If
you do any form of online shopping, products similar to what you ordered (or
simply even took a moment to look at) appear in your social media feeds or
other website searches. The same goes for certain information you search online
– those similar topics of interest will suddenly appear in other internet
platforms.
Often
referred as the filter bubble, it is based upon a website algorithm that takes
personalized searches and “selectively guesses” what information you’d like to
continue to see. This can come in handy for online shopping by saving time
searching for the products you prefer.
The
downside to the genius of algorithms is that it also feeds us information that we
have already developed an opinion about. This additional “information”
continues to confirm our points of view – misleading us into believing we are
more “knowledgeable”. But, perhaps worse yet, it can deceive us into believing
that we are more “right” about our perspectives than we actually are. So right,
in fact, that we scarcely listen to an opposing point of
view, claiming others as closed minded, lacking intelligence, or not considering
all the facts.
But,
of course, we – on the other hand - are certainly opened minded and have considered
all the facts ourselves. Afterall, the information confirming our perspectives
is endless.
And,
here I go – speaking of facts and online research, University Professor of Law,
Business and Economics at Villanova University, Brett Frishmann had this to say
about the subject in the scientificamerica.com online article, “Is Smart
Technology Making Us Dumb”:
“I
believe we may be making ourselves dumber when we outsource thinking and rely
on supposedly smart tech to micromanage our daily lives for the sake of cheap
convenience.
The
internet provides us with seemingly limitless data…that could in theory enhance
our intelligence and enable us to become more knowledgeable, to be more
skillful or to otherwise use actionable intelligence. Maybe we could improve
our decision-making, reflect on our beliefs, interrogate our own biases, and so
on.
But
do we? Who does? Who exactly is made smarter? And how? And with respect to
what? Do we find ourselves mindlessly
following scripts written or designed by others?”
Frishmann
admitted that there are two sides to the story, and in some ways, the internet
isn’t always making us dumber. And, for me, that’s the whole point. There are
two sides to every story, and each contain some form of what is right, correct
and true.
Author
Barbara Brown Taylor stated in her book, “An Altar in the World,” that knowing
what is right and true for oneself involves practice. “Wisdom is not gained by
‘knowing’ what is right. Wisdom is gained by ‘practicing’ what is right and
noticing what happens when that practice succeeds and when it fails.”
For
me, claiming to be 100% correct in any one perspective is equivalent to
swallowing the sun (to borrow an analogy from author Elizabeth Gilbert on a
different subject). Its action is impossible. So, I suppose I will practice
listening to the other side of the story. And I will continue to practice – until I can
swallow the sun.
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