I’m writing some programs to take some numbers from a typical “new renewable energy plant under construction!!” news article and automatically generate summaries of how much it costs compared to other options, what the expected life span will be, and so on. I intend to go on a rampage across the internet, leaving concise summaries in the comment sections of these news articles, so that people reading the comments will be able to see past the press release bullshit.
Why? Because I believe that people will be more rational if the right thing is obvious. A simple table of numbers and a few sentences of commentary can strip away layers of distortions and politics in a matter of seconds, if you do it right.
Essentially, it’s a more elaborate and more automated version of what I did in this comment thread on Reddit: give the perspective that lazy journalists don’t, and do the simple arithmetic that most journalists can’t do.
It’s very simple, but maybe it’ll be effective. A lot of people respond well to straight talk, if they don’t have a strongly-held position already.
I’m not sure how you would even define that well enough to measure it. How do you define “access to reliable information”? Does a large, confusing web site with lots of reliable information constitute “access to reliable information”?
What I do know is that the vast majority of “renewable energy” articles are worse than worthless, because they give the average reader the illusion of understanding, while systematically distorting the facts. Case in point: every wind farm announcement I’ve ever seen has conflated the maximum power output with the average power output. This is off by a factor of 2.5--5, which is similar to saying that I’m 15--30 feet tall. (That’s 4.5--9 meters.)
Simply pointing this out to people can help a lot, if my experience is anything to go by. This is anecdotal evidence, I know, but it should work and it looks like it does work.
I’m writing some programs to take some numbers from a typical “new renewable energy plant under construction!!” news article and automatically generate summaries of how much it costs compared to other options, what the expected life span will be, and so on. I intend to go on a rampage across the internet, leaving concise summaries in the comment sections of these news articles, so that people reading the comments will be able to see past the press release bullshit.
Why? Because I believe that people will be more rational if the right thing is obvious. A simple table of numbers and a few sentences of commentary can strip away layers of distortions and politics in a matter of seconds, if you do it right.
Essentially, it’s a more elaborate and more automated version of what I did in this comment thread on Reddit: give the perspective that lazy journalists don’t, and do the simple arithmetic that most journalists can’t do.
It’s very simple, but maybe it’ll be effective. A lot of people respond well to straight talk, if they don’t have a strongly-held position already.
Does anyone know of studies which measure how much of an effect access to reliable information has on decision making?
I’m not sure how you would even define that well enough to measure it. How do you define “access to reliable information”? Does a large, confusing web site with lots of reliable information constitute “access to reliable information”?
What I do know is that the vast majority of “renewable energy” articles are worse than worthless, because they give the average reader the illusion of understanding, while systematically distorting the facts. Case in point: every wind farm announcement I’ve ever seen has conflated the maximum power output with the average power output. This is off by a factor of 2.5--5, which is similar to saying that I’m 15--30 feet tall. (That’s 4.5--9 meters.)
Simply pointing this out to people can help a lot, if my experience is anything to go by. This is anecdotal evidence, I know, but it should work and it looks like it does work.