We can’t see the wood for the trees, can we?
Given so much information, so many colourful, professionally, expensively produced information videos/movies/documentaries that in fact we learn nothing….
I’ve just been watching such videos on four different subjects:
Education: the fact that our system is not educating but is simply indoctrinating – and that to no good effect itself.
Invasion of Iraq: the fact that our governments deliberately and systematically lied to us about the need and the reason for going to war there.
Climate Change: The science behind the contention that it is our emissions that cause climate change and, conversely, could stop it if reduced.
Marijuana: Analysis of all the evidence pro and con for healthy/unhealthy effects of marijuana.
Four hours of my time for these four subjects.
Result: virtually nothing I didn’t already know.
That, or inconclusive or suspect ‘science’ to make an indication.
In other words – a wasted four hours.
Given four sheets of A4 paper all the worthwhile things these programmes had to say could have been said in print, in text, and I could have scanned them in a couple of minutes.
But instead I had to sit through four hours to find out I was wasting my time.
Books, documents, give you indexes, chapter listings, source listings, etc… Video documentaries give you none of these at all.
They are, in effect, rubbish. Time wasting crap.
What we need is, up front, a summary of the conclusions. Followed by a summary of the steps used to reach these conclusions.
In that way we might be able to ascertain pretty quickly if we wanted to view the thing.
But no such precis is ever offered. The whole thing is inevitably treated as a kind of mini movie – a story with characters and plot line, to be revealed slowly, tantalising bit by bit.
Every metaphor, every simile, has to be illustrated by appropriate photography…
“Jim works in the science department” becomes a film clip of Jim driving to work, parking his car, walking into the science building..
What total crap! What utter time wasting nonsense.
And yet I’ve never, ever, heard any kind of outcry about this…
This is the information age, information overload is a catchcry.. so wouldn’t rationalisation of information presentation be a topical subject?
Nope. No interest whatever.
Why?
Because we are asleep! We are asleep.
And our awakening will be very rude, I imagine, I can’t see why it would be otherwise… while we sleep there is no one plotting and planning to give us a warm and loving awakening.. no one is preparing happy birthday parties for us….
🙂