I know its ironic to have information on information overload, but its something that people should be aware of.

With the increasing popularity of the internet, especially its Web 2.0 platforms, people are seeing an amazing amount of information in only short periods of internet usage.

People not only can read an article (1 persons view), they can read other reader’s comments as well (a lot more views).

Its refreshing to get other views, as there less chance for corruption and bias, however, the sheer amount of information can result in information overload.

The fact that most of this information has no relative validity also causes huge problems.

Someone may write a comment, thinking they’re right, whereas they may have some facts wrong. Other people will digest this information and possibly spread it, causing misinformation in a variety of places.

Wikipedia can be known for this, but its rigorous citation process keeps most information valid.

To show a comparison, there was only a handful of places in which information was shared and accessed: encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc. These places of information were well researched, and contained minimal errors.

In a world so rich with information, always be sure to take it with a grain of salt, and try to do more research before spreading [possibly wrong] information.

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Technorati Tags: Education, information, internet, overload, validity

Education · information · internet · overload · validity

It seems everyday I read a story about a big blunder from a large corporation, and even more often the government.

With my experience these companies (used in the large group sense, as to include the above two examples) are built on people watching people watching people, and so on, to the point where the guy at the bottom literally has everyone watching his every move.

(Some great satire on this is in Office Space, where the main character is told several times, by several bosses, to include cover letters on his TPS reports.)

If this is the case, how do these blunders happen?

Is it a matter of it being the big guy on tops idea, so no one has the courage to tell him its a bad idea, and will garner bad press?

Is it a matter of these people being brainwashed?

Or is it just a matter of no one in the entire company having any common sense?

Professor David Nutt gave his (controversial) opinion as Chief Drugs Adviser in the UK. What was he doing? He was using common sense. How did the company react? They threw away common sense and fired him, causing a huge backlash. Now the UK government looks bad, and he looks great. Its amazing isn’t it? Common sense prevails in the eyes of the public.

MTV builds a wall to block people from seeing a free U2 commemorative show of tearing down the wall. Seriously? “Comprehensive security plan” they said. Translation? So more people have to watch it on TV to make them more money.

That a decision completely devoid of all common sense. A part of me understands why they would from a selfish and monetary view, but its a show to commemorate an amazing day in history, about public freedom and human unity, this is not the occasion to show the public how much your company hasn’t learned from these types of events.

These things do make their way to press, and they make the company look bad, really bad.

How can these things be avoided?

Common sense. Use it, love it, abuse it, because abusing it is one of the best things you could ever do.

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Technorati Tags: Common Sense, David Nutt, Money, MTV, What?

Common Sense · David Nutt · Money · MTV · What?