Truth and The Age of Information - the Power of the Written Word in Cyberspace
Posted: Thursday, March 31, 2011
by Jennifer Stewart
Stepping out of History
Somebody once said to me that it’s pointless reading anything “factual”, because you don’t know if it’s true or not. It was a bit alarming coming from him, since he’s my cardiologist! But it got me thinking about the authority we give to the written word and specifically the Internet.
People love lauding this era as the Age of Information where you can find anything on the Internet, but I think it’s the age of information madness. It’s true that there are gazillions of facts to be garnered every second of the day on any topic, but how many of them have any foundation in reality?
The Internet gives everybody a voice which is great, but the package doesn’t come with a requirement either to tell the truth or to think for ourselves when we read something. Both as readers and writers it’s pretty much up to us to figure out and chart our own course. For many people the truth is important – in all areas of life – but a lot of people couldn’t care less. The word information implies truth, but how much weight does that implication carry now?
A case in point was a Spanish face transplant story I read about once. I was amazed at how many variations there were of it. Surely with a simple story like that fact is fact? Apparently not.
According to one story the face transplant patient was an unnamed Spanish farmer between the ages of 20 and 40. The transplant was done at Vall d’Hebron hospital in Barcelona, by a team of surgeons led by Dr.
Joan Pere Barret who claimed he had performed the world’s first full face transplant in a procedure that took 24 hours.
But another source said the transplant couldn’t be considered full face, because the new part the patient received was only from the eye sockets down. Yet another source claimed the operation took place in the La Fe hospital in Valencia, and was performed on a 43 year old man from the Canary Islands by a Dr. Cavados and his colleague Dr. Luis Landin, 2 other surgeons, some anesthetists, other staff and twelve nurses. The operation apparently took 15 hours.
It’s the Age of “Information” that’s for sure. But distortions parading as truth get disseminated globally at the speed of light now. They gather power and authority as they’re read by people who don’t question anything and pass on what they read as fact to the next gullible reader.
Truth has less and less value with the passage of time, and the less-ness is kind of exponential. So what's the harm? Who cares? Well the harm is when some poor unsuspecting person who needs a full face transplant goes to the man he thinks is the world expert. Who actually isn’t. Who may not care to correct his unsuspecting and trusting patient. You get my drift.
In a world gone very virtual the power of the written word can have more authority and importance than reality. With so much false information coming at us truth and reality can be hard to pin down. Now more than ever we have to value and develop our independence of mind and our capacity to question everything and to not blindly accept any written word as gospel. Any spoken word either, come to think of it.
In the past we could kind of trust that there was an ethic amongst writers and news-spreaders. Not any more. We’re on our own now. We have to think for ourselves. Nothing's going to rescue us from that.
People love lauding this era as the Age of Information where you can find anything on the Internet, but I think it’s the age of information madness. It’s true that there are gazillions of facts to be garnered every second of the day on any topic, but how many of them have any foundation in reality?
A case in point was a Spanish face transplant story I read about once. I was amazed at how many variations there were of it. Surely with a simple story like that fact is fact? Apparently not.
According to one story the face transplant patient was an unnamed Spanish farmer between the ages of 20 and 40. The transplant was done at Vall d’Hebron hospital in Barcelona, by a team of surgeons led by Dr.
“distortions parading as truth get disseminated globally at the speed of light now”
But another source said the transplant couldn’t be considered full face, because the new part the patient received was only from the eye sockets down. Yet another source claimed the operation took place in the La Fe hospital in Valencia, and was performed on a 43 year old man from the Canary Islands by a Dr. Cavados and his colleague Dr. Luis Landin, 2 other surgeons, some anesthetists, other staff and twelve nurses. The operation apparently took 15 hours.
It’s the Age of “Information” that’s for sure. But distortions parading as truth get disseminated globally at the speed of light now. They gather power and authority as they’re read by people who don’t question anything and pass on what they read as fact to the next gullible reader.
Truth has less and less value with the passage of time, and the less-ness is kind of exponential. So what's the harm? Who cares? Well the harm is when some poor unsuspecting person who needs a full face transplant goes to the man he thinks is the world expert. Who actually isn’t. Who may not care to correct his unsuspecting and trusting patient. You get my drift.
In a world gone very virtual the power of the written word can have more authority and importance than reality. With so much false information coming at us truth and reality can be hard to pin down. Now more than ever we have to value and develop our independence of mind and our capacity to question everything and to not blindly accept any written word as gospel. Any spoken word either, come to think of it.
In the past we could kind of trust that there was an ethic amongst writers and news-spreaders. Not any more. We’re on our own now. We have to think for ourselves. Nothing's going to rescue us from that.
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Top-level comments on this article: (5 total)Jen, boy you nailed this right- it's all just raw data isn't it...which replaced wisdon-go figureThanks, Bing. Yes, go figure :)
Hi Jennifer.
We've always had to think for ourselves, but I guess that has become somewhat more important than it once was. When searching for medical information, I always, always, always check multiple sources. The more "people" who say the same thing, the more likely I am to trust it. Of course, if the information is presented in the same wording (or very close to the same wording) in several different places, then I tell myself that I will just have to start over.
All in all, I do believe that easy access to information is a very good thing. But I do know that many people will simply believe something if it is presented authoritatively. That's a problem and one of my main complaints about advertisements on television (don't get me started on that topic :) oh wait, I started it myself :)).
You made a very good point and people should pay attention to it.
Hugs,
DianneYou always make me smile, Dianne! And I have to tell you, I'm starting horse-riding lessons! My first is on April 11. I'm so excited about it, I can't wait.I bet you'll have a blast! Do you know anything up front about the horse you will be riding? Even after a couple of years of learning and riding, I still look forward to my time with the horses. It's never become a chore even when the weather is less than optimal. You will have to tell me/us all about it! Please be sure, though, to wear a safety helmet.
Hugs!
DianneI don't know anything about the horse yet, but I may go there next week just to ask if I can see which one I'm going to ride. Hope I get the same horse every time. I'm certainly going to ask. I plan to take my camera, too! I don't have a helmet yet, but the school will lend me one. They don't let you ride without. I'll write all about it :)
I get your drift. You're exactly right. That's why when I write, I write about my own feelings and observations. It's the only thing I'm sure of (most of the time).And that's why it's so great to read what you write :)
417 "I know that for the last month I have had a bath every day." what am I remembering? Each day and the bath each morning? No. I know I bathed each day and I do not derive that from some other immediate datum. Similarly I say “I felt a pain in my arm" without this locality coming into my conciseness in any other way (such as by means of an Image)
Ludwig Wittgenstein
I don't support all this man’s intentions, but he raise question. I like his questions.My interpretation of what he says is that the only thing we can be sure of as truth is our own experience, and I agree with it, or with what I understand of it. And if I look at what I feel about my experience, I know that is my truth which doesn't contain right or wrong, it just is. But when I look at what I think, that's where it's very easy for me to move away from my truth into judgment of others. I think I want to write an article about this! Thanks for commenting, Yosef.Your welcome, can i ask something please? is it your decision to remove some comments? :)
i like your intentional interest for thinking. eventually philosophers live in love of knowledge. you are a philosopher for your own. not for truth of your propositions but for your love of truth.Thanks, Yosef. I do care about truth, but it's a very difficult thing to discern, :) and it's something I have to constantly work at understanding.
It wasn't my decision to remove the comments, but I do respect the right of the editors to remove comments for whatever reasons they have.it was a good sign it means i am free to talk, but i shouldn't cross red lines. :)
Hi Jennifer. How true! The example you chose is heartbreaking, but serves as a great reminder of how important it is to check and double checks our facts and if we are still uncertain, don't pass it on. Thank you for sharing this! Blessings to you! TeresaPleasure, Teresa, and thanks for your comment. The world of "facts" is so often one of shifting sands, isn't it?
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