Mis-informed, dis-informed, and un-informed

Mis-information is wrong information mistakenly given out. This is generally not malicious but just wrong information (as in a mistake) given out by people who just don't know any better, or are just incompetent, or have low integrity.

Dis-information is wrong information intentionally and maliciously given out. This is done to mislead, and to hide the truth.

No information is information not available at all. Important information is hidden from you. You just are not told what you should know. It is just as dangerous as mis-information and dis-information.

Examples of sources of mis-information are social media, various amateur blogs with vested interest in selling something or making money via advertising. Examples of sources of dis-information are media outlets with vested political and business interests. Examples of sources of no-information are major global media outlets who focus on global events and don't cover events which are of great relevance to you but not of global relevance or don't suit their business interests.

Throughout history, access to relevant and good information has been vital. In todays world, it is not any easier, or harder, and just as important.

We live in an age where we are mis-informed, dis-informed, and also not informed. Add to this the information overload and information noise with a very week signal with relevant information.

"I’ve spent a lot of time looking at declassified documents. You take a look at secret documents from the U.S. or, to the extent that I know, other countries. Are they protecting secrets? In a sense, yes. But who are they protecting them from? Mostly the domestic population. A very small proportion of them have anything to do with security, no matter how broadly you interpret it. They primarily have to do with ensuring that the major enemy, namely, the domestic population, does not find out what power systems are doing. And that’s because people in power, whether it’s business power or government power or doctrinal power, whatever, simply are afraid that people do care, and therefore you have to, as Bernays said, consciously manipulate their attitudes and beliefs–for their own good, of course, always for their own good": Noam Chomsky.

There are unbelievably huge rewards in keeping people distracted, mis-informed, dis-informed, not-informed, divided, insular, selfish, and engaged in trivial pursuits which leads them nowhere. The proverb 'A fool and his money are soon parted' is apt for our times.

"If you get people frightened enough, they won’t notice that their taxes are going into creating the profits of IBM and Merck twenty years from now. Why not tell them the truth? Because then they might not make these decisions.": Noam Chomsky.

How do we stay informed?

Watching the news on TV or online video can potentially be just as useful, but in practice, it is not useful. News on TV is not dense with information and analysis like an online news website or a traditional newspaper.

Reading the news doesn't make you informed. It is a good start. Being informed requires a lot more than that.

Would it not be great if there was a single(or a few) sources of relevant information where we could go to be informed about what is important and relevant to our day to day life. However, such sources are prone to be corrupted as time goes by. Their business could be disrupted forcing them to sell out, or they could be taken over by malicious interests. This is the danger of relying on one source of information.

If you desire to be truly informed, expect to have to read several independent and competent sources just to be aware of what is relevant to you. It is not enough to read, but also to meet the right people and discuss it with them. Being exposed to opposing points of view is good, but don't always be taken in by a good argument. A good argument doesn't make it right.

An intelligent conversation is not a sign of 'intelligence' but just good training, and ability to recognize patterns which even Artificial Intelligence will soon do.

Getting good and relevant information is hard enough. What to do with that information is another story.


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