One of most important books from last year was On Rumors: How Falsehoods Spread, Why We Believe Them, What Can Be Done by Cass Sunstien. I am not going to go into the politics in that book since politics is a different animal (older post here). Here's New Yorker review:
"Sunstein’s theory of the (Dis)Information Age is pointedly nonjudgmental. By his account, the problem is basically structural: certain tendencies of the human mind interact badly with certain features of modern technology, much as certain prescription drugs interact badly with alcohol. Young or old, bigoted or tolerant, liberal or conservative—everyone is equally implicated here, since everyone is predisposed to the same, or at least analogous, mental habits and has access to the same technological tools.
The acquisition of knowledge is, as Sunstein points out, a social process: it is shaped by language, by custom, and, since the Enlightenment, by certain widely accepted standards of evidence and rationality.
The most plausible explanation for this dark, post-Enlightenment turn is unavailable to Sunstein; so hard is he trying to be nonpartisan that he can’t see the nuts for the trees."
That's the sad truth about the political side of the rumors but other rumors we face in everyday life is easy to face. All it takes is time, persistence of truth, perseverance and nonchalance against all odds. That calmness, serenity and peace with oneself is very very crucial for rumors to fade and for truth to become self-evident. It is that simple. If we are calm, we the subject(s) of rumors become boring for others and niche for gossip is lost. When the niche is lost, the rumors fade way since it loses it dopamine reward characteristics. More over, people have their own worries and will move on to more "rewarding" rumors for instant gratification. Until that stage, we just have to sweat less and never get so worked up. It's simply not worth it. Life is too short to sweat on rumors.
Arthur Schopenhauer was right about truth:
"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. "
"Sunstein’s theory of the (Dis)Information Age is pointedly nonjudgmental. By his account, the problem is basically structural: certain tendencies of the human mind interact badly with certain features of modern technology, much as certain prescription drugs interact badly with alcohol. Young or old, bigoted or tolerant, liberal or conservative—everyone is equally implicated here, since everyone is predisposed to the same, or at least analogous, mental habits and has access to the same technological tools.
The acquisition of knowledge is, as Sunstein points out, a social process: it is shaped by language, by custom, and, since the Enlightenment, by certain widely accepted standards of evidence and rationality.
The most plausible explanation for this dark, post-Enlightenment turn is unavailable to Sunstein; so hard is he trying to be nonpartisan that he can’t see the nuts for the trees."
That's the sad truth about the political side of the rumors but other rumors we face in everyday life is easy to face. All it takes is time, persistence of truth, perseverance and nonchalance against all odds. That calmness, serenity and peace with oneself is very very crucial for rumors to fade and for truth to become self-evident. It is that simple. If we are calm, we the subject(s) of rumors become boring for others and niche for gossip is lost. When the niche is lost, the rumors fade way since it loses it dopamine reward characteristics. More over, people have their own worries and will move on to more "rewarding" rumors for instant gratification. Until that stage, we just have to sweat less and never get so worked up. It's simply not worth it. Life is too short to sweat on rumors.
Arthur Schopenhauer was right about truth:
"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. "
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