We've created a system where the consequences of ocean acidification are put on a plane with the predictions of Nostradamus, and the threat of global warming is given less consideration than fictional interpretations of Mesoamerican legends.
This is the way the world ends
Democracy depends on a citizenry making informed choices, and the wealth of information burying people is actually reducing the information value of our choices.
My take on it is that human culture is really good at absorbing new information, but really bad at purging old information. This is why ancient, discredited nonsense like astrology still exists. In fact, it's hard to find any idea from history, no matter how absurd, that doesn't have its own website now.
We need a way to disprove, and hence dismiss, bad ideas. And given how fast ideas come at us these days, we need it more than ever.
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