Category Archives: News
Fair v Objective
I think our society has taken being “fair” to an extreme. We have confused the freedoms we have to be an excuse to be able to have a stupid opinion and for that wrong opinion to be worth as much as a correct valid opinion supported by facts.
The is most evident in being “fair” in media reports. The media is so concerned with being labeled biased, that they give equal time and weight to stupid opposing arguments. This is best summed up by the popular quote from Paul Krugman:
The media are desperately afraid of being accused of bias. And that’s partly because there’s a whole machine out there, an organized attempt to accuse them of bias whenever they say anything that the Right doesn’t like. So rather than really try to report things objectively, they settle for being even-handed, which is not the same thing. One of my lines in a column—in which a number of people thought I was insulting them personally—was that if Bush said the Earth was flat, the mainstream media would have stories with the headline: ‘Shape of Earth—Views Differ.’ Then they’d quote some Democrats saying that it was round.
This is the key difference in being objective. Being objective means not letting personal biases change your reporting or opinion of something. If something is obviously true, you shouldn’t say it could be false just because that fits your world view or would benefit you in some way.
Stop being fair. Be objective.
Distribution of Wealth
One of my least favorite arguments is that “we have to give tax cuts to the rich, because they are the job creators and so they will employ more workers and thus stimulate the economy.” I believe the exact opposite is true. If the middle and lower classes don’t purchase the upper class’s goods the economy sputters to a stop. The employers won’t hire more workers while sales are slumped. Giving them tax cuts simply gives them more money to save, not spend. You have to help the middle class spend money to spur the economy. When they start purchasing goods, the employers are encouraged to hire in order to continue growing.
In line with this thinking, from Daring Fireball:
Robert Reich in the NY Times:
Look back over the last hundred years and you’ll see the pattern. During periods when the very rich took home a much smaller proportion of total income — as in the Great Prosperity between 1947 and 1977 — the nation as a whole grew faster and median wages surged. We created a virtuous cycle in which an ever growing middle class had the ability to consume more goods and services, which created more and better jobs, thereby stoking demand. The rising tide did in fact lift all boats.
I.e., the evidence overwhelmingly shows that “trickle-down economics” has it exactly backwards. The infographic that accompanies Reich’s article is just terrific.
See the infographic after the jump. Read the rest of this entry
Political science: why rejecting expertise has become a campaign strategy
For many in the US, expertise has taken on a negative cultural value; experts are part of an elite that thinks it knows better than the average citizen. (This is accurate, for what it’s worth.) Very few object to that sort of expertise when it comes time to, say, put the space shuttle into orbit, but expertise can become a problem when the experts have reached a consensus that runs against cultural values.
And, for many in our society, scientific expertise has done just that. Abstinence-only sex education has been largely ineffective. Carbon emissions are creating a risk of climate change. Humanity originated via an evolutionary process. All of these findings have threatened various aspects of people’s cultural identity. By rejecting both the science and the expertise behind it, candidates can essentially send a signal that says, “I’m one of you, and I’m with you where it counts.”
Chad’s got a blog!
A friend from undergrad has started a blog. It is far more highbrow than the average blog I link to. He is posting some fascinating thoughts and theories on “innovations in political science, economics, public policy, philosophy, business, finance, art, development, or science broadly speaking” as he puts it.
Go check out Prospects: Exploring Possibilities.
Ladies, Time To Admit Your Crush On Me
I’m sure you haven’t escaped the media hype surrounding evangelical nutjob predictions that May 21 will be the end of the world and the second coming. I am pretty sure I will be “left behind” because my first thought when I heard this is “what a great theme party that would make!”
Think about it. Dress in either white or red depending on where you think you will go, or what mood you are in that night – naughty or nice. You could have themed foods and drinks like death by chocolate, devil’s food cake, and angel food cake. Decorate half the house like hell and half the house bask in bright lights and neutral tones. Basically a heaven and hell theme party.
At midnight have a countdown, new year’s eve style. You could even have kool-aid you could encourage people to drink.
Also, since it is the end of the world, if you have anything you want to tell me, you better let me know.
PROTECT IP Act
The new version of COICA was unveiled today. This is a big overhaul of IP protections in the United States. A lot of analysis will come out in the next few days, but if you want to see the bill yourself you can read the announcement and summary here. If you want to read the actual text of the bill you can also see that here.
Some of the key protections:
The PROTECT IP Act will provide law enforcement with important tools to stop websites dedicated to online piracy and the sale of counterfeit goods, which range from new movie and music releases, to pharmaceuticals and consumer products. Key updates to the PROTECT IP Act include:
- A narrower definition of an Internet site “dedicated to infringing activities”;
- Authorization for the Attorney General to serve an issued court order on a search engine, in addition to payment processors, advertising networks and Internet service providers;
- Authorization for both the Attorney General and rights holders to bring actions against online infringers operating an internet site or domain where the site is “dedicated to infringing activities,” but with remedies limited to eliminating the financial viability of the site, not blocking access;
- Requirement of plaintiffs to attempt to bring an action against the owner or registrant of the domain name used to access an Internet site “dedicated to infringing activities” before bringing an action against the domain name itself;
- Protection for domain name registries, registrars, search engines, payment processors, and advertising networks from damages resulting from their voluntary action against an Internet site “dedicated to infringing activities,” where that site also “endangers the public health,” by offering controlled or non-controlled prescription medication.
You Think We’re Stupid?
I wish the President had this much backbone in public.
On Thursday, a live mic recorded the president talking to Democratic friends about the budget negotiations in what was supposed to be an off-the-record exchange. Railing on the Republicans for trying to sneak in attacks on health care reform and other priorities as part of the budget process, Obama said he told the GOP, “You want to repeal health care? Go at it. We’ll have that debate. But you’re not going to be able to do that by nickel-and-diming me in the budget. You think we’re stupid?’”
Just last week I was listening to each side arguing about the each side’s plan for the budget and deficit reduction. In my mind, after I heard Obama’s speech regarding his, I thought “Okay, thats great. Now just give up all those things and cave in to the Republican demands, like you always do, so we can move on a little quicker this time.” Hopefully, this is indicative of a stronger Democratic stand on key issues.
Distressing News About News
I am a bona fide news junkie. I have an RSS reader setup where I have well over 200 news sources I read scan daily. I can’t exactly describe why I do this. Part of me totally buys into the whole knowledge is power thing. Part of me likes being helpful to others and I think this is my easiest path to that. Either way, I read a lot of breaking news and in depth pieces.
However, I ran across this essay today (I call it an essay because I don’t think there is any hard science or medical research) that basically said keeping up to date with news is killing me. The author is Rolf Dobelli and you can read it here. (PDF)
His thesis is that today we have allowed ourselves to overdose on news. Much like obesity, we have too much information, and much of it not helpful or healthy to consume.
Today, we have reached the same point in relation to information overload that we faced 20 years ago in regard to food intake. We are beginning to recognize how toxic news can be and we are learning to take the first steps toward an information diet.This is my attempt to clarify the toxic dangers of news – and to recommend some ways to deal with it. I have now gone without news for a year, so I can see, feel and report the effects of this freedom first hand: less disruption, more time, less anxiety, deeper thinking, more insights. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.
He has 15 points, I will just give you the titles of each section, you can read his explanations yourself.
- News misleads us systematically
- News is irrelevant
- News limits understanding
- News is toxic to your body
- News massively increases cognitive errors
- News inhibits thinking
- News changes the structure of your brain
- News is costly
- News sunders the relationship between reputation and achievement
- News is produced by journalists
- Reported facts are sometimes wrong, forecasts always
- News is manipulative
- News makes us passive
- News gives us the illusion of caring
- News kills creativity
He recommends long form journalism when you have to catch up on current events. Do you consume a lot of news? Do you think it’s unhealthy? I believe if you curate the sources of news you choose to consume, many of the above problems disappear.
