Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman Ep41 "Is there any such thing as true news?" (Truth Part 2: the Internet)
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Jan 8, 2024 The podcast explores the role of emotion and personal belief in shaping public opinion, the historical context of censorship and propaganda, the power of the internet in providing access to information, Chinese government's filtering of Google search results and advertisements, internet censorship and state control of information, and various podcast ads and call for listener engagement.
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Post-Truth Is Not New
- David Eagleman argues that "post-truth" is a romanticized illusion because history always favored emotion over facts.
- Major 20th-century atrocities show people long relied on emotion and belief, not objective facts.
Education Has Dramatically Improved
- Global education access has vastly improved over two centuries, reducing illiteracy and expanding schooling.
- Eagleman cites a rise from 17% basic education in 1820 to over 86% by 2020 as evidence.
Soviet Photo Rewrites
- Eagleman recounts Soviet photo edits where Trotsky and others were airbrushed out after falling from favor.
- He plans to post before-and-after images on his website for listeners to inspect.