http://www.openeducation.net/2009/03/15/in-the-midst-of-the-information-age-why-are-we-so-uninformed/ Free Education for All Fri, 13 May 2011 00:38:09 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 http://www.openeducation.net/2009/03/15/in-the-midst-of-the-information-age-why-are-we-so-uninformed/#comment-9387 Joe Sun, 14 Nov 2010 03:12:40 +0000 http://www.openeducation.net/?p=1671#comment-9387 Getting information of the internet isn't so much like taking a drink from a fire hydrant as it is like drinking from a sewer. What we are really being buried in is opinions, not information. Any truly useful information is lost in a morass of forums, advertisements and redirects. If the internet is ever going to be truly useful, there will have to be some kind of control to separate information from nonsense. Can we get a filter for our search engines that removes any result that is not vetted? I know from experience of nearly thirty years in the government that nothing causes as much trouble as people who think they know something, but have never bothered to verify their "facts". Getting information of the internet isn’t so much like taking a drink from a fire hydrant as it is like drinking from a sewer. What we are really being buried in is opinions, not information. Any truly useful information is lost in a morass of forums, advertisements and redirects. If the internet is ever going to be truly useful, there will have to be some kind of control to separate information from nonsense. Can we get a filter for our search engines that removes any result that is not vetted? I know from experience of nearly thirty years in the government that nothing causes as much trouble as people who think they know something, but have never bothered to verify their “facts”.

]]> http://www.openeducation.net/2009/03/15/in-the-midst-of-the-information-age-why-are-we-so-uninformed/#comment-7698 Sarah Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:55:41 +0000 http://www.openeducation.net/?p=1671#comment-7698 I must disagree with the idea that the best idea is to limit information. I think the most lacking feature of education today (including many universities) is critical thinking. As an academic, I have always had to wade through information, but learning to spot the relevant information is key. The problem with most people I run into today is they seem to think that because they've read something means it's true. Or, worse yet, in the case of listening to those in power, that they always speak the truth. I must disagree with the idea that the best idea is to limit information. I think the most lacking feature of education today (including many universities) is critical thinking. As an academic, I have always had to wade through information, but learning to spot the relevant information is key.
The problem with most people I run into today is they seem to think that because they’ve read something means it’s true. Or, worse yet, in the case of listening to those in power, that they always speak the truth.

]]> http://www.openeducation.net/2009/03/15/in-the-midst-of-the-information-age-why-are-we-so-uninformed/#comment-6472 jave Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:23:53 +0000 http://www.openeducation.net/?p=1671#comment-6472 This article is very inspiring and so true. I wanted to give an informative speech to my class about what's really going on in our economy but no one liked the idea. So now I will support this article and present the truth to my class. This article is very inspiring and so true. I wanted to give an informative speech to my class about what’s really going on in our economy but no one liked the idea. So now I will support this article and present the truth to my class.

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