GAC06 said:

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In the age where we have access to more information than ever before, people are increasingly ignorant. People just go down a rabbit hole of crap curated for them by some algorithm and have no clue they are way off in crazy land by themselves.

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The only way to combat the information is to throw so much misdirection in the sea of information that's it's mostly useless to the masses. If you can't tell fact from fiction, the information is worthless. I really miss the early Internet.

GAC06 said:

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In the age where we have access to more information than ever before, people are increasingly ignorant. People just go down a rabbit hole of crap curated for them by some algorithm and have no clue they are way off in crazy land by themselves.

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The problem is that we also have access to even more misinformation than ever before. Previously, information came mostly from at least somewhat vetted sources, like (more reliable) news outlets, encyclopedias, books, magazines, journals, etc. There was a certain level of gatekeeping that kept fringe and outlandish ideas like flat eartherism at bay. The signal to noise ratio was very high, and facts and truth were more easily discernible.

Now, any idiot can create a substack or blog or Twitter account and post whatever they want, and there are LOTS of idiots out there. Additionally, there are plenty of bad actors setting to create disinformation as well. A lot of it is even made and packaged to be more easily consumed. The signal to noise ratio has dropped significantly, and it doesn't help that people get curated recommendations of noise to drive views and engagement. Not only is there simply s higher level of more easily consumable noise out there, it is amplified for most people.

ABATTBQ11 said:

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GAC06 said:

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In the age where we have access to more information than ever before, people are increasingly ignorant. People just go down a rabbit hole of crap curated for them by some algorithm and have no clue they are way off in crazy land by themselves.

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The problem is that we also have access to even more misinformation than ever before. Previously, information came mostly from at least somewhat vetted sources, like (more reliable) news outlets, encyclopedias, books, magazines, journals, etc. There was a certain level of gatekeeping that kept fringe and outlandish ideas like flat eartherism at bay. The signal to noise ratio was very high, and facts and truth were more easily discernible.

Now, any idiot can create a substack or blog or Twitter account and post whatever they want, and there are LOTS of idiots out there. Additionally, there are plenty of bad actors setting to create disinformation as well. A lot of it is even made and packaged to be more easily consumed. The signal to noise ratio has dropped significantly, and it doesn't help that people get curated recommendations of noise to drive views and engagement. Not only is there simply s higher level of more easily consumable noise out there, it is amplified for most people.

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Absolutely spot on. And even though in general I'm in favor of competition and of having as many options as possible, this fragmenting of info sources also means that now people can and will consume only from sources that will tell them what they already want to hear, whether that's politics or science or entertainment or whatever.

As looney bait goes, this thread sure reeled them in...

Yeah competition only works if there's a consequence for poor performance. Slower than the rest of the herd? You get eaten, the herd gets faster. Sell an inferior product? You go out of business or have to get better.

In the information space as it is, poor performance in the form of disseminating misinformation is actually rewarded in many cases because it's what people want to hear. Factual accuracy grounded in reality is often less important than ideological agreement or reinforcement.

Mongolian Christmas said:

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I'm not saying I believe it was fake. But you know, many here believed the feds and the media about Covid vaccines being safe, free and effective. I supported the Iraq war based on WMDs. I also bought the Gulf of Tonkin incident. Maybe there's nothing wrong with approaching things with a healthy dose of skepticism. I wouldn't put anything past these criminals.

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The problem with this statement is that the Covid misinformation took 2-3 years to fully come to light. It happened starting in 2019 and we know by 2024 what a manufactured narrative it was. Many of us also suspected at the time because the ones in power weren't asking the right questions and were speaking in absolute statements using an appeal to authority rather than working the scientific method.

Contrast that to the moon landing. It happened in 1969. 55 years ago. If it hasn't been conclusively debunked in 55 years - it hasn't - and the only "skeptics" are people in 2024 who are seeking a platform, I can easily come to the logical solution that they're full of it.

Civilization seems to be self limiting.

aTmAg said:

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Moon landing hoaxers are no different than 9/11 hoaxers. They should be mocked, degraded, and their voting privileges revoked.

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....and subject to a physical beating.

Buzz Aldrin treatment for all of them!

Waffledynamics said:

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Imagine believing the moon is real. /s

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In case you want a pic to capture that. Always loved this one.

You weirdos in here are going to start trying to make me believe birds are real, huh.

CSTXAg92 said:

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3) The lunar lander pad surfaces are all shiny. Why was there no dust on those surfaces kicked up from the lander's thrusters?

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Orbital sander.


Duh ….

MAROON said:

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aTmAg said:

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Moon landing hoaxers are no different than 9/11 hoaxers. They should be mocked, degraded, and their voting privileges revoked.

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....and subject to a physical beating.

Buzz Aldrin treatment for all of them!

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The guy Joe had on his podcast the other day is apparently that guy Buzz Aldrin punched.

CSTXAg92 said:

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I think most Americans take the moon landing at face value. That is, you were taught that we landed on the moon, therefore, it must have been true.

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Imagine my shock when I opened this thread. My schooling never went beyond 19th century history.

TexAgs91 said:

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This world is f'd up. Have the Dark Ages begun again?

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In a way, it has. We have access to so much information and now dis-information that actual knowledge is being lost and distorted.

I've seen topics on hobby forums where the factual content has definitely lessened over the last 15 years. I attribute that to more, less educated people that don't have a firm understanding of how to construct logical arguments, use the scientific method, and otherwise just a lower level of intelligence and education.

I think we see the same problems on all sorts of topics now on social media since everyone can have a voice heard by many people. And usually people then form into echo chamber groups and ignore facts and reality when doing so - only believing what they want to believe because they can't imagine anything else given their own ignorance and stupidity.

Americans are indeed become less intelligent. There's a hundred reasons why...excuses really...but it's obvious that people are losing knowledge and replacing it with some sort of mystic list of things we use to know but no longer know.

If NASA faked them, then why didn't they fake the Apollo 13 mission? Hmmmm?

javajaws said:

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TexAgs91 said:

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This world is f'd up. Have the Dark Ages begun again?

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In a way, it has. We have access to so much information and now dis-information that actual knowledge is being lost and distorted.

I've seen topics on hobby forums where the factual content has definitely lessened over the last 15 years. I attribute that to more, less educated people that don't have a firm understanding of how to construct logical arguments, use the scientific method, and otherwise just a lower level of intelligence and education.

I think we see the same problems on all sorts of topics now on social media since everyone can have a voice heard by many people. And usually people then form into echo chamber groups and ignore facts and reality when doing so - only believing what they want to believe because they can't imagine anything else given their own ignorance and stupidity.

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Combine all that with the hard fact that true subject matter experts became experts by years of experience, hard work, and education. In order to be heard above the din of those who think Googling is a shortcut to SME status, real experts have to be louder and more confrontational. Most experts don't have the time or desire to screw around on social media with people who obviously aren't experts. (Neil Degrasse Tyson and Victor Davis Hanson being two notable exceptions.)