3298: Finding Quality Information in a Sea of Rubbish by Michael Mehlberg on Developing Critical Thinking Skills

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: This is Optimal Living Daily, Finding Quality Information in a Sea of Rubbish by Michael Mehlberg of MichaelMehlberg.com.

[00:00:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Remember your narrator Justin Malik reading you blogs every single day of the year?

[00:00:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Without further ado, let's get right to it as we optimize your life.

[00:00:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Finding Quality Information in a Sea of Rubbish by Michael Mehlberg of MichaelMehlberg.com.

[00:00:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Truth be told, I have an agenda that has everything to do with you.

[00:00:33] [SPEAKER_00]: My writing on Mother Da Vinci aims to help you and other readers become better, more knowledgeable, more productive, more confident, and more creative humans.

[00:00:44] [SPEAKER_00]: If you're hearing this right now, my agenda is working. If you share this post or subscribe, I'll consider it a great success.

[00:00:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Eventually, you will find another blog to peruse or news article to read.

[00:00:54] [SPEAKER_00]: They too will have an agenda. It may be to sign more subscribers, push a political view, or drive sales of a new product.

[00:01:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Whatever it is, they wrote every word with their agenda in mind.

[00:01:08] [SPEAKER_00]: When you return to Facebook after a long day of surfing the internet for news, every wall post, every forward, and every video link you find has an agenda behind it.

[00:01:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Your friends, family, and neighbors post and share for their own reasons, often without thinking, without consideration for their readers, and without wondering whether what they're posting is true.

[00:01:29] [SPEAKER_00]: In other words, much of what we consume on the internet is rubbish, utter, unforgiving, relentless rubbish.

[00:01:37] [SPEAKER_00]: We're not supposed to read or believe or like or tweet or forward such nonsense, but we do anyways.

[00:01:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Why? Because it sounds good and it gets a reaction. Because on the internet, nobody stops you.

[00:01:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Nobody will think about what you've written, they will just like your post. They'll get a warm fuzzy feeling while spreading the nonsense further before they move on with their lives.

[00:02:00] [SPEAKER_00]: None of this should be surprising, and on some level, none of this matters.

[00:02:04] [SPEAKER_00]: But looking at the bigger picture, we know that the posts and tweets flying around have an effect on both small and big events in life.

[00:02:11] [SPEAKER_00]: After all, the way we interact with others is fed by our misconceptions and system of beliefs.

[00:02:18] [SPEAKER_00]: World leaders are elected by a populace, educated or not. Walls are torn down when freedoms are restricted.

[00:02:24] [SPEAKER_00]: The things we read and choose to believe affect how we treat those around us, how we cast those votes, and how fast we tear those walls down.

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Of course, we can't fight every snippet of misinformation or uninformed opinion. There's not enough willpower or time to go around.

[00:02:39] [SPEAKER_00]: What we can do is cultivate a challenging, questioning attitude while we peruse the internet.

[00:02:45] [SPEAKER_00]: By challenging our worldview, we will learn more. By questioning what we read, we will start to get a sense for quality information versus the nonsense.

[00:02:54] [SPEAKER_00]: This is easier said than done. Staying alert 100% of the time while under a barrage of hype and misinformation can be a challenge in itself.

[00:03:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Here are a few things to keep in mind while reading to maintain that questioning attitude.

[00:03:07] [SPEAKER_00]: 1. Anyone can post anything at any time on the internet.

[00:03:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Long gone are the days when the primary information sources came from newspapers and television shows.

[00:03:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Sources who, albeit biased like any source, took the time to research their facts and kept their opinions to a separate section.

[00:03:28] [SPEAKER_00]: 2. Others often represent their opinions as facts but they are still opinions.

[00:03:34] [SPEAKER_00]: 3. The internet moves fast. Bloggers post new articles quickly, companies release new products daily, and journalists publish news as it happens, not the day after.

[00:03:46] [SPEAKER_00]: The result? Information may be unintentionally inaccurate.

[00:03:51] [SPEAKER_00]: So what do we do? How do we find quality information in this sea of rubbish?

[00:03:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Doing so may feel impossible but it only requires that you challenge and question what you read.

[00:04:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Ask yourself, what am I reading? A friend's Twitter post? A news article? An opinion blog?

[00:04:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Keeping in mind the type of article you are reading will prevent you from mistaking opinion for fact.

[00:04:17] [SPEAKER_00]: As we discussed earlier, everything you read is backed by an agenda. Not every agenda is malicious but you must understand it.

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_00]: Once you know the author's motivations and funding sources, you can better assess the quality of the information at hand.

[00:04:32] [SPEAKER_00]: If what you are reading is portrayed as fact, does the author cite sources? Is there evidence? Is it supported?

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Missing sources doesn't mean the author didn't have any but an article with sources is far easier to verify.

[00:04:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Is the site or article trying to sell you something? This goes back to the motivations of the author.

[00:04:52] [SPEAKER_00]: If the author is selling, it's almost impossible to trust them as a source of valuable information. It'd be far better to seek an external opinion.

[00:04:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Is the article grammatically correct and free of spelling errors?

[00:05:04] [SPEAKER_00]: While grammar and spelling have nothing to do with whether the statements made are fact or fiction,

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER_00]: a clean, well-written article shows the author has taken the time to proofread his or her work.

[00:05:15] [SPEAKER_00]: They show at least a basic level of care for the content they are publishing.

[00:05:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Review poorly formatted, improperly constructed material with caution.

[00:05:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Recognize that the author may not have taken the time to verify facts if they didn't take the time to proofread.

[00:05:30] [SPEAKER_00]: There's no perfect way for finding pure, unmotivated quality information.

[00:05:36] [SPEAKER_00]: These are a few ways to combat the relentless flow of rubbish and develop a more informed, sensible approach to the information you read.

[00:05:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Most importantly, by spending the necessary time to keep the points you heard in mind,

[00:05:47] [SPEAKER_00]: you will develop your own conclusions about what you're reading,

[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_00]: and creating your own conclusions will, at the very least, arm your knowledge with reason.

[00:05:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Additional tools

[00:05:58] [SPEAKER_00]: 1. Read scientific papers.

[00:06:02] [SPEAKER_00]: They are peer-reviewed, controlled to determine cause and effect, and many times use randomization to reduce errors.

[00:06:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Google Scholar is an excellent tool for finding such papers.

[00:06:13] [SPEAKER_00]: 2. Find a trusted source and continue to use it.

[00:06:17] [SPEAKER_00]: For example, I love using Engadget to read technology reviews. I trust them.

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_00]: I find their reviews to be full of relevant detail.

[00:06:24] [SPEAKER_00]: They help me understand new technology far better than a Facebook friend who has an opinion but doesn't understand why they like or dislike the technology.

[00:06:32] [SPEAKER_00]: And 3. Spot check information you find.

[00:06:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Factcheck.org and Snopes.com are two websites built specifically for this.

[00:06:45] [SPEAKER_00]: You just listened to the post titled,

[00:06:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Finding Quality Information in a Sea of Rubbish by Michael Melberg of MichaelMelberg.com

[00:06:53] [SPEAKER_00]: and I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:06:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Think it of Michael. He mentioned his writing on Modern Da Vinci.

[00:07:00] [SPEAKER_00]: That was the name of his site previously. Now it's just MichaelMelberg.com.

[00:07:06] [SPEAKER_00]: I think this is truer now than ever, and likely will become even more true with time.

[00:07:11] [SPEAKER_00]: With AI now, anyone can write long-form content very easily, very quickly.

[00:07:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Where in many cases, probably most cases, that human touch will be gone and articles will flood the web.

[00:07:26] [SPEAKER_00]: What he describes is pretty much exactly why this podcast was created.

[00:07:30] [SPEAKER_00]: There were so many articles even back when this podcast was created in 2015.

[00:07:34] [SPEAKER_00]: What my business partner and I tried to do was really find the best ones

[00:07:39] [SPEAKER_00]: and get permission from them to read them to you.

[00:07:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Our criteria was pretty strict, but it still is.

[00:07:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Because my goal is to have each day be impactful in some way.

[00:07:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe motivational or inspirational.

[00:07:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Or just makes you think a little more.

[00:07:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe question how we're choosing to live.

[00:07:58] [SPEAKER_00]: I figure if we listen to even just one of these every day, and sometimes 10 minutes or less,

[00:08:04] [SPEAKER_00]: it'll be a step in the right direction and hopefully offset a lot of the stuff that knocks us down.

[00:08:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Rubbish, as Michael calls it.

[00:08:12] [SPEAKER_00]: And if you ever find a blogger that seems to really bring you up, let me know. We're always open to more.

[00:08:18] [SPEAKER_00]: But with that, have a great rest of your day, and I'll see you tomorrow as usual.

[00:08:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Where your optimal life awaits.