Post: #1

This is something I've been thinking about for a while. Youtube has facilitated the spread of knowledge but at the same time the illusion of knowledge. Even on this forum, you see many guys posting videos with titles like "the Truth about..." as if it is gospel. I have a buddy who is an ardent Flat Earther (lol) and his entire worldview is shaped by random clips he has seen on Youtube which he thinks prove the existence of a flat earth.

Is Youtube a source for much of the misinformation we're seeing?

Post: #2

I dunno about "much of", but there's a lot of dumb shit on youtube.

Can't count how many people lost money on youtube "crypto" experts.

Post: #3

Depends on your sources. You can be informed on subjects and go from there down a rabbit hole. If I were curious about a topic or an item youtube would be a port of call to get the basics and then do activities and research myself.

Time and investment can lead you to becoming an expert over time surely.

Post: #4

There's a lot of junk on Youtube, but also plenty of practical wisdom and information too. It takes discernment to sift through it all. YouTube, with all of its many faults, is still better than back in the old days when all we had was cable news networks controlling everything. Youtube/Google stills likes to censor and curate, but even having the ability to upload is a step in the right direction. I think at some point we'll see some real alternatives to youtube. For now, there's still plenty of knowledge on youtube, just have to use common sense to determine if the channel owners are actually to be trusted or not.

Post: #5

Its pretty much the same in books and the internet in general. let's take flat earth for example, If you're leaning even slightly towards flat earth then everything you read that supports the idea will seem like the absolute truth. Confirmation bias.

Feminist, for example, don't JUST ignore all the debunks of their philosophy but rather read literature explaining how the debunks aren't actually debunks but misunderstandings.

There's so much information online, so much to consume and so many distractions that the average person would rather lean completely one way rather than get both sides.

However, the real destruction of knowledge would be memes. Memes give completely false information in order to troll somebody.

Post: #6

What is really the difference between other sources and youtube? It comes down to whether the source has integrity and they do their homework. If you aren't doing your own research on top of what you see, you will always be a risk of being manipulated whether it is television news or youtube.

But what youtube provides that is harder to find elsewhere is direct access to an audience on practically any topic without the intrusion of other factors like a standards board at a university or job. Unfortunately, youtube has started to encroach on this great freedom with giving out strikes and bans for various views but this knowledge shouldn't be discounted. It should just be accepted that maybe it is not as thoroughly vetted as some other material might be on other sources.

Bottom line: you get to drink from this new source of unique knowledge. Who cares if you get a little dirty water in the process? Smart people will filter the bulk of that out.

Post: #7

Carl Sagan coined the phrase "demon haunted world" when the public internet was barely born. I haven't read it but I've come up with my own mental immune-system to vet information which is very strict. This is more than most.

Nerds tend to be observers of the world rather than participants. They're not playing the game and their only sense of self-worth comes from trying to understand the way the world really works for its own sake. So they can be better at actually figuring this stuff out than the average person with all their ideological baggage and tribal identifications.

People believe what they want to believe in the end, and their inner need to frame things this way or that is so strong and entwined with sense of self that they usually wall themselves off in echo-chambers and never really consider alternate viewpoints.

I see it everywhere, including here. It's just that the dogma varies depending on the hangout.

Post: #8

If someone really honestly believed the earth was flat, they'd go looking for the edge to prove it.

I have very little patience with conspiracy theorist. Most of the time, I think they just want attention so they believe in futile shit because other people will listen out of amusement.

Post: #9

A lot of stuff on Youtube may be bullshit, but when it comes to instructions for home or car repairs, or setting up something computer oriented like a Wordpress plugin, Youtube videos are often the best source of information.

I would go so far as to say that Youtube videos have revolutionized the ability for the average person to get useful and detailed instructions for a wide range of tasks.

Post: #10

(01-16-2019 10:32 PM)RoastBeefCurtains4Me Wrote:  A lot of stuff on Youtube may be bullshit, but when it comes to instructions for home or car repairs, or setting up something computer oriented like a Wordpress plugin, Youtube videos are often the best source of information.

I would go so far as to say that Youtube videos have revolutionized the ability for the average person to get useful and detailed instructions for a wide range of tasks.

Yeah, for real. I started playing bass guitar back in the 80s. Would have killed to have the resources that are out there now. My 15 year-old-daughter is learning bass now, too, and is getting actually not too shabby at it after a little over a year, lots of that thanks to YT bass tab vids.

Post: #11

My income has doubled in the in past few years due to all the free content I consumer on YouTube and business podcasts for my online ecommerce businesses .

Here is the thing: IT'S FREE

You don't like or think it is BS - change the channel or move on to something you like

Post: #12

I also heard a lot of stuff from so-called "experts" that weren't on YouTube, but in the end their info didn't check out. For example, the US government told me to eat lots of carbs, my church told me that the Earth was 6000 years old, a dude at the bus stop told me to buy enron stocks in 1999, etc. In the end I decided that the medium (YouTube, word of mouth from serious looking people, old books, email chain letters) didn't matter so much and I had to evaluate things for myself.

Post: #13

(01-16-2019 09:39 PM)LINUX Wrote:  If someone really honestly believed the earth was flat, they'd go looking for the edge to prove it.

Flat earthers insist that the edge is in Antarctica, but the militaries stationed there will prevent you from seeing it

Post: #14

There is a lot of bullshit on Youtube. Mix that with how much time some people spend a day watching videos, its easy to say that some people mistake youtube for reality.

Post: #15

Youtube's main problem is that it turned half the West into performers and entertainers, and if Harveywood and the Fappening haven't convinced you how basic and fucked up your average performer or entertainer is, you missed it.

On the Internet, past basic knowledge, if it's useful they either lock you up for putting it up or pay you handsomely to take it down.

God save us from people who mean well. -storm

Post: #16

(01-16-2019 10:45 PM)Solitaire Wrote:  

(01-16-2019 10:32 PM)RoastBeefCurtains4Me Wrote:  A lot of stuff on Youtube may be bullshit, but when it comes to instructions for home or car repairs, or setting up something computer oriented like a Wordpress plugin, Youtube videos are often the best source of information.

I would go so far as to say that Youtube videos have revolutionized the ability for the average person to get useful and detailed instructions for a wide range of tasks.

Yeah, for real. I started playing bass guitar back in the 80s. Would have killed to have the resources that are out there now. My 15 year-old-daughter is learning bass now, too, and is getting actually not too shabby at it after a little over a year, lots of that thanks to YT bass tab vids.

Totally agree with both these posts. I've used YouTube instructional videos for countless home projects, like fixing a dryer duct, properly hanging up blinds, repairing bifold doors that split, sealing a door frame with weather stripping, getting keys "faceplates" to line up, etc.

Not only didn't I know how to do this stuff, but I didn't even know what half the stuff was called. Had it not been for YouTube, I'd have been out hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.

While doing this, I also stumbled upon videos about clothes dryers, saying what energy hogs they were. So I bought a $10 drying rack, get the clothes about 70-80 percent dry on that, and use the dryer minimally for touch-ups. Saves lots of money and also helps your clothes and towels last longer.

My nephew is a keyboardist but needed to play a clarinet part in the school band. He learned how to play the part in days, even though he'd never touched the instrument before. I asked him if he'd taken lessons. He was like "Lessons? Are you kidding? I just found a YouTube video."

When more educational people catch onto this, maybe we can see the rise of real education, not the SJW crap we get in schools.

Post: #17

I love Youtube. Without youtube fitness/bodybuilding would be damn near impossible to begin. Being able to see tutorials for free is just so damn priceless.

As far as experts go, there are some experts on youtube, just like there are some college professors who fact check wikipedia because they're sick of their kids writing misleading info in their essays.

Post: #18

So are you saying it's not Youtube's fault I spend all my time watching Sovereign Citizen videos?

Post: #19

(01-17-2019 05:07 AM)Paracelsus Wrote:  Youtube's main problem is that it turned half the West into performers and entertainers

Hasn't it always been this way in some shape or form?

Post: #20

(01-16-2019 11:09 PM)TigerMandingo Wrote:  

(01-16-2019 09:39 PM)LINUX Wrote:  If someone really honestly believed the earth was flat, they'd go looking for the edge to prove it.

Flat earthers insist that the edge is in Antarctica, but the militaries stationed there will prevent you from seeing it

You mean there is only one edge?
What about the other directi... uh.. better stop looking into rabbit holes for today

Post: #21

Youtube is the natural evolution of the public access channel. Most of it is crap but there are gems here and there namely tutorials on hobbies and car repair.

There were always "experts."

Post: #22

I think when someone posts "The Truth About XXX, from Stefan Molyneux" there's obviously a context where the audience of that post knows about Molyneux, assigns him some credibility, and is prepared to provisionally accept his take on XXX while (hopefully) still retaining the ability to think critically. Obviously there are people posting YouTube videos about the flat earth and other people just sucking it up, but this is not really about YouTube, it's about their IQ and critical thinking skills, and about the communities where they are taking in this material (i.e. an online peer group that has a certain attitude to the material).

Post: #23

There is a lot of false information on internet, but the benefit of free useful information far outhwighs this.

I know for sure my life would be miserable if not for internet. I was confused, without a good male role model, didn't know what I was doing.

There is a lot of disinformation outside of internet too - lot's of people with different opinions, lot's of liars. Many old people today are the biggest fools and not wise. TV is all lies. Lot's of pretentious books contain nothing but lies or twisted half-truths. Publishing is female and feminist owned. Men have lost their way, women have lost their way - there is less truth in real world then in internet.

Internet has thought me Game, fitness, dieting, truths about how world and humans function, what is really important in history, what is gold and what just shines like it. From big life queastions to small things like DIY home repair - internet has thought me so much.

There are still people who don't use internet for self develompment - just for entertainment - these are the most miserable people, hopelessly left behind.

I don't worry about disinformation - I filter that shit out easily. Core truths can be empirically confirmed. What makes women love you - approuch and verify experimentally. Is earth flat or round - easy to observe empirically, that is how even ancient people knew about it.

Problem comes when you only live in internet and never go in real world to experiment and check if stuff you learned works or not. 50/50 is best. Spend all time in net and you will have 1000 theries not knowing which is true. Spen all time in real world - and you will learn few things but very slow and very painfully. Intenret accelerates that learning and makes it less painful.

Some things are harder to verify - will bitcoin raise ofr drop? Don't know. But still I would benefit no matter what - just remember basic truths like 1)Sexual market is the root of fiscal market; 2) Don't go into debt; and you will be fine and will figure even such complicated stuff out eventually.

Post: #24

(01-18-2019 02:07 AM)Mage Wrote:  There is a lot of false information on internet, but the benefit of free useful information far outhwighs this.

I know for sure my life would be miserable if not for internet. I was confused, without a good male role model, didn't know what I was doing.

There is a lot of disinformation outside of internet too - lot's of people with different opinions, lot's of liars. Many old people today are the biggest fools and not wise. TV is all lies. Lot's of pretentious books contain nothing but lies or twisted half-truths. Publishing is female and feminist owned. Men have lost their way, women have lost their way - there is less truth in real world then in internet.

Internet has thought me Game, fitness, dieting, truths about how world and humans function, what is really important in history, what is gold and what just shines like it. From big life queastions to small things like DIY home repair - internet has thought me so much.

There are still people who don't use internet for self develompment - just for entertainment - these are the most miserable people, hopelessly left behind.

I don't worry about disinformation - I filter that shit out easily. Core truths can be empirically confirmed. What makes women love you - approuch and verify experimentally. Is earth flat or round - easy to observe empirically, that is how even ancient people knew about it.

Problem comes when you only live in internet and never go in real world to experiment and check if stuff you learned works or not. 50/50 is best. Spend all time in net and you will have 1000 theries not knowing which is true. Spen all time in real world - and you will learn few things but very slow and very painfully. Intenret accelerates that learning and makes it less painful.

Some things are harder to verify - will bitcoin raise ofr drop? Don't know. But still I would benefit no matter what - just remember basic truths like 1)Sexual market is the root of fiscal market; 2) Don't go into debt; and you will be fine and will figure even such complicated stuff out eventually.

I keep trying to spend time in the real world, but everyone I meet out there is staring into their stupid phones and is emotionally engaged online in some way.

Now what?

Post: #25

This thread makes me think I might need to just do a mass download of youtube instructional videos, upload em to an ipad or some tablet device and then hide it away in a microwave so that it's EMP shielded with the solar event happens. Decisions...