"shaped news"
I agree with this article. Specifically two comments made me nod my head in agreement. "There is no room to pause, no room to think," Dreyfuss, who starred in films ranging from "Jaws" to "Mr Holland's Opus" told Reuters in a recent telephone interview. "We don't build into our system of thoughts the need to explain, the media doesn't build that into its transmission of knowledge and information." AND...
"Civics is no longer taught in the U.S, a sign of a neurosis that is inexplicable," he said. "Not to teach civics is suicide.
"Reason, logic, civility, dissent and debate -- five ancient words that should be taught again and better, at elementary level, so that people know the difference between news and shaped news," Dreyfuss said.
posted by chugslugger at 2:11:00 PM
2 Comments:
I agree that education of topic and the media portrayal of that topic are two different things. I also agree that we should encourage a non-dogmatic philosophy at an elementary level.
On the other hand, you can also breed a culture of "all talk, no action" with constant debate and no resolve. And sometimes critical decisions need to be made quickly.
For decision makers, there is always a fine line to walk: When do you need to stop and find out more vs. when is it necessary to make a decision with the information available. What are the pros and cons of each.
3:15 PM
I agree completely with your decision making example. It is a fine line or a delicate balance or whatever you want to call it.
The article also reminded me of the conversation we had en route to the Rangers game the other day. The conversation touched on your frustration (and I agree with this point) with society at large and their lack of long term thinking. (Am I remembering this correctly?)
I think it is fair to say that for society to have a longer term thinking process (perhaps "broader context or understanding" is a better phrase than "longer term thinking process?") requires to some extent a level of comprehension and retention that goes beyond the snippets and sound bites you see on the evening news, mtv, e!, etc.
Going back to your question of what are the pros and cons of find out more vs. immediate decision. I have some thoughts on this, but I have to get back to work. I will have to revisit the thought later. That is if I can remember.
4:57 PM
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