HEAD IN THE CLOUD

Poundstone, a Los Angeles writer, has summarised his main thesis quite succinctly in his subtitle: being knowledgeable (educated) still matters. Ironically, this concern arises at a time when everyone potentially has vast knowledge at their fingertips, but, sadly, many lack the ability to filter and assimilate it into their brains, or should I say "own it" intelligently as mature, discriminating individuals. The problem is twofold: first, the focus of this book, is the problem that those who think they know most, generally know least, and vice versa. Ironic? So if you are a modest sage who says the more I learn the less I know, you in fact know much more than most. Second: if you don't know enough to discriminate – know what you know – you are much more vulnerable to fake news. Put another way you may know something or think you know many things when 'in fact' they may be quite bogus. Here I cannot resist one of my favorite quotes: "Some people like to drink at the fountain of knowledge, others just like to gargle."

SMN members might appreciate knowing that Poundstone's thesis is based on multiple surveys of the popular types often used by psychologists. Such surveys help reassure those like Poundstone that their information is "fact-based" and rationally underpinned rather than a product of fake news. [Wasn't it once called propaganda]? How much of a problem the fake v. fact culture war is in Europe rather than in America, Russia or elsewhere is a matter of debate, and on an individual level mediated by that nuanced faculty, the "discrimination" of the beholder. But regardless of how knowledgeable the average citizen is in different nations, fake news and spin is a global issue, symptomatic of a sea change in the entire global media infrastructure. This is tackled, especially in the American context by Kurt Anderson in his book Fantasyland (also reviewed for SMN).

But back to what Poundstone has to say. Now that news of the Berlin wall is "history" we have all heard of the proposed Mexican border wall. Who is in favour of it besides President humpty Trumpty? Well it turns out that "the more factual questions a person answered correctly, the less likely they were to favour a border fence" (original italics). This was regardless of age or education level. We can all chuckle at extreme examples of ignorance, American or otherwise: the student who despite having taken an astronomy class did not know how many moons orbited the Earth. Such ignorance might be rectified if this individual had to go and work for NASA, but the ignorance of the general populace on matters of history, politics and demography has significant influence on important policy decisions surrounding social justice and governance.

Surveys show that Americans think Muslims make up 15% of the US population when in fact the real figure is about 1%. Hungarians also estimated "about 70 times too high." If you relied on the estimates of the general American public (that their population is 25% Latino, 23% black, 13% Asian, 11% gay and 15% Muslim) that would, before overlap, add up to a whopping 87%. In reality about two thirds of the American population is white and more than three quarters (78%) are Christians even though the man and woman in street think that number is only 56%. Poundstone anticipates the sentiments in Anderson's book Fantasyland when he says that such "delusional demographics might be funny" if they did not "influence attitudes and policy in reality" and the "narrative that straight white, native born Christians are an endangered species – and …every 'Seasons Greetings' card…a war on Christmas…" or that 32% of their compatriots were unemployed when the real figure was 6%, [and declining].

America in particular is peculiarly enamoured of Fantasyland conspiracy theories, fearing that, according to popular opinion, it gives away 27% of its budget in foreign aid. The real figure is less than 1%. [Just recently Trump was in Vietnam, ironically complaining that America was not getting a fair deal! After all the USA did give away a lot during the Vietnam war (7 million tons of bombs, compared with 2 million in all of World War II)! But recognising irony, the dangers of hypocrisy or the need for diplomacy, truth and reconciliation are hardly the strong suits of the fact-free crowd]! A groundswell of Americans 'believe' their own government is dangerously-socialist-leaning, conspiring against them [and should be reduced to the size where it can be "drowned in a bath tub"]. Yet this same public is 70-81% in favour of the government programmes (Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security) they need to survive and that are part of the traditional, long-standing tax-supported social contract. [Let's spare SMN readers anything on health care and pharmaceuticals]!

Sadly, it is not just individuals or mobs of individuals who are ignorant, highly inconsistent and politically knee-jerk in their arguments, many state and national governmental agencies are now equally skewed and conspiratorial. The Texas State Board of Education requires that history books give equal emphasis to the inaugural speeches of Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, and down play the role of Thomas Jefferson in the nation's founding "That would be the Jefferson that Jefferson Davis was named after" Poundstone wryly notes! The same board proposed, unsuccessfully, that "textbooks always give Barack Obama's middle name, Hussein." [Did they want one less Christian president and instead a fake Muslim leader]?! Whew!

As Poundstone concludes, his book makes the case that "knowledge that is general, contextual and even superficial appears to useful in unexpected ways... Those who can put a word or phrase to a topic understand that there is a body of knowledge they lack… A broad lifelong education" fosters "wealth and health" and "shapes our intuitions and imaginations" connecting us fruitfully with other individuals and cultures, helping "make us wiser citizens and supply[ing] the underrated gift of humility – for only the knowledgeable can appreciate how much they don't know."

Poundstone's book title reference to the "cloud" is an obvious computer metaphor, but conceptually useful when thought of figuratively as the cloud of information hanging over our heads. It is not always easy to navigate through such clouds, and just as you cannot Google how to become an instant bad weather airline pilot, or brain surgeon, it requires a certain intrinsic knowledge to know what you can reasonably expect to know, find or do. Perhaps you don't know something and wish to Google it. This does not mean you are not knowledgeable. You may already be working on something profound and wish to follow up an important thread. You cannot do this if you do not already have the contextual word, phrase or concept in mind: i.e., if you don't have a clue. So you already know what you ought to look up. And that is "the one thing you can't Google… what you ought to be looking up." If your own knowledge provides the clue, key or 'link' in computer vocabulary, to your desired destination, well and good. If you find a fake answer, your general knowledge is more likely to alert you to the unwanted diversion, and you may veer away [perhaps giving new meaning to an old Rolling Stones lyric: "Hey, Hey, You, You, get off of my cloud"].

Poundstone's book raises some obvious concerns about the information culture that surrounds us and how to navigate it. "Wiser citizens" may navigate successfully without sticking their heads or cursors in the information cloud unnecessarily. But as this book, and others concerned about fake news, and garglers at the fountain of knowledge attests, we have to deal with those who think they know what we know they don't know. The remedy seems to be quite traditional. Education and discernment are useful and make for wisdom. Fundamentally there is nothing much new under the sun, where ominous storm clouds may appear at any time.