The Asymmetry Of Ignorance
Hello, hello, hello!
I hope you are well, recovered from the July 4th celebration with all of your digits intact. The family of hawks in the front yard at St. Edward the Confessor continues its chorus of squawks and screeches. It’s music to my ears. The weeding and mulching that Lori and I have accomplished over the past week makes my eyes happy.
This week I’ve been mulling over the asymmetrical challenge represented by bad information. Someone with a big enough megaphone, charisma, and sufficient confidence can say a lot of inaccurate things, and the work required to correct the public understanding is considerably larger than than the time and energy required to spread the bad information in the first place.
The earth is flat. Vaccines do more harm than good. The election was stolen. 9/11 was an inside job.
On and on, there is no shortage of bad ideas, hoaxes, conspiracy theories, and misinformation. These flawed concepts move about with zero friction across the globe via the internet. Some of them may be misunderstandings, shared by concerned people in good faith. A lot of this stuff is blatant misinformation being spread in bad faith to sow confusion and dissent in society. All too often, journalists default into “both sides” framing, and in doing so give bad ideas more credibility than they deserve.
In social media, about a month ago, podcast interviewer/comedian Joe Rogan used his Twitter account to offer Dr. Peter Hotez $100,000 (to the charity of Hotez’s choice) to come on his show to debate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. regarding statements made by Kennedy that Hotez characterized as “misinformation.” Lots of other people upped the ante, pledging even more money to make this debate happen. Dr. Hotez declined the invitation (and faced a massive amount of harassment and threats from people, thanks to the immense spotlight placed on him by Rogan). Hotez pointed out that scientific facts are not up for debate, and that Kennedy lacks the technical background to have a meaningful dialogue.
The internet has created plenty of benefits, but it has also generated lots of negative consequences. There’s something to be said for the curatorial role major traditional news outlets used to play in the pre-internet era. Walter Cronkite would not have entertained such nonsense. With great curation comes great responsibility, though. I understand the risks of relying on too few decision makers in determining what gets shared as the news of the day. Important, relevant things can be left out (and sometimes are).
I have enjoyed listening to many of Rogan’s interviews, but much prefer the “two guys having a beer and shooting the breeze” version of Joe over the one who tries to wade into deeper, more technical topics without sufficient technical knowledge.
There is no easy way to mitigate this issue. I have come to believe that there should be far less energy spent debunking the growing volume of misinformation. Instead, let's allow those who subscribe to bad ideas to run with them, and feel the sting of their associated consequences. Let’s get Darwin back in the game. You don’t trust vaccines? Don’t take them. Not every bad idea has such a stark Darwinian mechanism. But I have to give it to "Mad Mike" Hughes - this guy was really committed to his flat-earth beliefs.
Conspiracy theories have a seductive aspect to them - they create the feeling of letting us in on special knowledge that is not available to everyone. It feels good to have the insider’s edge - provided that it is accurate. Mark Twain is famously quoted as saying “A lie will go ‘round the world while the truth is getting its boots on.” Never has this been more true. Since we don’t have Mr. Cronkite to act as a screener for the nonsense, it's up to each of us to deal with it on our own. More often than not, I think the best approach is to not reward stupidity with our time, attention or energy. Stay observant, friend! The challenge of this moment is unique, but I believe in us.
Sunday Supper
I've been thinking about this recipe for a while, and when I saw some properly-sized zucchini at the Farmers' Market (thank you, Bird's Haven Farm), I knew it was time to make a favorite Lebanese dish called Kousa (stuffed squash). This is a good weekend recipe, as it takes a bit more prep time, and cook time on the stove top. Tender squash, filled with rice and spiced beef, bathed in a garlicky tomato sauce...yes! Enjoy.
Sunday Music
This nearly hour-long live performance by pianist Brad Mehldau in Vienna back in 2010 makes for a great listen.
Have a great week ahead! Offer support to others. Make good use of this day. And let me know how I can help.
Peace & Love,
Neal