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The sum of all knowledge and the sorry state of the web

christianheilmann.com

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Re: The sum of all knowledge and the sorry state of the web

#21

Post by muspimerol »

mudrockbestgirl wrote: post #6

IMO the worst side effect of current web of knowledge is what I'd call the illusion of knowledge. When it was more difficult to access and publish information, that imposed a much higher bar on what was being consumed. These days, people watch a 10-minute YouTube video or read a reddit comment or twitter thread and believe (perhaps unconsciously) that makes them knowledgeable in said topic. They will then, in an abso…

I wonder if this is just an inevitable outcome of the majority of society being online. The beginnings of the internet are rooted in academia and hobbyists. Early adopters were experts in their respective fields with analytical minds. Now that everyone is online, perhaps the average user just better reflects the average member of society. In other words, maybe it's not the content of the internet, it's the users.

Re: The sum of all knowledge and the sorry state of the web

#22

Post by Tenoke »

mudrockbestgirl wrote: post #6

IMO the worst side effect of current web of knowledge is what I'd call the illusion of knowledge. When it was more difficult to access and publish information, that imposed a much higher bar on what was being consumed. These days, people watch a 10-minute YouTube video or read a reddit comment or twitter thread and believe (perhaps unconsciously) that makes them knowledgeable in said topic. They will then, in an abso…

People also used to be confidently wrong all the time before the internet was ubiquitous, except then it was hard to quickly verify they were.

Re: The sum of all knowledge and the sorry state of the web

#23

Post by hcks »

Lammy wrote: post #9
istinetz wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

nowadays, you can just ask about astrology. It's both obviously wrong and socially acceptable to believe in. It filters a solid 30% of the population, at least in my country.

Quoted post unavailable.

Your explanation is 100 times worse than basic astrology to me. It's astrology wrapped in scientism.

We can't even be sure about what part of character comes from all of the environment versus what part comes from genetics without very careful experimental settings.

Obviously any systematic change due to ecological seasons would have a minuscule effect, drowned in the noise of a million other parameters.

It's not even like astrology can make any predictions about anything, there is nothing to be explained.

Re: The sum of all knowledge and the sorry state of the web

#25

Post by gsatic »

nicbou wrote: post #5

It has never been easier to share knowledge, and thus there has never been a greater time to be curious. Encyclopaedia Britannica is still there, and it's great . But there's also an army of content creators are there to teach you just about anything. If one source doesn't do it, you have more to choose from. Yesterday, I read an article about North Africa that mentioned in passing Qaddafi's underground river. A few…

Curation won't solve the issues of the Knowledge Gap Hypothesis or the Information Defecit Model or the Digital Divide or Info Asymmetry.

If we test people on where they went "deep" there is a good chance most will fail the test.

We don't even know what we are trying to do with these networks.

Re: The sum of all knowledge and the sorry state of the web

#26

Post by sorisos »

mudrockbestgirl wrote: post #6

IMO the worst side effect of current web of knowledge is what I'd call the illusion of knowledge. When it was more difficult to access and publish information, that imposed a much higher bar on what was being consumed. These days, people watch a 10-minute YouTube video or read a reddit comment or twitter thread and believe (perhaps unconsciously) that makes them knowledgeable in said topic. They will then, in an abso…

I also believe it is a trend not to go over the head of consumers. Can be seen in older documentaries and political discussion. Perhaps this is just a result of everyone already feeling like a expert and should not be insulted by complex language etc.

Re: The sum of all knowledge and the sorry state of the web

#27

Post by mudrockbestgirl »

Tenoke wrote: post #22
mudrockbestgirl wrote: post #6

IMO the worst side effect of current web of knowledge is what I'd call the illusion of knowledge. When it was more difficult to access and publish information, that imposed a much higher bar on what was being consumed. These days, people watch a 10-minute YouTube video or read a reddit comment or twitter thread and believe (perhaps unconsciously) that makes them knowledgeable in said topic. They will then, in an abso…

People also used to be confidently wrong all the time before the internet was ubiquitous, except then it was hard to quickly verify they were.

True, but a difference is that they could not spread their confidently wrong opinions globally, only locally, and that opinions were tied to their identity.

Take my mom for example. She's 80 years old and doesn't use the internet that much. She is confidently wrong about a lot of things she sees on TV or hears on the radio. A recent example is COVID misinformation.

The difference is that my mom can't easily influence millions of others because she doesn't have the reach, but also because people are unlikely to take the word of an 80-year old person without any medical credentials or training seriously. It's much easier to look "legitimate" when you are hiding behind an online persona. If my mom wrote a blog or posted on HN/reddit, she could certainly come off as a doctor, or even lie about being one, and many would believe her. Doing this locally, in person, is much harder and riskier.

Re: The sum of all knowledge and the sorry state of the web

#28

Post by Planktonne »

emptyfile wrote: post #20
Lammy wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

I'm so infuriated by your link I'm at a loss for words. EDIT: This is an UNIVERSITY newspaper? I thought it would be some kind of british tabloid or something... depressing

The article makes an important point.

Astrology isn't meaningful or rational. However, the level of contempt shown for people who are believers in astrology is wildly out of proportion. There are lots of equally dumb things that don't get the same level of vitriol.

It's valid to dismiss astrology, but that doesn't mean that all dismissal of astrology is based on high-minded scientific ideals. A lot of it is based on sexism.

Re: The sum of all knowledge and the sorry state of the web

#29

Post by talideon »

mellavora wrote: post #4

Your father's books are real treasures. Were it my library, they would have a place of honor. I want to put your post in the context of yesterday's HN front-page post lambasting the EU for trying to build a better search engine. The bulk of the comments suggested that a government effort could never be as good as a commercial effort. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32915263#32916945 Your post is a strong counter…

Uh, DARPA had nothing to do with the founding of Google. Brin and Page had NSF funding though Brin's graduate fellowship and the Digital Library Initiative, and that was before the official founding of the company.

Reference: https://beta.nsf.gov/news/origins-google

Re: The sum of all knowledge and the sorry state of the web

#30

Post by cm2187 »

On the other hand the digital assets that people make a personal copy of never age, so chances are higher that we will find some old writing that we thought was lost when the server shut down.

Of course that's in a world where we still have personal computers, not apple style locked down devices.

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