I really enjoyed this fourth chapter because it focused more on the irrational mental actions of the public rather than identifying what the media is doing wrong. It has always puzzled and astonished me how so many people get caught up in cults or believe in crop circles, UFO's, evil spirits, or even scientology.... Moreover, it is amazing to me how unassuming people simply believe unknown leaders who have no credibility whatsoever, like the members on truthout.com.
What surprised me in this chapter were the examples of opinions that clearly did not believe what the media presents. To an extent, that is good. You shouldn't believe everything you read or hear. But instead, these people are taking their ideas to the other extreme and acting so mindlessly that they become their own deception.
I was also interested by the authors' notion of "wishful thinking." I admit, I do think I am a better than average driver, or more likely than I actually am to live past eighty. It was interesting to read how, psychologically, we are unrealistic, think in stereotypes, and crave certainty.
All in all, this chapter taught me to look out not only for the trickery within the media, but the trickery that naturally exists within my own mind.
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I really liked this chapter too for the same reasons you did. The "wishful thinking" notion is interesting because it really helps us to see if we are being realistic or not. Good blog!
ReplyDeleteWhat really scares me about the "wishful thinking" and "root for my side" traps is the fact that I have no doubt been caught up in them without even realizing it! The example of the Dartmouth v. Princeton football where viewers from either side got caught up with their own side but had not deliberately distorted what they had seen caught my immediate attention. I’m a huge sports fan. How many times have I gotten caught up in similar situation while rooting for my own team? I’d bet countless times, and I wouldn’t put it past me to do it again. Hopefully I’ll be able to view the game from a less biased perspective next time. No promises for Superbowl XLIII…
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way about the cults and UFO's it doesn't make sense but from past experiences in the media it is so easy for cult leaders to manipulate people into beleiving the "word" in which their trying to spread. There are many examples of this (Jonestown, Waco Texas, many UFO cults, and other cults with other values and ideas.) To what you said about people being unrealistic I think its probably better for us to think that say we will live past 85 or that we are better than the average driver, its better than going around expecting to die before you reach 80 or going around thinking your worse than the average driver.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of you! Hoping to live past 80 is much better than blindly assuming that your politician is always 100% correct. Nobody is! And the people who think they are right will never be talk out of it, or even to admit that there is maybe any other way.
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