We need to become Sceptics | Those Who Claim Need to Provide Proof! Not the other way around!

edje in Deep Dives • 4 months ago (edited)

It's super cool we have this platforms called HIVE and 3Speak allowing absolute freedom of speech. But we all shall realise: Freedom is not only a right, but also comes with responsibilities. One of the most important responsibility is for each and every one of us to be sceptical when we take in the information we being exposed to. When we are not questioning statements made by others, when we don't want to understand if such statement is true or not; Freedom will never be. We will end up in societies of massive control. Think 1984.

Are we ready to accept freedom?

Though I believe in the good of people (a must for all those who like to progress towards more free societies), every time I'm confronted with the fact more than just a few individuals believe in the unbelievable, none substantiated narratives, claims that can be nothing else than false. And they not only believe them, but become more and more vocal about them; Not only in their own real world circles, but also on the internet where massive amounts of people can be lured into the abyss of miss information.

_{image: published by PS 24Q Andrew Jackson School (source)}

This weekend it's all about the election results in the US. A larger group of republican voters, actually believe the whole election was rigged. The democrats wanted to win so badly, they massively altered the voting results. Some of them are active on HIVE. I just hope the majority of our community is able to handle them accordingly...

Question, Question and again Question whatever claims are made!

I left comments and questions to several posts published onto our HIVE chain (through 3Speak as well as through some of the regular HIVE blogging services). Either I got no reaction at all, or I got evasive or off topic responses. Am sorry, but I can't call these responses, answers.

An answers is a piece of information that explains something someone else requested for, often in form of a question.

Today I watches two videos. One was about what is required to influence the US elections on a massive scale. The guy got so much negative response, he felt the need to record another video talking about Freedom versus Control: Talking about the responsibilities for all of us, when we like to live in a more free society than we are living in today. That video is spot on! His words are my thoughts! I wish I had the same ability to create words like he does; But I don't. Therefore I won't spend too much time blabbering anymore, other than to say: "I fully agree with what this guy says: As him, I do believe in the good of people; As him, I like to live in a more free society; Unlike him, I think we are a long way away from something like that to happen. Simply because a too large a number of people are gullible, naive, and refrain from questioning whatever someone else tells them.

Many conspiracy theorist say: "Wake Up; You need to Wake Up!"

I ask you all the same:

When not already woken up:
Please Wake Up!
Become the sceptic!
Otherwise we will never be able to live in freedom!

video: Freedom comes with responsibilities by Charles Hoskinson

video: US Election: QFS Blockchain conspiracy by Charles Hoskinson

BE RESPONSIBLE

a HIVE original
_{all images by edje unless stated otherwise}

_{qsounds music & story library | A...K | L...Z |}
^{hive curator for curie}

#freedom #responsibility #life #hive #creativecoin #palnet #posh

4 months ago in Deep Dives by edje

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mipiano 4 months ago

I agree with you, in everything. First of all about the responsibility while pick up some information and what to do with. Choosing the sources of information can help a bit, as the m.s. media is not there to keep us informed. Their purpose is to 1. Make money 2. Control the mass

Secondly, I agree with you that freedom is something we are long way away from. Every day a step further.

People seems to believe in everything because it is too difficult to think, it's better to be in a comfort zone and be distracted with some short term pleasures. This one is not soo encouraging in the situation.. as the critical mass could change something but still sleeping.

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edje 4 months ago

People seems to believe in everything because it is too difficult to think

You would say the young generation we have to rely on, the generation that is not yet polluted with whatever goes on in the world. But here also, I have my doubts. Recently I saw a whole range of youngsters (students and all) claiming COVID is a hoax. Hopefully this is just a small minority in their age group.

That said, I don't think the widespread use of social media instead of the traditional, more curated channels, are helping. As we all know, social media is even worse (I think: much worse) than the main stream media in terms of luring people into a tunnel. whatever tunnel of information it is.

I've experimented myself a little bit with FB last half a year. The moment I started to like some fake news story, quickly I got a lot of similar stories in my timeline, at the top, or close to the top, pushing my friends posts down to the bottom of my feed. Same happens with my experiments by liking and commenting to posts of FB friends I rarely had in my timeline before. These experiments and FB behaviours showed me FB doesn't care what is in the top of my timeline, my friends with whatever they post, real news, or fake news. FB algorithms seems to work in a way it quickly reacts to changes in my usual patterns and bring me more of the same to what I reacted to recently.

Similar I see with Twitter: Ran some experiments with that service as well. Seems Twitter takes a little longer to adjust to changes in my normal patterns, but still, also at Twitter it's easy to create a tunnel for ourselves.

The problem though: We can't stop technology. We can't stop usage of social media. And we seem to have to deal with people who consume and make whatever they consume their own, instead of first questioning the information we consume before we decide to make it our own or not.

At moments when I'm not thinking too positive, all of this scares me a lot since curating the timelines by organisations will be the only way forward. That in itself will drive more people to shit on all these services (but still continuing using it), and more and more people will find platforms like we have here (HIVE), not curated, with so it seems (to me) a larger percentage of users living in their own tunnels of fake news and being vocal about it, spreading their words and all.

I really hope we can stay away from a path to full control of information, but in those moments I can't believe we are heading to something else than just that.

Sad, very Sad :(

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macchiata 4 months ago

There's something I picked up from my life. Freedom comes with greater responsibility and the need of common sense. Unfortunately, some I found has either or doesn't have both but want absolute freedom.

because a too large a number of people are gullible, naive, and refrain from questioning whatever someone else tells them

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edje 4 months ago

🤣🤣🤣

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montycashmusic 4 months ago

We must also be aware of information bias on both sides caused by the psychological influence that information has when it is repeated enough times in the public sphere.

This is the psychology of marketing and also of propaganda.

Not many are so aware that we now live in an age of censorship.

If the truth is so true on either side, why is censorship of informations to a democratic nation so important. It undermines the veracity of truth.

Most people like to think themselves critical thinkers in the present media paradigm but time and time again just go along with the popular flow.

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edje 4 months ago

As you pointed out, many of us may think they are critical thinkers, but go along with the popular flow. That says enough: We are not ready to live in a more free society. As long as the majority of people go wit the popular flow, we need to control information flow to make sure the popular flow will not be something totally bad for the people. Something I dont like to see happening, meaning censorship should not happen, but it is required to protect a community/society. Just yet, I was chatting with someone in the phishing/smishing (phising through text messages) protection business, and he told me also young people (teenagers, young adults) are falling for these smishin attacks, some of them asking their friends if such and such message is true or false. When youngster who grown up in the digital age, cant recognise fake from real in such very simple cases, then I think we are a really ling way away from being able to live in a more free society. How sad this may sound.

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montycashmusic 4 months ago

I see your point but you've just justified fascism.

Are you ok with that?

I feel it is better to let humanity crash and burn, the only way we learn (and really learn) is through pain.

How much coddling do we need and how much good has that done us in the past? We live in a society of coddling.

What we need are uncensorable platforms that can't be destroyed by any one perspective.

Ok, we have one here.

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edje 4 months ago

I see your point but you've just justified fascism.

You use strong words... I have not affinity whatsoever with such thoughts; I just point out the reality.

I feel it is better to let humanity crash and burn, the only way we learn (and really learn) is through pain.

Hmmm, interesting. Such crash and burn could mean the overtacking of control by a few corporates driving the same what you call fascism. I dont think we want that to happen, do we? Next few decades we have to make sure technology will not be in the hands of a few, whatever form of economy will not be in the hands of a few, and with that control will not be in the hands of a few. Reality is that a few have all these knowledge and control already. In the fiat world. But certianly in the crypto world... the world that should be the driver of free societies, but in reality its taking as much power and money from all the rest. Ok, am a bit black/white with these statements, but am not far from the truth for a bunch of people moving around in crypto space. I tend to look at things positively, but from time to time reality hits and negative feelings about our future start to arrise.

That said, will fight for the good, honesty, continue to try to bring the message across as I try to do in my post, and continue to try to open the eyes of people who are too much followers. Hoepfully at one point in time we can have enough people around to be able to progress to more freedom :) Looking forward to that moment for sure :)

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montycashmusic 4 months ago (edited)

I don't disagree with you. It's a catch twenty two.

Fascism if you do, fascism if you don't.

Who is gonna be the one that presses the button of control?

Self-responsibility is the solution but who takes this option? This means facing personal pain now and willingly in order to avoid a greater pain in the future.

What we need more than anything is the foundation of a society that allows freedom without abuse - as one person's freedom is another person's tyranny.

What you state is stated with good intention I see - but i quickly see how your suggested methods of control cause greater problems in the future. As soon as we justify censorship in one sphere of information it becomes just as easy to press that same button in other areas.

Before you know it, everything you do and say is controlled 'for the betterment of humanity'.

And likely it won't be an altruistic or benevolent you or I that is creating this new framework for control it will be the powers that be which we have already come to distrust for all of their corruption.

My take home is this - people should stop trying to control each other.

There is amazing levels of corruption on both sides of this political dilemma happening in America - who are you to say in all of your wisdom that you are right?

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edje 4 months ago (edited)

I think we both want the same to happen; Our goals are the same at least, a society of freedom without control by others, an individual, an entity or whatsoever. The path towards such future, is where we deviate. I don't have the truth in my hands and never will. I only have suggestions. I think we need to find ways to get to the future we want and whatever path we go, we have to make sure we progressing to that goal. Its not that black and white. If control by some system is bound to move towards full control with no freedom to the people, this would've happened a long time ago already. I dont say we are on the perfect path towards our endgoal, we may want to (even need to) shift lanes. However I doubt we shall move to the lane where no control is executed, not today, and likely not anytime soon, since too many people will not be able to travel with us, while at the same time the bad actors will likely take control and pushes us to the lanes of more control then we are dealing with today. Sure, you may say: We can't look into the future, whatever happens then we will have to wait for until the future is the current moment. I think we really need to explore the roads (lanes) between as much freedom as possible, whilst bringing the mass to the end goal without the chance of a total reset of our societies with all the unpredictable outcomes we can imagine.

That said, I understand we are not on the same page wrt how we reach our endgoal which we share :)

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montycashmusic 4 months ago

Sure, well we can disagree non-violently without ending in a resolution to control each other. lol

If control by some system is bound to move towards full control with no freedom to the people, this would've happened a long time ago already.

I disagree with this wholeheartedly. For this moment, the people hold power still and their perspectives still have sway in politics no matter how non-critical they may be.

But with the advent of high technology, the people no longer need to be listened to. They can simply be controlled by those with the tech.

We're moving into a completely different world. Those megalomaniacs that previously were held back by the will of the people - now with both high technology and an unprecedented knowledge of the human mind - have a greater ability than ever to assert a plan for total dominion.

It's not a conspiracy, it's all out there for those that want to read it and do their research. At least it is, until someone decides that it's against the people's best interest to read about such things and decides to mandate laws that censor such content.

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edje 4 months ago (edited)

You make a very good point wrt technology and the possibility, well the very likelyhood, it can be used to dominate everything, including the people. Technology advancement and how this can be bad to reach our endgoal, is something I had long long thoughts about. To me, the only way this will play out well, is that technology will be in public hands. No single entity, or multiple thereof, shall be allowed to own the technology. We may need to start to remove the possibility of patents. We may need to break down the big corporates to small companies. We may need to break down the whole financial sector. We shall do so in the fiat economies as well as in the crypto economies. When we gonna breakdown all of what I mention, we will face a LOT of resistance. Not only by the owners of these corporates, but also by a lot of others who think their lives depends on those corporates. But we will have to go through this for sure, otherwise technology will be in the hands of a few, and we are all doomed. That said, the big corporates generally have a sort term focus, generally not having long term views on how technology can be harmful for themselves, let alone for the rest of the world. When not breaking down all of the, more or less, monopolies and bring this all back to small proportions, its (to me) very lickely technology will destroy humanity completely, ie AI will wipe out humanity since AI doesnt understand why we are not acting such that we can survive in the long run.

Sure, well we can disagree non-violently without ending in a resolution to control each other. lol

I'm all for none volient discoussions, agreement and living together and even like friendships with those who think differently :)

You wan to LOL?

This afternoon I read a Tweet from someone who not only believes in Bitcoin a lot, but also believes in a free society without rulers. You know what she wrote after she complained about some of her newly ordered furniture will be delivered end of year only? She wrote something like: "I ordered my bed at Amazon and they will deliver next week; A great service for which I like to pay a premium". D*rn... She doesnt understand what she is contributing to! These type of companies are 1000 times (maybe even 10000 to 100000 times) to big already. I laught for more than 10 minutes before I even could respond to that Tweet LOL