Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Where Do You Get Your Information?


It starts with your family. They teach you how to speak and eat and zip up your pants.
 Then there is school where a strange man or woman stands in front of a group of kids spouting information and testing you to see if you were listening.
A mosque, temple, synagogue, church also presents information (true or false) but it is all part of the learning process.
The library is one of the best sources for information. Categorized and arranged in easy access to quietly ponder and absorb or even take home.
The local “News” or “Dispatch” newspaper gives current (well maybe a day or two later) sport scores, wedding announcements, obituaries, business openings and closings and some topical opinion view of the publisher.
Radio and television give a constant barrage of traffic and weather reports, sports live on the air and breaking news live of speeches and disasters.
Now the Internet can stream whatever you wish to your ear pods or screen 24/7 and anyone anywhere can post their opinions, comments, videos, etc. to the unsuspecting mind of the viewer and listener.
Books are out of date by the time the ink dries. Still they are a good resource of other’s opinions and findings and there are a million varieties from scientific logic to cookbooks. Media can have bias presenting ‘news’ with a wink and a nod or a phrase to slant what should be journalist reporting of facts to an editorial piece. The Internet is filled with some interesting information but also full of nonsense, titillation, frivolous and shocking pix and comments to draw in the participant (advertising 101) and fact-finding is a waste of time.
In the end, the bank of knowledge you have devoured during the time when you could still read has formed your beliefs and bias.

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