Words Without Knowledge

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Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? -TS Eliot

The internet has been referred to as the "information superhighway", and I think that's more accurate that we realize. In that moniker, we see what the internet gives us, and it doesn't give us wisdom or knowledge. All it gives, all it can provide, is information. However, we are bombarded with information so much that it's easy to overload, overlook, overestimate, and overindulge in the vacuous and inaccurate. Most of what you read on the internet is pretty useless, which is probably why it's free. We often assume that the information is also true, which is why just before I left Facebook I posted this picture of myself to my profile:

I've written at length about sponsored results, skewed results, and outright lies. Plus, I worry about the speed at which information is disseminated. The speed at which misinformation spread in chief gives pause, for people are quick to document in order to be first to post, first to comment, rather than first to help, first to question, first to do their homework. All too often what we see is nothing more than the parliament jester's foist on the somnambulent public.

It's about information. Information is not the same as knowledge. Indiana Jones taught us that science is the search for fact not truth, and those words are nuanced slightly but significantly. Obi-Wan Kenobi taught us that much of what we hold to be true depends on our point of view. Then there's the internet, most of which is disseminated from only one point of view, but all of which is spread with an agenda- to get you to agree with them. Rarely do people do their own research anymore, and most people rely on Google's sponsored results, which are biased based on money or politics at google or on wikipedia which is edited by users in some cases. I used to use Yahoo, but now that Google owns Yahoo too, I don't know how to search for truth anymore.

People are not really very informed. Far too many people simply read through headlines and tick off articles as if that's journalism, informative, accurate, and complete. President Obama, purportedly the smartest man to ever be president, despite being a "constitutional law professor" contributes little if at all scholarship to ANY issue. Instead, he seems prone to throw out random numbers as if they are facts, which calls to mind one of my favorite Dilbert cartoons. It addresses the fact that a lot of what we see, hear, read, and learn is pretty worthless. Tonight, the President will give his eighth State of the Union address and say nothing worth repeating. It will probably be about him, full of vagueries, full of process language, full of editorials masking as facts. He will throw out things without anything to back up his assertions, and the clapping seals of his party and the media will eagerly regurgitate his every word and swoon at the thrill that goes up their leg. Where's the data? What's your source? Name names. However, when it's opposed to their preconceived notions, people strain at gnats. When it supports them, they will swallow camels. On my first visit to Independence Hall, I got a woman fired for misinformation in her presentation. The Secretary of the Interior reminded them that they are paid to know this information and that if they argued with me and I was right they were not doing their job.

Utility and accuracy in information dissemination give way to the desire for a moment in the spotlight. Everyone on Buttface and MyButt seems willing to do whatever it takes for fame, and then some of the rest of us bend over backwards making them famous. Sensationalism and headlines, being first, being the one with the most followers, is all that seems to matter. Just ask Essenia O'Neill. There is nothing wise in lies. There is nothing knowledgable about fame. There is only information and what people are willing to pay. A groundskeeper on campus offered this week to pay me for some advice he knew I could give as a Biochemist. It's the first time someone ever offered to pay me for my thoughts outside of my work responsibilities, so I gave it to him for free. Rather than celebrate the wise, we celebrate the otherwise. Rather than promote the knowledgable, we promote those who make us seem that way. Teachers are still underpaid, and education is neither recognized nor rewarded but the creators of Twitter, Facebook, and a myriad of other companies which have little value added effect to the advancement of civilization became among the richest men ever. Think about it.

Putting trust in the otherwise is not new. After Job's friends suggested that he must have offended God and committed a sin had left him, God appeared to Job and asked, "Who is this that darkeneth counsels by words without knowledge?" There will continue to be people who say the fault lies in us, who deflect, who project, and who do whatever it takes to not get caught holding the hot potato. Even when it sounds silly, they keep throwing it out there until it sticks. Ted Cruz is supposedly a foreigner and ergo not qualified for President. Ironically, the same people prattling this propaganda about Cruz dismissed all similar allegations about Obama's qualifications under the same auspices. When a document certifying Obama's citizenship surfaced on the internet, that quieted it, but don't expect that to work for Cruz. The parliament jester doesn't care about truth; he's there to distract you from the truth. He will keep you from finding out what's in his basket of tricks and focus everyone on your flaws, on your imperfections and mistakes, and on the things you can't answer. He will demand of you a cogent, coherent and comprehensive response to an inquiry in thirty seconds to a prompt he spent days preparing and then declare you a tank town boob when you can't match his wit. He will be, as that character described by the Bard, who tells a tale like an idiot full of sound and fury signifying nothing. Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Arise, gird up thy loins like a man and answer thou me.

I leave you with the timeless counsel of a dearly departed prophet of God. For some reason, this is unlisted in the search results:

Turn to God. He is the only source without guile, who will not lie, who doesn't have an ulterior motive.