The Gell-Mann amnesia effect

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Author	Topic: The Gell-Mann amnesia effect
KGB Moderator	posted 10-25-2006 05:17 PM I found this link to a Michael Crichton piece that is somewhat old, but which I don't recall seeing before. Here is the money quote: quote: Media carries with it a credibility that is totally undeserved. You have all experienced this, in what I call the Murray Gell-Mann Amnesia effect. (I refer to it by this name because I once discussed it with Murray Gell-Mann, and by dropping a famous name I imply greater importance to myself, and to the effect, than it would otherwise have.) Briefly stated, the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect is as follows. You open the newspaper to an article on some subject you know well. In Murray's case, physics. In mine, show business. You read the article and see the journalist has absolutely no understanding of either the facts or the issues. Often, the article is so wrong it actually presents the story backward—reversing cause and effect. I call these the "wet streets cause rain" stories. Paper's full of them. In any case, you read with exasperation or amusement the multiple errors in a story, and then turn the page to national or international affairs, and read as if the rest of the newspaper was somehow more accurate about Palestine than the baloney you just read. You turn the page, and forget what you know. That is the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect. I'd point out it does not operate in other arenas of life. In ordinary life, if somebody consistently exaggerates or lies to you, you soon discount everything they say. In court, there is the legal doctrine of falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus, which means untruthful in one part, untruthful in all. But when it comes to the media, we believe against evidence that it is probably worth our time to read other parts of the paper. When, in fact, it almost certainly isn't. The only possible explanation for our behavior is amnesia. It's a useful reminder that ad hominem is one of the most misunderstood of logical fallacies. IP: Logged
jessho Member	posted 10-25-2006 05:29 PM quote: In any case, you read with exasperation or amusement the multiple errors in a story, and then turn the page to national or international affairs, and read as if the rest of the newspaper was somehow more accurate about Palestine than the baloney you just read. You turn the page, and forget what you know. I've done this. quote: The only possible explanation for our behavior is amnesia. What behavior? IP: Logged
Steve_V Member	posted 10-25-2006 06:11 PM quote: In any case, you read with exasperation or amusement the multiple errors in a story, and then turn the page to national or international affairs, and read as if the rest of the newspaper was somehow more accurate about Palestine than the baloney you just read. You turn the page, and forget what you know. There is a problem with the logic here. Edited for clarity. ------------------ Steve "In a nutshell, he [Steve] is 100% unadulterated evil. I do not believe in a "Satan", but this man is as close to "the real McCoy" as they come." --Jamey Lee West steve_v@steveverdon.com Deinonychus antirrhopus [This message has been edited by Steve_V (edited 10-25-2006).] IP: Logged

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