PREVENTION
With all of the methods for filtering out there, it may seem impossible to prevent FILTER BLINDNESS. And, to a degree, it probably is. But, educating the general public on the dangers of allowing pre-determined algorithms to deliver news can bring an ounce of relief. Whether we choose to return to SERENDIPITY through defining our own PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY, or by demanding MORE ALGORITHMS, both new and more transparent, is not the issue. The real issue is whether or not DISSOI LOGOI is still alive - whether or not we still know how to create a true representation of the world for ourselves.
DISSOI LOGOI
The value of general encounters
DISSOI LOGOI: objectivity and balance.
According to Wikipedia
Dissoi Logoi (literally, "different words" in Greek) is a rhetorical exercise dating back at least to the 3rd century AD of arguing a topic from both sides. It is intended to help an individual gain a deeper understanding of an issue by forcing him or her to consider it from the angle of his opponent, which may serve either to strengthen his or her argument or to help the debaters reach compromise.
In ancient Greece, students of rhetoric would be asked to speak and write for both sides of a controversy. Dissoi Logoi was first referred to by name in Exhortation to Philosophy, a work from the 3rd century AD, by Syrian Neoplatonist Iamblichus. The custom has long persisted. For instance, the Wright brothers, during an argument, would deliberately switch sides temporarily and each argue for their opponent's position. Dissoi Logoi also refers to a short treatise written anonymously after 400 BC, and found among the papers of Sextus Empiricus. |