I Know Everything, I Understand Nothing

We live in a time of constant flows of information. This is news to no one, I understand. Critics, journalists and everyday people began saying this years ago (even decades) upon the creation of new television channels. In thirty years, TV executives went from questioning the viability of an all-sports network (ESPN) to being fully behind an all 3D sports channel (ESPN 3D....coming soon!). Newspapers begot TV which begot websites which begot blogs which begot Twitter and the cycle goes. So what have we gained in the advancement of news funneling? Do we know more, on average, about current events than our parents and grandparents? You would think that this would be a no-brainer. We have an unlimited amount of info and, therefore, should be clearly "know" more than previous generations. Sadly, in my opinion, we have regressed.

How? One must only look at the sources of our information. In times past, almost the entire country had similar access and destinations for their news. Average 1980s consumer of information: TV channels watched: 3-4; Newspapers read: 1; Magazines read: 2-3; Radio stations: 1-2. That's it, that's the list!(property of Tony Kornheiser). Let's turn our gaze to the info-loaded super-consumer of the 2000's. TV channels watched: hundreds; Newspapers read: (in print-0), online possibly 5-6; Magazines: articles from hundreds; Podcasts (our version of radio programming): countless; add to this hundreds of blogs, Twitter feeds, RSS feeds, random emailed articles. The gap is enormous, but this is again nothing groundbreaking.

We have grown farther apart as a nation ideologically. We have less of an understanding of our counterparts' arguments. We know so much about our favorite topics, but far less about general info. We, in general, live in an info bubble. 

I am 22 years old. I feel like I understand my shortcomings. I am not an expert on anything. I do consider myself rather well-versed on most topics, though. All I search for on a day-to-to day basis is a clear understanding of the world around me. Constant information overwhelms me constantly. My true goal is to simply define my opinions and thoughts on the ideas of the day, the news of the past and the topics of conversation which have defined our world.

This is the purpose of my ramblings here. To journey towards understanding. If you wish to join me in finding what you believe, want to help me by providing great, unbiased information, or just wish to read along to what might be an interesting take on the world....Welcome.

GRM for RAL

I Know Everything, I Understand Nothing