, 2021 at 12:56 pm

    Very thought provoking indeed!

    Reply
    1. makeUthink says:
      January 20, 2021 at 5:07 pm

      Thank you! We are glad you enjoyed our content.

      Reply

Leave a Reply to makeUthink Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Featured publications

An article published in The Fatherland Magazine Issue 2

Recent Posts

  • Defend or Decolonize? The Falklands Revisited
  • The Benefits of Cashless Society
  • Can God be Reconciled With Science? The Kalām Cosmological Argument
  • The Ugly Truth Behind UK Football Academies
  • Our Disconnect With Information
  • Why There is No Right or Wrong

Categories

  • Economics
  • Life
  • Miscallaneous
  • Philosophy
  • Politics

Archives

  • July 2021
  • May 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020

Tags

BLM (1) current affairs (1) Longer (1) Morality (1) Shorter (1) war (1)
©2022 makeUthink
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.