Member-only story
The Hardest Problem
Why information flows in society present the most difficult conundrum
Note: 95% of this article was written in the days prior to the events of 6th January 2021.
We live in a world of information. We live in a world in which technology permits information to flow around the globe in seconds. We live in a world in which cheap electrons mean the cost of creating and viewing information is nearly zero and thus anyone and everyone can create and consume.
In theory this should be a tremendous boon. In theory we should all be far better informed than ever before in human history. We should all have access to information that enables us to make better decisions than were formerly feasible.
In reality, as we all know, the opposite has happened.
Everywhere we look, civic norms are being dissolved by the corrosive acid of infantile lies and blatant misinformation. Millions now imagine the Earth to be flat, the NASA moon landings to have been fabricated, and vaccines to cause autism. Tens of millions believe gluten makes them fat and that genetically modified foods will turn people into zombies.
These mistaken beliefs are trivial, however, compared to the political consequences.
