Serial Experiments Underground

I started this blog with the intention of having a platform, for me, that likely not many others would see, to express my thoughts. A kind of journal, I guess. But what instead happened was a slow rot of perfectionism deterring me from saying anything.

With the current era of the internet that we're in, the last thing I want to do is be the guy who spreads misinformation, or accidentally goes viral in the worst way possible and starts some kind of drama war. I'm just me, I'm just here, I just want to talk about stuff, but I don't want to be some kind of authority or “influencer,” I just want to.. you know, shout into the void, and maybe one or two people overhear? That's what a blog is for, right?

I got into a brain loop where I wanted to do these big “essays” and have some kind of journalistic integrity, citing every source. But, the honest truth is that I'm not a journalist. I enjoy learning things, I have all kinds of notes and things I've written that will likely never see the light of day. Sometimes I'd have an idea, and a narrative, only to realize during research that the reality is much more complicated.

I'm not that guy, maybe once in a blue moon. I just want to talk about stuff, express an opinion, shower thoughts, verbalize the chatter in my head, anything. I'll cite a source if it's relevant for conversation, but I won't go out of my way to cite a source to reinforce something I'm saying, not unless I tag a post as “essay.” That feels awful to say, but I don't think the internet was ever about truth or debate, it was about honesty. As we used to say: “you can't trust everything you hear on the internet,” words we used to live by. If I'm wrong or saying something untrue, the least I can tell you is that I did it honestly. I'm not an authority on anything, the only thing I offer here is my curiosity and passion.

I hope this can be a turning point. I made this blog for a reason, to fill a void. I want to fill that void. I have all kinds of things I'd like to talk about and express.

#blog #misinformation

There's a new way to lie that doesn't yet have a name. To lie this way, you intentionally refuse to inform yourself about a subject, so you can spread misinformation more easily. Similar to a lie by omission, the liar doesn't technically lie, it's an expression of one's perception of the truth. But it remains a lie because it's a manipulation technique meant to mislead and confuse the person being lied to.

The lie doesn't come from lying about facts specifically. When pressed, the liar will say: “Well I don't know for sure, nobody knows!” and repeat their “intuition.” The manipulation comes from a misplaced trust in the liar's intuition. It's a lie because the liar is not appropriately representing how they might actually feel about a subject, especially uncertainty. This is weaponized ignorance and an abuse of trust another might have in the listener's instinct.

I will call this a lie by intuition.

For example, you probably have a crazy uncle who gives his ridiculous political takes at the dinner table. That's one thing, but on the internet, “based” takes tend to go viral, and once this happens a network of cheerleaders and enablers who seek to give it validity will emerge. Not only that, but pundits can intentionally weaponize giving first impressions on any sort of event, or government statement and report it as news, without any deeper research or context. On social media, there's very little accountability for spreading misinformation, so anything goes.

I'm currently reading about Russian disinformation and how it works. It will be my next essay, after I finish writing about how AI has influenced society, which is about halfway done. While I'm not versed enough to go into detail about Russian disinformation yet, a common theme seems to be this particular kind of lie.

Entertainment is a large part of Russian disinformation, and on social media, if you trust a particular influencer, you might be more willing to trust their intuition on a subject. This is something people should pay attention to online, not just as a matter of Russian disinformation, but political influencers in general.

Don't let “vibes” cloud your perspective on reality.

Edit:

Reflecting on it a little more, maybe lie by ignorance is a better term. The comparison to a lie by omission is very accurate, but the omission of information works in the other direction. The liar refuses to inform oneself so they can give an honest (but inaccurate and slanted) opinion about a subject, even if they could research and have a more accurate opinion. We live in the information age after all. This is a common lie that I'm seeing among pundits, especially on social media, where personality is king.

#blog #misinformation