it’s at least a little silly for Kottke to say he’s posting it because it’s ‘interesting’ and not because it’s ‘right’
Yup, that’s the bit I thought made it appropriate for LW.
It reminded me of my speculations on “asymmetric intellectual warfare”—we are bombarded all day long with things that are “interesting” in one sense or another but should still be dismissed outright, if only because paying attention to all of them would leave us with nothing left over for worthwhile items.
But we can also note regularities in the patterns of which claims of this kind get raised to the level of serious consideration. I’m still perplexed by how seriously mainstream media takes claims of “electrosensitivity”, but not totally surprised: there is something that seems “culturally appropriate” to the claims. The rate at which cell phones have spread through our culture has made “radio waves” more available as a potential source of worry, and has tended to legitimize a particular subset of all possible absurd claims.
Yup, that’s the bit I thought made it appropriate for LW.
It reminded me of my speculations on “asymmetric intellectual warfare”—we are bombarded all day long with things that are “interesting” in one sense or another but should still be dismissed outright, if only because paying attention to all of them would leave us with nothing left over for worthwhile items.
But we can also note regularities in the patterns of which claims of this kind get raised to the level of serious consideration. I’m still perplexed by how seriously mainstream media takes claims of “electrosensitivity”, but not totally surprised: there is something that seems “culturally appropriate” to the claims. The rate at which cell phones have spread through our culture has made “radio waves” more available as a potential source of worry, and has tended to legitimize a particular subset of all possible absurd claims.