The book "The Information Diet" by Clay Johnson. It discusses various key points from the book, such as the concept of "information obesity" and the need for more conscious information consumption. Here are some of the main takeaways from the book:
Information Diet Analogy: The book uses the analogy of a diet to emphasize the importance of being mindful about the information we consume, just as we watch what we eat in a food diet.
Affirmation vs. Information: Media companies often prioritize affirmation (reinforcing existing beliefs) over providing balanced and informative content. This is driven by profit motives and results in sensationalism and biased reporting.
Information Obesity: Similar to overeating, "information obesity" occurs when people consume excessive and often inaccurate or biased information. This leads to a lack of basic facts and the belief in falsehoods.
Three Aspects of Information Obesity: The book identifies three flavors of information obesity:
Agnotology: The manufacturing of ignorance and doubt through the presentation of seemingly factual data.
Epistemic Closure: The dismissal of information from sources seen as opposing one's own, resulting in a lack of trust in diverse perspectives.
Filter Failure: The creation of information bubbles through selective exposure to sources and like-minded individuals.
Infovegan: The book introduces the concept of an "infovegan" as someone who consumes information consciously and critically, seeking reliable sources and avoiding biased or sensational content.
Data Literacy: The book emphasizes the importance of data literacy, which includes skills like effective search, filtering and processing data, producing information, and synthesizing ideas.
The Information Diet: The author encourages individuals to assess and reduce their daily information consumption, avoid sources of mass affirmation, overprocessed information, advertisements, and personal biases.
Social Obesity: Changing the economics of information is proposed as a solution to information obesity, supporting investigative journalism, and promoting digital literacy.
“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”
—Thomas Jefferson, to Charles Yancey 1816
Participation Gap: The book discusses the gap between individuals and the mechanics of power in government. It highlights the need to focus on practical, solvable problems and the modernization of government listening tools and policies.
Role of Programmers: There's a call for programmers to take an active role in addressing societal issues and to dedicate time to causes they care about.
In summary, "The Information Diet" by Clay Johnson encourages readers to be more conscious consumers of information, to seek diverse perspectives, and to support quality journalism. It also highlights the importance of addressing issues related to information overload and media biases.
Johnson, C. (2012). The information diet: A case for conscious consumption. O'Reilly Media.
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"The Information Diet" by Clay Johnson has greatly impacted how I teach, learn, and live. It taught me that we need to be careful about the information we take in, just like we are careful about the food we eat. As a teacher, I now understand that the information I consume affects what I teach my students. It's important for me to show them how to be smart about the information they find. This means looking at different sources, thinking carefully, and being able to tell what's true from what's not. The book made me realize that we should have a healthy information diet, which means having a good mix of different sources and being smart about what we believe. This isn't just important for me and my students as they grow up in a world full of information. So, I'm teaching them to be smart about what they read and see online. It's like teaching them to eat healthy for their minds, and that's just as important as eating healthy for their bodies.
I completely agree that the information teachers consume affects how and what we teach students. As teachers, we need to be aware that we should be open to multiple sources of information and think through the information we are receiving.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great perspective. I like that you used this book to reflect upon your teaching practice. Self-monitoring and dieting is great, but when we are in a position to influence others, we should put them in the forefront and take them into consideration. We really should be teaching others how to consume information in a healthier way - especially in 2023 when so much information is at their fingertips.
ReplyDeleteI have forever tried to be unbiased about when I teach government and politics, I don't know how many times I've been asked Ms. Mosher who did YOU vote for? My response is always the same, it doesn't matter who I voted for as long as I voted. I am a firm believer that if you don't vote you don't get to argue about what is going on in the country. Being unbiased allows me to teach history they way it should be taught, the facts and not having my opinion and views come into it. I think in order to mold the future you need to let them make their own decisions. My biggest example of this is that my mother and I differ on some issues and she once told me that I needed to think like she did because she was right. We all know how stubborn I am so it made me want to do the opposite just to make her enraged. In order to prepare children for being functioning members of society it is important for them to be able to make their own decisions based on their own beliefs and not to have others influence them.
ReplyDeleteI like how you reflected on how your consumption affects what you teach your students and I completely agree with that. What we consume is going to affect and reflect what we teach our students. I think information consumption is a good example for "practice what you preach." In order for us to teach our students to be mindful and smart with their consumption, we must also be mindful and smart with our own consumption.
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