the phenomenon flourishes in free societies as well. It is a human trait easily exploited by politicians, charlatans, and the media... We are extremely good at believing what we want and need to believe, even in the face of counter-evidence (Gee, p. 1).Gee says we live in an era of anti-education, where he thinks schools and colleges don't "prepare people to participate in a true democracy where their votes are based on considered arguments backed by evidence," and assuming you are given the chance to vote.
In preparation for the exam question on this topic, ask yourself how you come to know what you know about the world around you. Are you easily exploited by politicians, celebrities, and the media? "Disrespecting the world - by disrespecting facts, for example - is what leads to stupidity." Here are two examples that explain this point further. One is a 4-min podcast; the other is a 5-min video. They both describe what happens when the media presents "the facts" as a debate.
- "On the Anti-Vax Non-Troversy" , Feb. 6, 2015 by Bob Garfield (podcast), On The Media
- Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on Climate Change, May 11, 2014 (video, explicit).
After you listen to and watch the media, you can comment below with your thoughts on the issue.
This two media pointed out what are the actual and potential relationships between media and learning? Based on my personal experience, human trait does easily be exploited by the media.
ReplyDeleteFor example, we use the facebook, twitter, and instagram to share experience with friends. However, some of the popular movie stars, singers, or even other normal people who are famous in specific areas will post their comments or personal thinking in those media. As more and more people viewed those tweets, both the right and wrong message will deliver to us.
Those social media are just a platform for the wrong message to be delivered. Network products will become more valuable when more people use them. The same idea as “the facts” delivered by media. More people are affected by “the facts”, as more people view the message delivered by the media. Then other people may start to believe “the facts” because they may think that’s what most people believe.
Agree with your point, but gathering "facts" is not really to say that everything has facts attached to them, but of gathering "evidence", by digging deeper than just reading Reddit, Facebook, and the latest viral video or snapchat or twitter. Nothing wrong with social media, as there is good news there, too. But it is about digesting it, not scanning it. Same with the news, talk shows, etc.
DeleteIn the past, people say that we should believe what we saw, not what we hear. In nowadays, the Internet is the largest information channel to all over the world. People get new information everyday; they are reading, watching, and hearing any kind of “news”. It is difficult to distinguish which information is true. Even they see the picture or the video; it may be faked. However, the reasons why people insist these “facts” are facts because others also believe in it. It is like a herd behavior. One sheep jumps into the precipice, others just follow the same action. While browsing the Internet, people should think about the information they get before believe in it. But, the most difficult part is how do you distinguish the news. I think these are based on the ability of thinking. The desire that a person want to dig deeper.
DeleteHomeland Security wil not be funded by midnight on Friday because it is tied to President Obama's executive actions giving legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants. Those who work for Homeland Security are considered "essential personnel" so have to work even without getting paid. This is not the first time. If you have been following this over the past few months, this is another good example of stupidity. After all, security includes patrolling the border.
ReplyDelete