Pundits call this age we are in “The Information Age,” I argue that and have argued that since it first started to appear ten years ago. We are not in the information age yet. There are too many issues that prohibit information.
1. There is no global and universal intellectual capital protection. China is notorious for copying technology.
2. There is no universal information validation.
3. There is way too much information stored on hard drives of users that have never seen the light of day!
Twenty years ago, we were closer to a true information age on the internet than we are today. That was before the decline of peer-reviewed journals. The value of an SME driven (SME = subject matter expert. That is not a self-appointed title, and it comes from experience or college education. Experts reviewed articles before publication. That meant that if you saw it in one of the peers reviewed journals at least 3 or 4 people verified the information before placing it. Yesterday I talked about the fact the 5g is coming to speed up networks. I got some great comments, but one of the interesting themes was that of information overload. I suspect the reality isn’t overload.
I suspect the reality is the nature of information in this the pre-information age. Why are we in the pre-information age? First, because we are transitioning. There are people who grew without information at their fingertips and people that grew up with information at their fingertips. Just because someone says it on the internet, however, doesn’t mean its true (my twins and I often argue the quality of a source). Do invalid sources sometimes have the correct information, yes! But do they often have misinformation or disinformation, yes! My father always taught me to consider the source. If a source of information doesn’t prove reliable or consistent over time, get a new source.
Always follow my grandfather’s rule, “trust but verify.” The information has value. But, in this pre-information age, the quality of the data, is critical. The reason we aren’t in a true information age is you can’t search the internet and get known good information. The search will return sites that are popular or sites that have paid the search engine to be listed. Just that alone pushes the information age a bit further out.
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Question of
Do you ever feel like there is too much bad information out there?
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Yes
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No
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Question of
Do you read something, think about it, and check the credentials of the person that wrote it?
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Yes
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No
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Question of
Do you trust but verify?
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Yes
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No
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Question of
Have you ever felt like turning off your computer, phone and other connected devices?
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Yes
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No
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Actually, I don’t trust (ever) and then I verify. Trusting first is too big of a leap for me.
my kids get frustrated with me because I make them give me a source. “I read it on the internet” isn’t a valid source.
They glare at me (normal state anyway).
My funniest statement on the internet ever was in a HTML2 era chatroom with people in Britain. It involved how to stop your dog from killing your chickens. I told them you tie the chicken they killed around the dog’s neck and leave it there for a week. They asked if this really worked or was I joking. I said, “Sure it works. I know it’s true because I saw it in a movie.”
OMG
wicked sense of humor on that one!
like it!
I read a lot of information, but sometimes I really wonder how much is real on the internet, my friend
sadly it seems now, most of the information on the internet is not real.
I think so, but I read them anyway, my friend
it is a balancing act anyway right?
Exactly, my friend..
Thank you for the posting on the information/pre-information age. I don’t find it necessary to unplug because I don’t use that much technology.
thanks Linda, I worry about the information that is shared, often!
Yes, it can have a snowball effect…one person posts it, then another reads and posts…suppose it’s not true?
sadly I am afraid it is often not true.
can you imagine what the internet would be like if everything had to be verified by an independent source before it was posted?
please, sir, make it happen, sir!
I can, it is called valid information sources. I wrote a book about this 8 years ago. The concept of information merchant and information brokers comes from the book. If you need validated information, you got to a broker or merchant.
🙂
you saw my concept, and raised…
Based on interactions here on Virily, as well as interactions on Niume and other sites, I find there are many people who share factfree opinions as though they are fact.
Makes me sad!
it is a real tragedy. flat earthers are just plain stupid, but climate change deniers and anti-vaxers are actively dangerous
I suspect it is easier to deny than to accept.
There are a number of groups that push both Anti-vax and Anti-climate change agendas.
seems like everyone has a stupid agenda these days
Oh to live in interesting times.
“Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.”
we watch the sunrise and hope that it won’t be our last
if today be my last day
if today I draw my last breath
let it be said
he tried.
what more can be asked of us?
There is a wealth of information online. The big question is how many are checked. I think we need to be very careful with this information and not trust everyone.
you are so right!!!! I worry that people look at a valid news source, and a blogger typing away as being the same now.
There is a lot of people trying to sell snake oil to solve all your problems.
The internet does not always have information, but dis information.
What really gets me is the number of people telling you that your qualified Doctor is wrong when their herbal product is right and all medicines are evil
This is often wrong
I know that the world doesn’t always understand how things did work, that may in fact still work, versus how things we know work now.
The reality is that we have to make sure the right information is available for us to make the right decisions!
Yes, you are with. I consider what people say but in the end, make up my own mind..
It is a sad reality for all of us.
It is very clear to me, that the article you have posted here is long overdue. We are indeed a very long way away, from being able to call our technologically poor age, anything more than, flawed at this point, anyhow. a Great and insightful post. Thank you, Doc.
thank you! I am deeply touched by your words. I truly wish we were closer so that all the pundits could smile and say see I told you.
but, they can’t yet!
I have to verify a subject on multiple sources before accepting it. Although there are subjects which will always be conflicting. Such subjects are hard to verify e.g. is the earth millions, billions or hundreds of years? And there is no scientific consensus how long is the earth?
I agree we are far from the information age.
verifying sources can be painful. There are many people that i trust here on Virily. But I do still sometimes check what they are saying!
I posted facts about the human body but one one fact was disputed by a member. That was last year. It’s good to verify.
It is always good to verify, unless it is a personal post then I let it go!
Yes I always try to verify what I read. And I do unplug sometimes.
unplugging can make all the difference!!!
It is often required actually to keep my sanity!
I try to do it at least once a week – normally it is Sundays for me, i haven’t been lately and I need to get back!
We have a lot of good information online – check the scholarly articles and then there are those things that people write off the cuff without bothering to check if the information they provide is factual. I take everything with a pinch of salt and an overdose of reading related articles.
I think you hit the reality that I was covering. There are good sources, bad sources and crazy information.
I trust after I verify
do you have a system you use to verify information?
Since I am a person of few needs I have just enough gadgets to satisfy me.
it isn’t about gadgets, it is about information.
I agree with the first line that says about China being a copycat.
it is an unfortunate reality right now.