If we were to make an analogy between radiocative matter entering the body, and toxic information entering the mind, what metrics do we use to measure the dangerous effects of the information? How long it lasts or how deeply it can modify conscious/subconscious brain processes?
I disagree having read about people who work as content moderators for websites like YouTube. They frequently suffer from acute forms of PTSD having only passively consumed information. If information can cause PTSD, I would consider that information dangerous to one's mental health.
Not to mention simpler examples like the anti vax movement. Which has put not only individuals in danger, but whole populations. There's plenty of examples of information leading to harm.
(This comment is neither a recommendation for censorship nor a push for freedom is speech)
That's true. I also thought of something like state secrets where a government agent might show up one day and make you disappear.
But that type of information is only indirectly dangerous. The actual danger is the government agent or your personal actions based on misinformation in the case of antivaxx.
I was thinking more in terms of information that is objectively dangerous. Just ingesting the information alone is enough to cause damage.
I was also reminded of an article I read recently about artists and animators who worked on the newest Mortal Kombat game suffering from PTSD due to the graphic nature of their art and the reference materials they had to use.
> I was thinking more in terms of information that is objectively dangerous. Just ingesting the information alone is enough to cause damage.
I think there are cases for that too. But it depends on your psychology. For example there are mathematicians who have studied infinities and gone insane. Others haven't. Probably other factors involved, but it helped push them over the edge.
I would propose the unit of "Cuil". 1 Cuil is present when a piece of information causes permanent PTSD in 50% of the people viewing it within 1 week. 0.1 Cuil cause PTSD in 5% of the people viewing it and so forth. Measurements over 2 Cuil express timeframes shorter than 1 Week. So 100 Cuil would cause permanent PTSD symptoms within 8 hours.
Alternatively, you measure how long people remember the video vividly and express the danger as the half life of the information related to it's damage.
You may be interested in reading this paper from Nick Bostrom, where he outlines the dangers present in certain types of truthful information: https://nickbostrom.com/information-hazards.pdf
> There's no such thing as dangerous information, only truth and not truth
Please submit some proof of this extra-ordinary claim. There is a lot of evidence to the contrary. And we're not even yet talking about whether 'Truth' is a binary value.
That's an over simplification. True information can be dangerous or not. Falsehoods can be harmless or not. Context has a significant impact on how the information is treated and the ramifications that come from it.
I feel like many of these are examples of that what people do with the information is dangerous, not that the information _itself_ is dangerous. Perhaps a slight difference, but one that I think exists.
I think people suffering PTSD is a better example of how information can be dangerous.
Game of Thrones analogy: an important character being told they are the true heir to the throne results in another character burning down a city. Information can be dangerous depending on the context. Also in the show, The heir’s father in the story kept the information secret to protect that persons life.
There most certainly is. We actively codify for it in most societies in a myriad of ways. See: Nuclear technology secrets, CDC protocols, and the fact that things like PTSD exist.
And to your underlying point: stop assuming everyone is rational or will act in the best interests of society with information. There is plenty of information available to you to negate that assumption.
Psychedelics have their ups and downs, but perhaps their best quality is their ability to enhance perspective. Being able to understand different points of views probably will change humans.
I can't even imagine what our distant future holds as psychedelics become more accepted, but it is extremely encouraging given the mindset of our current leadership!
So how do we simulate the fallout and mushroom cloud of a tera-ton nuclear fusion explosion detonating while travelling at mach 300 in the stratosphere? What would that look like?
Can’t we make some sort of waxy nanostructure material in the form of a cigarette that burns with zero particulates? Won’t help the issue directly but will help smokers.
Here’s an idea - since all vapes except home made devices are electronic, put a Bluetooth chip that requires a phone app that securely identifies the age of the vaper. Make it mandatory for all vaping devices and boom - massive cut in underage vaping.
Good. God only knows how much money is wasted when you just want a camera in the sky to monitor traffic/incidents and are forced to spend money on a helicopter/fuel/pilot.
Thanks! Originally I had the buttons as separate colors - it didn't look too great but I'll play around with it and think k about hiding the results until a user votes.
Of course. But I don't see what you're getting at unless you're just suggesting a government sponsored solution would go the same way as Google+. I would argue otherwise - infact I do see a similarity in Google+ and the proposed FedBook: The members were already there to start. Having citizenship automatically gives you an account. However with FedBook, users would have more than just a social media account, it would be a platform to vote and can be as powerful as we want. Family trees can even be mapped out. All on the taxpayer without the need to sell data.
That was fast. Despite all his somewhat shady practices, at least he's willing to be held accountable. It's too bad we probably won't see the president own up to half the problems he's created.
