The whole and its parts

The whole & its parts

The information we use

Facts are just facts. As such they are almost useless.

They need to be put into a context to become useful.

Which implies that a transformation will be applied to the given facts. Bringing them into a context is an interpretation of facts based on the values of the person doing the interpretation. An interpretation that is there to serve a purpose.

Consequently, the person receiving that information benefits from knowing the purpose the facts are supposed to serve. Most often, he has to make himself aware of this purpose while reading.

It is essential information allowing him to know if and how he can use the shared information effectively. Otherwise, he can only be subject to what the information is trying to make him believe.

We all pay attention to the way information is shared, but it has become a more complex task.

With so many of us publishing our ideas on the web, the number of ways information is being interpreted grows exponentially. How we came to our conclusion is most often hidden for the reader. The frameworks we used, the set of values guiding us, what we aim to achieve is only becoming perceptible for regular readers. For all the others, our objectives, however generous, remain invisible.

It makes the information available fragmented by an overwhelming amount of worldviews and beliefs.

That is where old-style journalism helped. It provided a transparent way to become acquainted with the facts and events happening around us. The facts were interpreted with a reliable framework we could recognize and get used to. It was there to serve our need for information.

It wasn’t there to take opinion leadership. Which is what individual bloggers and authors aim for.

It was there to help make sense of the facts. It was there to ease our ability to come to an opinion and make decisions.

It’s a layer that is slowly disappearing. Not only because newspapers struggle, but also as there is such a sheer mass of information. Leaving us with a more complex task to grasp a world becoming more complex and uncertain. Even more so as we lose the tools easing our ability to feel safe with the information received.

 

 

 

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