December 2003 Cutter Benchmark Review -- Preparing for the Next Digital Revolution

by Robert D. Austin

There's a rhetorical strategy familiar to anyone who nowadays tunes in to editorial content in the media: A commentator makes a radical assertion that seems plausible on the surface and that seems consistent with a trend. The commentator may not be particularly qualified to make the assertion. (Have you ever asked yourself why we ought to believe those people talking at us on TV news shows? When did we start accepting that someone who has strong opinions is some kind of an expert?) And usually the assertion doesn't bear up well under scrutiny. Nevertheless, we are obliged to debate the assertion, because people who are attracted to its surface glitter don't think critically about its argument. They just repeat it. Such commentators are purveying disinformation, creating a sort of noise that jams the signals that we need in order to learn and to advance modern societies forward.