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The Facts Are True, the News Is Fake
Article

The Facts Are True, the News Is Fake

How to Disagree with Yourself

Medium, 2017

自动生成的音频
自动生成的音频

Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Eye Opening

Recommendation

In the wake of the 2016 US elections, Americans’ trust in the mass media has reached a historic low – for good reason, says world-renowned essayist and maverick thinker Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Those familiar with Taleb’s work know of his disdain for journalists (along with bankers and academics). This essay is yet another jab at a favorite straw man, but Taleb makes some intriguing points. Social media, he says, are restoring a more organic exchange of information that people have enjoyed for millennia. Taleb goes on to explain what ancient Talmudic and Christian scholars can teach modern society about “the art of disagreement.” getAbstract recommends Taleb’s short think piece to media professionals and information consumers of all stripes.

 

Take-Aways

  • People’s almost exclusive reliance on the media for information is a recent phenomenon that began in the middle of the 20th century and lasted until the 2016 US elections.
  • Social media are restoring the “two-way flow of information” that humanity has enjoyed for millennia.
  • Public spaces and social gatherings used to serve as self-regulating marketplaces where people shared the news of the day. People had to speak the truth to remain trustworthy.

About the Author

Nassim Nicholas Taleb is a scholar, risk analyst and bestselling author of The Black Swan, Fooled by Randomness and Antifragility.      


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