Information Diet for the New Year by Geezer

REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

Information Diet for the New Year

POSTED BY: GEEZER
UPDATED: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 06:52
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VIEWED: 997
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Wednesday, December 21, 2011 3:47 AM

Keep the Shiny side up

Can too much junk info be as bad for you as too much junk food? Clay Johnson thinks so.

Interesting discussion on the Kojo Nnamdi Show yesterday on NPR.

Quote:
Today, most Americans are awash in information. We watch cable TV, read blogs and newspapers, and share stories on Twitter and Facebook. Ironically, the most avid information consumers are often among the least-informed citizens. Author Clay Johnson says we're suffering from a kind of "information obesity:" consuming too much "junk food" and too little healthy data. He joins us to explore parallels between food and information, and proposes a new regime for the New Year.

Transcript here: http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2011-12-20/information-diet-new-yea
r/transcript

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Wednesday, December 21, 2011 4:07 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

I've noticed the increase of video screens in places where there use to not be any, and I'm not just talking bars and restaurants. I don't read the newspaper any more, what's the point ? I have all the news I want either via the radio or a smart phone, while I'm on the move.

"The world is a dangerous place. Not because of the people who are evil; but because of the people who don't do anything about it." - Albert Einstein

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Wednesday, December 21, 2011 2:29 PM

FREMDFIRMA

Those things annoy the hell outta me, especially at the grocery store or gas station - bad enough we have pop-ups and ad-banners on the internet without adding the goddamn things in real life too, so too does the flasy-spinny billboard on I-275 just north of I-94, that freakin thing has caused many an accident by distracting folk who should be payin attention to their driving.

The worst are those that attempt to aggress on a "captive" audience, like the checkout lane or the gas pump, I make sure to blacklist/boycott any advertised product, even to the point of picking up off the belt and putting it aside in response, cause I have a damn low tolerance for "push" advertising, especially in a manner so personally offensive.

-F

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Wednesday, December 21, 2011 3:05 PM

DREAMTROVE

We really need to inforcise.

That's what a ship is, you know - it's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs.

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Wednesday, December 21, 2011 4:37 PM

RIONAEIRE

Beir bua agus beannacht

I think all these screens everywhere in life are causing there to be a whole generation of kids with ADD who wouldn't have normally had it. This is just a theory mind you but we've created this instant gratification, don't have to wait for anything, do five things at once generation and then we whinge when they can't sit still and focus. We've created this problem.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

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Wednesday, December 21, 2011 4:53 PM

GEEZER

Keep the Shiny side up

What I wish they'd discussed in more depth is the fact that, no matter what outrageous thing you believe, you can find something on the web that validates that belief.

Google "Abraham Lincoln was Jewish", for example.

Try "Hitler was an alien."

"JFK is alive"

"Keep the Shiny side up"

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Wednesday, December 21, 2011 5:37 PM

DREAMTROVE

Geezer,

You have a point.

That's what a ship is, you know - it's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs.

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Wednesday, December 21, 2011 5:56 PM

GEEZER

Keep the Shiny side up

Quote:
Originally posted by dreamtrove:
Geezer,

You have a point.

But if I comb my hair right, no one sees it.

"Keep the Shiny side up"

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Thursday, December 22, 2011 11:57 AM

FREMDFIRMA

Quote:
Originally posted by RionaEire:
I think all these screens everywhere in life are causing there to be a whole generation of kids with ADD who wouldn't have normally had it. This is just a theory mind you but we've created this instant gratification, don't have to wait for anything, do five things at once generation and then we whinge when they can't sit still and focus. We've created this problem.

Well I don't think that's the entirety of the problem, but I give that it's a heavy contributor, especially with our distraction-laden society.

You ALSO might consider that this is potentially an Autism trigger, or trigger for similar symptoms in that the child begins REJECTING that input in a form of sensory defensiveness that gets out of hand, as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensory_defensiveness
They do note fight-or-flight reaction but fail to realize there's three potential reactions, not two.
It's fight-freeze-flight, and the freeze reaction to sensory overload can mimic anything from catatonia to autism spectrum, or trigger it if present, or at the very least complicate things.

I'm really, really not fond of shoving information of any kind, especially advertisements, down someones gullet by deception or force, and those damn screens come close enough to really piss me off, they do.

-Frem

I do not serve the Blind God.

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Monday, December 26, 2011 11:28 AM

RIONAEIRE

Beir bua agus beannacht

Interesting theory Frem.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

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Tuesday, December 27, 2011 6:27 AM

CANTTAKESKY

Quote:
Originally posted by Geezer:
But if I comb my hair right, no one sees it.

Bwahaha. LOL.

-----
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

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Tuesday, December 27, 2011 6:52 AM

CANTTAKESKY

We all have limited time. It makes sense to focus on only the info that matters to us. But this should be more of a lifestyle of good time management than an issue of quality of information.

I don't mind that someone thinks Hitler is an alien and wants to advance an argument for it. Good for him that he can.

I completely disagree with Johnson that Mr. Alien Hitler is somehow misguiding the public. A deficient educational system that has failed, on purpose, to teach critical thinking skills is misguiding the public.

See, what he means by too much junk info is too much info HE (and the govt) disagrees with. You are supposed to eat the "right" diet of info: such as CNN, NYT, WP, NPR, and other mainstream media. Info he approves of.

Fuck him.

They dumb down the public on purpose so they would swallow "approved" crap, but now they complain about the side effect that they are also swallowing "unapproved" crap.

Fuck 'em.

-----
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

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