Ok, I just read about the Murray Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect and it just blew me away.
I stumbled on this phenomenon from a birthday post by Ryan Holiday.
He says:
-It’s not just that the media exaggerates and sensationalize. It’s actually worse: Most of the time they don’t even know what they’re talking about. Check out the Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect and take a minute to really look at some reporting about an area you’re an actual expert or insider to. Notice how bad it is? These outlets don’t have magically higher standards when it comes to Donald Trump or sports or breaking news. In fact, the coverage is probably worse because the events are more opaque and the rush to be first is higher. So seriously, the less you watch the better. Are there good reporters out there? Of course. But let that filter up to you — don’t mainline disinformation for the occasional hit of truth
I immediately knew this idea to be true.
I mean, do you know how many times I have read something in the news about economics and wondered if the writer had ever even sat in an economics class.
But this does not just stop with ignorance and bad reporting, it goes a step further in how we react.
We are dismissive to reported knowledge in our own area of expertise – but we turn the page and assume that reporting on politics, physics, crime, legal procedure, and psychology does not fall prey to this same ignorance.
Knowing how little the press understands about X should make us question every single thing that they print.
Let’s not have amnesia about it, ok?
And always remember what Malcolm Muggeridge offered.
I mean, the news is not so special, after all.
