Kurt Andersen – Fantasyland
“Skepticism, after all, is an antonym for credulity. But when both are robust and overheated, they can fuse into conspiracy-mindedness.”
Kurt Andersen – Fantasyland
“… mix epic individualism with extreme religion; mix show business with everything else; let all that steep and simmer for a few centuries; run it through the anything-goes 1960s and the Internet age; the result is the America we inhabit today, where reality and fantasy are weirdly and dangerously blurred and commingled.”
Calling Bullshit – Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West
Calling Bullshit delves into the science of, well, bullshit. We are surrounded by bullshit these days. This book does well to define bullshit, review the history of bullshit, explore different types of bullshit, and educate its readers about how to spot, manage, and tastefully call-out bullshit. Carl T. Bergstrom & Jevin D. West – Calling Bullshit “The rise of misinformation and disinformation keeps us up at night. No law or fancy new AI is going to solve the problem. We all have to be a little more vigilant, a little more thoughtful, a little more careful when sharing information—and every once in a while, we need to call bullshit when we see it.” Carl T. Bergstrom & Jevin D. West – Calling Bullshit “New-school bullshit can be particularly effective because many of us don’t feel qualified to challenge information that is presented in quantitative form. That is exactly what new-school bullshitters are counting on. To fight back, one must learn when and how to question such statements.” Carl T. Bergstrom & Jevin D. West – Calling Bullshit “Rather, the really big cover-ups take place out in the open, as climate denial does. The smoking gun is there for everyone to …
Lee McIntyre – Post-Truth
“How ironic that the Internet, which allows for immediate access to reliable information by anyone who bothers to look for it, has for some become nothing but an echo chamber. And how dangerous. With no form of editorial control over what is now sometimes presented as “news,” how can we know when we are being manipulated?”
Lee McIntyre – Post-Truth
“Why search for scientific disagreement when it can be manufactured? Why bother with peer review when one’s opinions can be spread by intimidating the media or through public relations? And why wait for government officials to come to the “right” conclusion when you can influence them with industry money?”
Sigmund Freud – Letter to Fiancée 1884
“So I gave my lecture yesterday. Despite lack of preparation, I spoke quite well and without hesitation, which I ascribe to the cocaine I had taken beforehand. I told about my discoveries in brain anatomy, all very difficult things that the audience certainly didn’t understand, but all that matters is that they get the impression that I understand it.”
Dale Maharidge
“Old-school journalism was a trade, and legacy journalists find today’s brand of personality journalism, with its emphasis on churning out blog posts, aggregating the labor of others, and curating a constant social-media presence, to be simply foreign. And the higher-ups share the new bias. One editor of a major national publication, who himself is well over 40, confided to me that he’s reluctant to hire older journalists, that “they’re stuck in the mentality of doing one story a week” and not willing to use social media.”
R.R. Reno – Trumpageddon
“It’s not just Fox. MSNBC and other networks have developed their own political shout shows — verbal versions of World Wide Wrestling matches. Talking heads bluster, interrupt, and otherwise disport themselves in rude ways. Viewers rejoice in the spectacle. Advertising is sold. Money is made.”
So I Married an Axe Murderer
Charlie : “Mom, I find it interesting that you refer to the Weekly World News as “The Paper.” The paper contains facts.”May: “This paper contains facts. And this paper has the eighth highest circulation in the whole wide world. Right? Plenty of facts. “Pregnant man gives birth.” That’s a fact.”
A.O. Scott
“On the Internet, everyone is a critic — a Yelp-fueled takedown artist, an Amazon scholar, a cheerleader empowered by social media to Like and to Share. The inflated, always suspect authority of ink-stained wretches like me has been leveled by digital anarchy. Who needs a cranky nag when you have a friendly algorithm telling you, based on your previous purchases, that there is something You May Also Like, and legions of Facebook friends affirming the wisdom of your choice?”