Are Internet discussion forums the answer?

[coberst]

Are Internet discussion forums the answer?

When asked about the origin of consciousness it appears to be conventional wisdom to respond, “Language did it”.

“I believe it is legitimate to take the phrase “I know” and deduce from it the presence of a nonverbal image of knowing centered on the self that precedes and motivates that verbal phrase…The idea that self and consciousness would emerge after language, and would be a direct construction of language, is not likely to be correct.”

Our sluggish ability to adapt quickly to changes in our environment severely endangers the longevity of the human species: it takes generations for new human science theories to migrate into mass common sense comprehension.

Internet discussion forums are the answer.

What is the question?

How can we dramatically enhance the speed of the social osmosis of new human science theories?

Quotes from The Feeling of What Happens by Antonio Damasio

[The Atheist]

Sorry, but I disagree.

In terms of promoting factuality, I think the internet is the worst thing we have. Given that science has no need of customers, while pseudoscience can only survive by replicating its marketing means, there is far more incentive to promote pseudoscience than science, hence people are far more likely to learn the wrong things.

I have only personal anecdotal data, but I'm confident that belief in the unbelievable has increased with the proliferation of the internet. No doubt in a few years' time, we will be able to compare things like vaccination rates pre- and during internet. I expect a large fall.

Would 9/11 and other conspiracies be as well promulgated were it not for internet?

[Jozanny]

I think it is problematic to blame the medium for the more questionable aspects of human behavior. Conspiracy theorists and new age methodists don't need the internet; it is just more convenient than newsletter circulations and the like.

[The Atheist]

I think it is problematic to blame the medium for the more questionable aspects of human behavior. Conspiracy theorists and new age methodists don't need the internet; it is just more convenient than newsletter circulations and the like.

I'm not blaming the medium, but I think it's a certainty that pseudoscience, the paranormal, "alternative" medicine and conspiracy theories are far more widely believed than used to be the case in say, 1980.

It's just a case of following the money, and if there's any in critical thinking, I've yet to see it. That convenience you mention has been hijacked by the liars and crooks, and I see no way of retrieving it from them.

[Jozanny]

I'm not blaming the medium, but I think it's a certainty that pseudoscience, the paranormal, "alternative" medicine and conspiracy theories are far more widely believed than used to be the case in say, 1980.

It's just a case of following the money, and if there's any in critical thinking, I've yet to see it. That convenience you mention has been hijacked by the liars and crooks, and I see no way of retrieving it from them.

Well, I've always had trouble with the *one bullet theory*:idea:, and the idiot who offered it to the Warren Commission happens to be my senator...

I've kind of forgotten what this topic wants to address, but I'd have a very hard time living anymore without online access. Search engines give me my world. There are intranet communities too; professionals do engage each other online. I think it is what one makes it.

I come to LN because it is my only positive social extension--that says something.

[The Atheist]

Well, I've always had trouble with the *one bullet theory*:idea:, and the idiot who offered it to the Warren Commission happens to be my senator...

:lol:


I've kind of forgotten what this topic wants to address, but I'd have a very hard time living anymore without online access. Search engines give me my world. There are intranet communities too; professionals do engage each other online. I think it is what one makes it.

I come to LN because it is my only positive social extension--that says something.

Oh, I'm not saying it's all bad, and I agree that LitNet is brilliant. After my own websites, it's my home on the net. I used to post at 4 forums and now only post or read this one.

I just think that overall, the sensible is far outweighed by the insane and the numbers tend to confirm that view. While excellent forum resources based on science and critical thinking exist, they are overwhelmed by the numbers and membership of unscientific and irrational ones.

[Nightshade]

I went to a talk by Tara Brabazon while I was at uni ans she was preaching that Blogs, forums, google and other web 2.0 technologies were the worst thing that had ever happened to us. Actually WHile I didnt agree with her I could see her pooints and alot of it was intresting. A bit too techno-determinist for me. Same with the medium is the "message theory".

[AuntShecky]

Our current technology, which includes cell phones, text messaging devices, "Twitter," and the Web, are merely tools to gather and/or broadcast information. Individuals can use those tools for any purpose, legitimate or otherwise, and as such the devices and the system itself are morally neutral.

Just as in any aspect technological evolution, there are attendant problems as well as benefits. For instance,in many ways the industrial revolution and the rise of transportation changed civilization for the better, but at the same time caused environmental issues such as deadly pollution and the imminent danger of global warming, as well as international disputes over energy.

The so-called "connectedness" that the computer age has brought to mankind is a misnomer. Though it is true that we have access to more information than ever before and that we can "communicate" with anyone on the planet whois similarly wired, real face-to-face interaction between human beings seems to have suffered. Even now, I myself am sitting in front of a computer screen rather than conversing with neighbors (whom I don't really know) across the parking lot.

Just this morning I saw on a cable news show (via technology again!) that the person who rampaged an exercise studio and killed and injured several women in Pittsburgh was a "loner," a man evidently suffering from emotional problems precisely because of his disconnection with other human beings. Yet a great portion of his life had been spent posting homemade videos of himself on the web, as well as blogging about his personal problems. Coincidentally, earlier in the week, a Bishop of the Catholic Church in Great Britain had issued a statement warning against too much reliance on social websites, such as Facebook, because they are a phony substitute for real human contact.

On the other hand, I'm grateful that I have Internet
access and this balky computer (such as it is) and especially this particular website, which provides an outlet for my ramblings.