Murray Gell-Mann, RIP


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The concept (or quote) from Gell-Mann I occasionally cite has little (or nothing) to do with science:

Briefly stated, the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect works as follows. You open the newspaper to an article on some subject you know well. In Murray’s case, physics. In mine, show business. You read the article and see the journalist has absolutely no understanding of either the facts or the issues. Often, the article is so wrong it actually presents the story backward-reversing cause and effect. I call these the “wet streets cause rain” stories. Paper’s full of them. In any case, you read with exasperation or amusement the multiple errors in a story-and then turn the page to national or international affairs, and read with renewed interest as if the rest of the newspaper was somehow more accurate about far-off Palestine than it was about the story you just read. You turn the page, and forget what you know.

Very important insight in these days of Fake News. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murray_Gell-Mann

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Murray_Gell-Mann

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48 minutes ago, 9thdoctor said:

The concept (or quote) from Gell-Mann I occasionally cite has little (or nothing) to do with science:

Briefly stated, the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect works as follows. You open the newspaper to an article on some subject you know well. In Murray’s case, physics. In mine, show business. You read the article and see the journalist has absolutely no understanding of either the facts or the issues. Often, the article is so wrong it actually presents the story backward-reversing cause and effect. I call these the “wet streets cause rain” stories. Paper’s full of them. In any case, you read with exasperation or amusement the multiple errors in a story-and then turn the page to national or international affairs, and read with renewed interest as if the rest of the newspaper was somehow more accurate about far-off Palestine than it was about the story you just read. You turn the page, and forget what you know.

Very important insight in these days of Fake News. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murray_Gell-Mann

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Murray_Gell-Mann

Dennis,

Just for completion, the quote you mentioned is by Michael Crichton from his 2002 speech, Why Speculate?. I found it by starting to look from Wikiquote link you posted.

Also, this amnesia effect has a lot to do with the framing or priming effect given in Cialdini's book, Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade. One example Cialdini cited: when people see an American flag, Republican votes increase. This has been studied and documented.

Here is Scott Adams discussing it. (Go to 19:41 for the start of that topic.)

As an added thought, I believe the mainstream media has habituated the public into thinking that massive repetition of a news topic without anything substantially new added is normal. They do it on purpose because that makes it easy for them to slip in their covert stuff. Since Kat and I watch Fox, back during the previous administration, we used to call this "Bitching About Obama," or Bitchin' 'Bout 'Bama" for short. :) So it's not just the fake news anti-Trump media that does this. They all do it.

Michael

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