How are you limiting your knowledge island?
Knowledge islands explain the polarization around the world.
I’m not sure where I first saw the concept of the knowledge island. When I read Rumsfeld’s Rules, I realized the idea might have originated with Donald Rumsfeld.
I’ve created a blue island to represent what we know. The red outline is what we know that we don’t know. The white surrounding the red is what we don’t know that we don’t know. As our knowledge expands, the island gets bigger. We know more. So does the perimeter. We realize that there is even more that we don’t know.
People with small knowledge islands don’t know very much. However, the perimeter is very small. They are aware that there is a little bit that they don’t know, but not much. In their minds, they practically know everything.
Many people live their lives with small knowledge islands. They cluster together. They read the same things. Listen to the same news. Go to the same church.
People who live on a different island are wrong. They are stupid. They don’t know what we know. That is the polarity.
Now imagine that I control your knowledge island. I can make you believe anything I want you to believe, if you allow me to control your information.
The left has their news shows and the right has their news shows. Neither trusts the news from the other and rightly so. However, neither should trust their own news source either.
One of the keys to manipulation is to make 80% or more of the information true. Most people won’t catch the 20% that isn’t true. In fact, the most persuasive people don’t say anything that isn’t true. They leave out the facts that don’t suit the narrative they want readers to believe.
Some say, I understand. That is why I rely on experts to get my information. That’s great, to a point. There are very few times when there is no controversy among experts. How do you choose?
Do you use the bandwagon? Do you go along with the majority?
To decide intelligently, you must have some base of knowledge. That requires expansion of the knowledge island.