Sunday, September 14, 2014

Don't know much about geography. Don't know much about, well, everything.

The Onion made fun of bloggers like me:
So, of course, here I am returning to my blog after a break of, gasp, two days!

BTW, if there is nobody to read a blogger's post, then does the blog post make that philosophical noise in the forest? ;)

Anyway, two months ago, I remarked on how much even the attention-paying few realize that yesterday's news becomes quickly forgotten:
We live in a world in which yesterday's news is not merely yesterday's news but feels like something that might have happened back in the Jurassic Age! 
Apparently, I was not the only one to think along those lines, though it does almost always feel that way in my world.  In today's paper, I read this commentary, where the author writes that "even dedicated news junkies are bound to tune things out" because of the sheer volume of events:
A look back at this year shows just how fickle the public’s attention can be. Several stories have peaked in the news, but no two have commanded the same peaks of attention at the same time.
Google Trends tracks how often people search for keywords — including those related to major events — all over the world. Back in March, the conflict in Ukraine grabbed the world’s attention, but it was largely forgotten when Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared.
It wasn’t that the action in Ukraine or its global importance diminished, as we would see later in the year. Audiences and news organizations simply switched head space and resources to the other story.
Two stories could not claim the same peak of attention at the same time.
Then, in July, the fighting in Gaza ramped up along with its audience. But just as it was heading for a Google Trends peak as high as those of Ukraine and MH370, something else happened: the downing of another Malaysia Airlines jet in Ukraine. With two big stories developing simultaneously — the plane was shot down on the same day Israel launched its ground invasion of Gaza — neither managed the heights of attention of Ukraine and MH370 earlier in the year.
Within weeks, however, attention shifted again. An outbreak of ebola in West Africa wiped almost everything else off the map. In August, there was another change. Ebola dropped well off its peak, as the crisis in Ferguson, Mo., began to capture eyes from around the world.
Then, as the Islamic State has advanced farther across Syria and Iraq and has committed horrific crimes, it has pulled readers and viewers away from ebola and other stories. Of course, none of this has any impact on whether the deaths from ebola are mounting (they are) or concern from public health officials is growing (it is).
Forget the "average" person.  What about the experts?  No, I am not referring to Thomas Friedman.  And, no, by experts I am not pointing to where John McCain drools.  I am referring to real experts like, well, me.  Hahaha!  Ok, seriously, what do the experts think?  Here is Dan Drezner, who has now started moonlighting at the Washington Post, opining that nobody knows anything:
Let me be blunt:  I didn’t expect a lot of this to go down in this fashion. After all, I’ve been relatively upbeat about global economic governance, and I was hopeful that as the developed economies recovered, so would their ability to tamp down geopolitical tensions.  Oops.
It has been one awful year. Just when it seemed like we were all settling into more peaceful and friendly ways, kaboom!

Drezner ends it with an important piece of advice:
when the world seems like an uncertain place and you’re looking for some guru to help explain what the world will look like in 2015, please remember:  Nobody. Knows. Anything.
If that is the case, then is it even worth following the news?

YES, DAMMIT!  Don't ever take your eyes off the world news.  Otherwise, the McCains and the Friedmans of the world will screw us even more than they have.

Ok, I exaggerated.  Ignore the world news.  Ignore the Onion.  READ THIS BLOG! ;)


5 comments:

Ramesh said...

Allright. We shall ignore McCain and read this blog.

I really don't mind the short attention spans. It is enough for me to learn of news events , read some informed comment on them (that is why, no Twitter !), form a point of view, and digest the happenings. These shape our thinking in very explicit or subtle ways. For example, the periodic outbursts in Palestine may be short lived in memory, but has certainly, over time, contributed to my understanding of the issues.

This is also why, blogs like yours are extremely valuable. They articulate a point of view. sometimes I actually learn about an event which I might have otherwise not heard at all. Sometimes I agree with your view, and sometimes I don't, but it helps in understanding , appreciating and respecting many many issues.

So more power to you my friend. Blog on and we shall read on, comment on and pick occasional fights with you :)

Anne in Salem said...

I wish I could keep all of this in my head simultaneously, but I'm afraid it would burst. There just isn't room. I need to focus on more immediate concerns like budget and college applications and a homesick daughter thousands of miles away. When I have satisfactorily dispatched those concerns, assuming none other arise (oops - another arose already - cleats to the face Friday night), I will read about Gaza and Ukraine in the same day. In the meantime, NPR will have to inform me of the news of the day and provide some bit of analysis so I am marginally aware of a world outside my myopic view. Besides, the Wife of Bath's prologue is far more entertaining than another disaster report.

Sriram Khé said...

Exactly. There are only so many hours in a day, and we can allocate only a little bit of time to keeping up with the world ... and there is Kim Kardashian also in the mix!!!

Ramesh said...

Who or what is Kim Kardashian ??

Anne in Salem said...

Ramesh, I beg of you to remain blissfully ignorant of this repugnant American fascination called the Kardashians. You do not have room in your head for it, and, if you choose to pursue, will be the worse for it.