Weaponized Lies: How to Think Critically in the Post-Truth Era | Daniel Levitin | Talks at Google

[@nicholasvangaasbeek5908]

I love the idea of getting different results from searching on google. I’ve spent a lot of time being very particular about what I click on so my results meet my expectations, but I would really like to see what others are seeing too. Maybe one button for a much more randomized results then another button for “trending results” or maybe even Categorize types of results I.e. scholarly articles, news (different party views and different nation’s views), education level (elementary, high school, etc.), and so on. Make it like a drop down bar next to the search bar.

[@norahill4195]

I worked on night shift in an area that was upper middle class. I would sometimes do google searches at work. The results were drastically different from the searches I would do from home, despite searching the same topic. The results were also more Republican oriented.

[@gallectee6032]

Very smart guy. Weird how this only has 33k views.

[@malichelete_music]

My role model!!!!!!!!! I am so happy I found this Dr. Levitin. What a great; reasonable mind in the era of post-modern cyborgs

[@TorySlusher]

The question we should be asking: why is it that Google has now become a weaponized service? Weaponized defined as anything that damages or spoils.

[@redrageous9738]

Theres a difference between facts and what a selected group agrees on.

[@rexsapienssapiens5106]

There's no inconsistency in Trump's sentence. If the only people that are worth counting are those currently on unemployment and looking for employment, then the 4% (secular) is what you value. If US citizens are your concern (in particular those who are old enough to join the labor force), then you get your high numbers. I know men working in logistics who are past 65, and I also know of tens of thousands in their twenties who are shuffling about Englewood, or even perpetually studying and getting into debt. If someone isn't objectively unfit psychologically / physically, they should be presumed to be capable. It's quite politically, socially, etc. convenient to discount them after they loose unemployment or stop looking for work.

[@davidwilkie9551]

It's an attitude suspiciously close to cynicism, but always asking yourself why, is almost not an option. "The easiest person to fool is yourself", according to Richard Feynman, and he seemed to like fooling, maybe as a way of practicing how to spot misleading information. I'm pretty sure I don't know much about the details of just about everything, why would I put the responsibility for what I know to be fact on anyone else's authority?

[@jaspermartin7444]

This is good, thanks. I wish more people would see this.

[@miraculixxs]

that's just BS. There have always been different views on practically everything. We used to call these different views 'opinions'. What has changed is that some people seem to think that anyone who has a different opinion to their particular view is somehow distributing 'fake news'.

[@midassnap9028]

If you think today is like anything over the last 40 years then you are dumb.

[@adahir12]

9

[@lzszl]

Or they are speaking their "truth". lol

[@lorrainewhittlesey324]

Thanks for posting, Dan!

[@charliehamburgular]

He's saying abductive, not abduction. The subtitles are wrong about that word.

[@DontNeedToKnow84]

Before we get to anything...Google uses plastic water bottles. Blasphemy.

[@ShannonJacobs0]

Take too long to explain why I'm even leaving this comment in the cesspool that KZbin has become, but I want to record two reactions: (1) Good talk and makes me wish Levitin's books were more available locally. Mostly sad that it will get so little visibility here and no surprise that it's 9 months since the last reaction or that the total views is not much over 10,000 in a year. Only an accident I ran across it. (2) The reason you [Levitin] were wasting your time talking to the googlers as evidenced by their rolling eyes is the lack of link to profit. That't the only gawd the cancerous google cares about these years. Time is the key, but the lock is not googly enough for them. AtAJG, ADAuPR.

[@pramosin]

good. thanks.

[@mizmlyn]

The politics of what’s conventional medicine and alternative medicine determine which is on top, what is accepted. Funding, or lack of, is a huge determination. Chemotherapy is a huge business and won’t be replaced soon, even if it kills more than it helps.

[@gg_rider]

Cancer is a complicated set of runaway biological processes, not one disease. Cancer cells are produced constantly all day and night, but the body kills those deformed cells .. until it malfunctions and stops killing them. It's not a thing that a "healthy immune system" is a solution. A woman's body in pregnancy is designed to not kill those "foreign DNA" cells, except when it fails to protect fetal tissue and there's a miscarriage. Cancer is somewhat similar and opposite to the above example.

[@mktsp2]

Talking about the advantages of reason: he forgot to mention that we are in the border of chaos regarding the climate, all thanks to science and technology and reason.

[@lzszl]

I would argue that we were heading that direction long before those three came about as prominent as they are today. Can you imagine how dirty our air would be if we would still burn wood? Dumbass...

[@cercoverita6073]

Dan!.... come on. I'm reflecting on some of the political statements and situations you chose to point out. My mind was brought to other presentations you have given where you talk about the NNT statistic. Out of the 300 lies surrounding Hillary Clinton you chose to talk about the only one which she did not make herself. Out of the 300 divisive word and actions in this country by Barack Obama, you chose one of the instance and turned it to make his sound like a unifier. Of the 300 lies spun about Donald Trump you chose to pluck out a line from one of his speeches where he talked without clarity on unemployment rates. I agree with you that facts are facts and must be supported by evidence. So I ask you, why have you chosen* to point out facts which conveniently support your political views. You are not bi-partisan. Saying so is indeed a lie.

[@jarlbuttonthe3rd]

The ironic thing here is that you're doing the same thing you alleged 'Dan' was doing - taking only facts that support your own views... and doing so without evidence. I mean by all means, point me to the academic literature about Hillary 'making lies about herself.' Or Obama and 'one of the instance' (although a little more clarity on what exactly you mean there would be fab!). All I'm saying is, maybe take a look at the way you go about your arguments before being just a little bit hypocritical.

[@thetruthwillsetyoufree4747]

It’s not about blame it’s about fixing it it’s out of control it’s causing too much hostility in the world there’s enough hostility and there’s enough sorrow and there’s enough suffering without without assholes adding to it oops I apologize for the clerical error and my poor judgment of wording I’m about getting to the point

[@tonymcauley2162]

Sally Clark was the mother of the infants who died, not Kelly Clark.

[@IntuitiveLeap]

sudo facts information.sorted(news, lambda item: item="notFalse", reverse=True)

[@KaarinaKimdaly]

pseudo-

[@ReaLityBlue]

Stopped when the guy put Obama as example

[@gg_rider]

I'd say Obama was reasonably accurate except for (a) the govt is too broke after shoring up banks to help the economy, but he's just going by mainstream viewpoints, and (b) it was a smart idea to destabilize or overthrow the govt in Syria. (Pizzagate crime scene was the basement of a building that didn't have a basement. Satanic Panic that put a daycare family in prison for decades was based on a basement dungeon that didn't exist, and toddler stories about flying on broomsticks.)

[@leonlim007]

He have a lot a lot of assumptions.... I find it hard to just accept what he said as facts...

[@sunflower-oo1ff]

Well, actually , too political ;(

[@redrageous9738]

Intellectual facts? Evident fact? Two way?

[@Catalinanative]

If a young person is brilliant enough to orchestrate a professional and legitimate website they probably are not an idiot as this guy is trying to lead on.

[@clownphabetstrongwoman7305]

a guy from New York Times teaches us how to distinguish lie from fact while pointing fingers at the "lying" strawman. I learned so much.

[@MonkeyspankO]

lol

[@clownphabetstrongwoman7305]

Dictator In Perpetuity, how old are you, o wise one?

[@clownphabetstrongwoman7305]

MysterieusM, who is that majority? last year 6% of the American public trusted MSM, this year is 7%.

[@dionysianapollomarx]

The majority in the US, or anywhere else, is whoever the fuck it is absorbing mainstream/alternative media without a good "filter". Unfortunately.

[@dionysianapollomarx]

I can't for the life of me trust Google to "filter" news for anyone. No one ever should. I remember during the rise of Wikileaks Google tried its best to help patch up the damage on the military. And also the fact that they have ads targeting us based on our basic preferences -- essentially, monitoring our behavior. Perhaps, we might end up relying on a programmer or a group of programmers who find a way to create this filter mechanism, and it ends up free for download. If that doesn't happen because that's highly idealistic, well, I'll just be vigilant every time I see a headline. Which is what I've been trying to do since 2014. And for the weaponized misinformation part? I don't really know. But I think the Democrats have been complacent because they were in the mainstream. I happen to be a bit left-leaning myself, but I can see how weaponized misinformation happens. Heck, even they are complicit, even if they spread fake news to a lesser degree (at least during this previous American election).

[@dmitriymeh]

I guess Google rep forgot to mention that his pay covers his presentation and does not include any licking :(

[@clownphabetstrongwoman7305]

this guy is funny 😂

[@ShaeMacMillan]

very informative and persuasive Google talk. One of the best

[@midassnap9028]

The comments seem to prove that the lies are weaponized and has clearly penetrated their minds.

[@mktsp2]

Not really.

[@thetruthwillsetyoufree4747]

Exactly that’s what I mean it’s so professionally done now and when you don’t have a physical a on the subject itself putting it out there then you you tend to not know what to believe anymore and then you got all the BS going on and I’m not bringing up names and it’s just basic BS and and it’s so hard to tell sometimes which is factual and non-factual you know it’s just you just don’t know anymore and that’s sad

[@kimballwiggins3976]

Pizza gate is real

[@hideokuze80]

not from that pizza shop though. this is how they discredit actual leaks. they create a narrative that some crank will believe and do some shit and then those who want to hide that leak will swoop down and say, "ha, hence disproved!"

[@AnimaLibera]

Here we have another one with a holier-than-thou attitude trying to sell as many books as possible. Good luck, Daniel Levitin!

[@ariecap]

All hats and no cattle..

[@nancycampbellgibson2634]

Thanks, Trump.