Disinformation Darwinism - Survival of the Falsest

[humblescribe]

Just a small observation from the accounting department:

I believe one reason for survival of misinformation is inertia. We take a stance on something. We take this stance because our inner circle or someone we admire and respect has the same belief. It is easy to accept and parrot all the misinformation we receive. It is so much easier to continue bobbing along spewing the same sophistry than it is to hunker down and reject it piece by piece. Since we don't want to be pariahs, we just go along without further thinking.

[Slarti the White]

Just a small observation from the accounting department:

I believe one reason for survival of misinformation is inertia. We take a stance on something. We take this stance because our inner circle or someone we admire and respect has the same belief. It is easy to accept and parrot all the misinformation we receive. It is so much easier to continue bobbing along spewing the same sophistry than it is to hunker down and reject it piece by piece. Since we don't want to be pariahs, we just go along without further thinking.

Not a small observation at all...

The nature of knowledge is that it is hierarchical -- new knowledge is built on the foundation of the knowledge that came before. In order to practice perfect epistemological hygiene, one would have to periodically review their foundational knowledge (except for the math -- i.e. things that have been logically proven -- and things that are a matter of faith -- i.e. things about which we are certain without [or in the face of] evidence), identify any errors, and recompile our certainty about anything who's premises changed. Obviously this isn't common practice.

To give an example where there isn't any bad intent (all of the knowledge in this example comes from talking to Danraft who has far greater knowledge on this subject than I will ever have), consider the protein clathrin. After it was identified, many scientific studies were done on its function and systems in which it participated -- good studies in the context of the best understanding that we had at the time. Later, it was discovered that there are different flavors of clathrin, such as clathrin-17 and clathrin-22 -- which have very different jobs in the biology of the cell. To simplify radically (sorry Danraft), one of them is a housekeeping protein and one of them is a key player in glycogen transport and thus it plays a large role in metabolic disorders like diabetes. All well and good -- science marches on, right? Except there are still people doing research on the role of clathrin in diabetes using mice and rats, which have only the former form of clathrin -- which means those studies have no relevance to human health, not because anyone did anything wrong, but simply because of the informational inertia that humblescribe mentioned.

If this can happen in a scientific context where there are well-established error correcting methodologies, it is going to be far, far worse in the knowledge base of people who have been immersed in misinformation pandemic like we are all living through...

[Slarti the White]

Oh I like the virus analogy. Gonna have to do some pondering on that one.

Like I said, give Danraft the credit for coming up with it.

One thing I've seen that might fit in with that - Earthlings who really burrow into the details of their conspiracy theory of choice, and then they do feel like they know more than other people, and they decide they're more logical than others, and it really does give them a sense of superiority over those of us who are just too dumb to see the truth.

While it is certainly true of conspiracy theorists, I think we all have the tendency to believe that our reasoning is superior to others -- it's how we're built. We can only vet our own knowledge for errors if we consciously decide to do so -- and most people don't.

But I look at the evidence and decide they're partly insane for believing a lot of nonsense.

And they look at their evidence and their assumptions and decide that you're partly insane for believing a lot of nonsense too. also.


So yes, it's difficult to communicate when you think someone else's ideas are just dumb.

I've managed to make connections with people that have very different ideas by accepting that I have no right to judge their ideas -- it wasn't easy at first, but it made communication possible and now it's just second nature. To me, the question I'm interested in is why people believe what they believe -- and, ultimately, every single person is the absolute and final authority on what they believe.


And I spent the past few years definitely blaming those who deliberately spread the virus, because they did it for political reasons. The sane Earthlings were screaming that we had to contain this deadly virus, but the President of the United States of America thought it might interfere with his re-election, so he said it wasn't real, and his supporters have been deliberately spreading death and disease ever since, so a part of me has no sympathy or empathy for that group.

I totally understand that -- and I certainly thought exactly the same way not all that long ago -- but now I'm taking a different path because I think that the antidote to those that would divide us for their own gain starts with bringing people together for the good of everyone. But maybe that's just one of my own crazy ideas...


But I'll think about this virus analogy. With a real virus, of course, you either die or get better. Or maybe these silly Earthlings are suffering from Long Term Disinformation?

Well, if you talked to Danraft as much as I have you'd know it's a lot more complicated than that. A large part of our DNA comes via horizontal gene transfer from viruses. Too. also, our genetic evolution is sometimes driven by successful viral information -- the knowledge of how to grow crops and raise animal for milk, for instance, led to genes for lactose tolerance and that help us digest grains better. Once a group evolves an immunity to a virus, that virus becomes symbiotic with that community -- anyone outside the group that comes into contact with it will have no resistance to it.

Just some more thoughts to bounce around your brainbone...

[Foggy]

Just some more thoughts to bounce around your brainbone...

Cool. I really do appreciate it.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

I have two close family members with whom I have consciously maintained respectful communications. It is a learned art. One expressed ideas through emotion, overheard Fox disinformation, and was basically ignorant about current events. That was the easier one to "bring back to reality". This individual loves me dearly and I her so she knew I was communicating about this out of real love. She challenged me on ideas too because she has a scientific education. This helped me as well.

The other family member suffers from severe anxiety. His medication helps, but he is very exacting about his life (to decrease the anxiety). I determined I would keep open and friendly communications with him. We rarely discuss politics, but we discuss travel, airplanes, RVs, art and other things I can learn from him. It has built his trust in me because I don't challenge him. We rarely have discussions about topics in which I would challenge him. If it comes up, I usually ask him to explain what he meant. He can tell I am sincere. Mostly, I just accept his answer and move on to another topic.

The Southern Women on the Fogbow will recognize this last technique because it was what our Southern mothers taught us about making conversation with men.

[RVInit]

[Foggy]

Yeah, I suspect Fox News and its elk are responsible for exacerbating the condition of tons of Earthlings who suffer from extreme anxiety and other similar issues. It has become a public health threat, IMHO.

[Suranis]

I've referenced this from time to time, but its a blog on how Fox News works from an insider. You really, really should read the whole thing, but I'll copy this part.

And what about those designated liberals aka “libtards” on my shows?

I can tell you (with very few exceptions) that a big part of the Fox News “fair and balanced” scam was also built from this reality: articulate, principled, worldly liberals — especially women — don’t exist in Roger’s Fox News world.

The designated liberals job was simple: make the viewer so enraged from their recitation of hated liberal/progressive ideological heresy (theology that the Fox viewer, of course, had been taught to hate from decades of listening to thousands of hours of conservative talk radio) that the viewer literally felt like “throwing a brick through my TV screen.”

Key Point: the viewer’s rage set their brain’s pleasure-giving dopamine delivery system into high gear...and when their fellow conservative protagonist/tribal hero (aka me the hitman) turned the liberal’s own words against them and vanquished the sniveling apostate into living hell on live TV…WOW…the pleasure chemical rushed through the Fox viewer's brain like a deep hit of crack cocaine (btw its the dopamine system in the brain that cocaine stimulates and makes it so addictive).

The other reality of Fox opinion programming is even more diabolical than simply fooling old people into believing they are watching a “fair fight”:
The goal at Fox News is explicit: Produce outrage inducing partisan performance art insufficient emotional intensity to produce enough pleasure/dopamine to get their dopamine addicted viewer the high the need until the NEXT Fox News opinion program.

Neuroscience has known for years that “news junkies” or “political junkies” were in fact addicts…junkies…who got their addictive dopamine hit from the emotional roller coaster of unbridled outrage followed by the dopamine-releasing experience derived from the thrill of watching the victory/denouement of the ideological apostate.

In short: there is a NO better feeling in life than when a person’s existing beliefs are attacked and then a smart-sounding expert PROVES you right all along. Fox News turns this process of ideological attack and ultimate victory of the righteous into partisan performance art of steroids.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Tobin KNEW this and still participated. I am NOT buying his book cuz I don't want to reward his bad behavior.

[Slarti the White]

Tobin KNEW this and still participated. I am NOT buying his book cuz I don't want to reward his bad behavior.

Fair enough -- as with Bill Barr, I believe in acknowledging current good behavior without ignoring past bad behavior. Personally, I think its important to allow people to demonstrate that they have changed -- i.e. to make amends for their past actions -- by taking responsibility and showing that they understand what they did wrong and are committed to avoiding similar mistakes in the future. Otherwise, history becomes destiny and change is unpossible.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

I agree in acknowledging change but not rewarding it. It seems strategic with political types and evangelists. I will do this now and write a confession or cry on TV then I'll be accepted and the grift continues.

[Frater I*I]

I agree in acknowledging change but not rewarding it. It seems strategic with political types and evangelists. I will do this now and write a confession or cry on TV then I'll be accepted and the grift continues.

I HAVE SSSSIINNNNNEEDDD AGAINST YOOUUUUUU [sob sob sob]!!!!!







Now pass the collection plate around......for the third time....

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

x1000.