Some good points here. I think a big difference (and problem) between now and the past is that in the past many people tended to hold jobs for life, or stay with a single company and get promoted internally. So they got incredibly good at that one field of expertise, and didn't need to know too much more.

Nowadays, life is far more complex (and definitely over-complex). So even the lowest-paid menial worker will need to change companies to get a pay rise, and is expected to know how to use mobile phones or the internet on computers to access government services, utility companies, banking, and who knows what else. All stuff our ancestors handled by going up to a counter and talking to a human.

So we're expected to be experts on lots of different things. That means absorbing lots of information, fast. In the process, stopping to think about what we're reading goes out of the window. It's about absorbing data, and we're encouraged not to question it's accuracy or think about the motives of the organisations feeding us the data.

Emotional validation has become more important than factual veracity. We look for mirrors that reflect our beliefs, rather than windows into reality. This intellectual comfort insulates us from genuine learning and makes us vulnerable to manipulation. An excellent analysis of the fragility of our supposed knowledge in the information age, where feeling that we know something outweighs the desire to actually know it.

I'm not sure what the solution to the problem you're talking about is though?  We can't all spend all our time diving into the data of everything ourselves... so we kind of have to trust people that are doing the hard work.  

If your friend shouldn't trust the financial magazine that he likes, what should he do?  What would make him more knowledgeable than he currently is?

Sorry to disappoint, but it's probably Kant who gave a name to it - noumenon as what's behind the phenomenon, what we can perceive, aka know. And no, I don't think he used the same words you did. And it was probably described before, too, but I personally just know of Kant talking about it.

Anyway. Those who always have to agree with you are not your friends. Those who can disagree with you are. All the data in the world doesn't mean a thing if we only interpret it our way, for sure. Data is neutral, we are not. We don't even have to *know* what we're looking for, as we solve that problem unconsciously and find results we ourselves think to be totally unbiased. That's why it's so important to keep disagreement around, not only to self-indulge in thinking that we're better by disagreeing, but to be able to consider the other side, to see the world from their eyes. Taking a step away from the egocentric view, even for a minute.

Honest, rational disagreement, as opposite to emotional disagreement, can create middle grounds. But in a system based on emotions, quickly manipulated to buy this and that, to have quick, uninformed opinions within minutes that fade as quickly as they were invented, will not allow real disagreement. Only more emotions.

Sometimes the deepest truths come from casual conversations, and this one reveals how our “knowledge” is often just well-packaged comfort, not reality.

I think that's a good point about validating data because anymore you can't even count on that. It's getting harder and harder to know what is accurate and what is spun or just all together false.

I couldn't agree more. When pride sets in, we couldn't accept what went wrong — and I speak for myself too. Verifying any information is a skill that we all should have to make wise decisions.

Thanks for this post. Have a nice day. 

The analogy of infinite lives in a video game that you've mentioned; captures the surreal idea of modern economics deriving from real-world consequences. I think it’s both unsettling and fascinating! I wonder if we  normalize systems that reward illusion over production. It provokes the subtle reflection on the economic theatre on which we’re all actors and just doing our part.

Excellent, the boldness in raising the questions we so often run away from. The idea that most of what we consume, whether information or products, is merely a way to escape reality and avoid facing ourselves is painful but true.

You create and sustain your own reality every moment when you are awake. As we search for order in a world of chaos, we tend to attribute familiar traits even to inanimate objects. Faith is one example, with Jesus showing to you on your toast, and your life changing in better because of the good omen. 

The world is how you think it is, not how it is. Perception is a tricky master, but we can challenge our assumptions and change our routine hunting our habits, everything that make us complacent, as being challenged is the main way to grow. Hard is good, as long as it is not very very hard. And yet, in many cases, people did impossible things just because nobody told them that this is impossible. How is my reasoning?

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Our housing market is just starting to go down and all the projections are for about 2% down a year from now. I wonder what the reality is going to be...

Nobody really knows. But we will find out a year from now.

Greetings, friend. I think I understand what you're talking about. The thing is, we're surrounded by a lot of information. My professor says information is power. I think that with so much information around us, we often tend to choose what best suits our way of thinking. Our mistake is often to assume it's true and not investigate whether it's true.

As you say, sometimes we believe we own the truth because our ego and society have taught us that making mistakes is bad. But I think we also learn from mistakes. Greetings, friend. Have a nice day.

In an age where tools are at our disposal to back up about any opinion, I think it's important to tell the difference between real understanding and just going along with what feels easy to believe.