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I've been using forums for 15 years and for whatever reason, I've noticed forum replies the last few years to real issues more and more reflect a lack of reading the original post or understanding it, then adding solutions to problems that weren't mentioned or adding information that is either not applicable to the problem or is tangential, contradictory, or uses circular logic.
Is it just me or have forum replies gotten more stupid or are people just lacking more in attention span?
I've been enjoying on-line debate since 1991 and it is certainly true that the intellectual level of discourse has fallen.
The biggest problem I have seen is that when people's positions on things are held as emotional constructs, any challenge to them to defend their position is perceived as a personal attack.
That's why the explanation of the position or the response to a challenge is a combination of hyperbolic distortion of the opponent's statements and logical fallacy. The simple fact that you do not agree with them is an affront and is responded to with contempt, condescension and ridicule.
Cognitive dissonance is the new trend. People don't think objectively and instantly dismiss any evidence contrary to their held beliefs as untrue, regardless of the credibility of the source.
I think it is some of all of the above. That said, I also feel there is an increase in people who are not being objective anymore either, and just seek out information which supports the position they want to be right (whether it is right or not).
The biggest thing I notice is that people think that their one little life experience indicates a worldwide trend. Every other thread here seems to be along the lines of:
I think it is some of all of the above. That said, I also feel there is an increase in people who are not being objective anymore either, and just seek out information which supports the position they want to be right (whether it is right or not).
Yes.
No one should be uncompromisingly certain of any position based on a headline, party line, or word of mouth. That is the province of religion! Yet I see people truly blind to black and white facts, incapable of considering anything they haven't personally experienced, and generally not interested in objective truth.
No one should be uncompromisingly certain of any position based on a headline, party line, or word of mouth. That is the province of religion! Yet I see people truly blind to black and white facts, incapable of considering anything they haven't personally experienced, and generally not interested in objective truth.
I agree that reading comprehension seems to be severely lacking when it comes to many forum posts. Just like in person, people on forums are often too concerned in what they have to say to be bothered reading the minutia of what other people are writing/saying.
Another possible reason is the increasing lack of impartial reporting on anything. Many people seem content to parrot whatever pundits they watch on TV or listen to on talk radio, convinced they are right but when forced to consider things from a different angle, are left stupefied.
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