We want to make the world a better place. We want to build, discover and innovate, but how can we do that in the midst of an “information flood?”
The biggest problem with our modern-day information flood is that 99% of the data hitting us each day is noise. Some call it “buzz.” It is so hard to focus when you’re overwhelmed by buzz. Your thoughts bounce from one meaningless topic to another; in the end, you’ve got nothing done.
But who is responsible for the whole buzz phenomenon? I’ve got two answers for you:
- Globalization, and the winner-takes-all effect it created in so many social domains.
- Journalists – I really hate these guys (or at least 99% of them). Here is why: These “all-knowing,” “uber-informed,” manipulative people feed you noise constantly, using all sorts of sources. It is very hard to escape from their “shoes stories,” because they’re everywhere. “Shoes stories” is what I call the daily “news” you hear about politics, celebrities, sports, and economics. I call them that because they are very, very short-sighted – as if the “reporters” were looking no farther than their own shoes. Worst of all, most of their content is useless. Most mass-media news reports are also badly biased because they are free to general audiences but highly subsidized by corporations and governments.
We need filters so badly, our lives depend on them.
You cannot change the world if you are looking at your shoes.
Only Time filters buzz from the information. The more time the info was relevant, useful and correct the less it was a buzz.