A single website can be a powerful tool.
I recently came across an interesting website I thought worth sharing. Rather than just sharing a link and description, I’d like to explore the reasons why I think it’s such a valuable, and important, concept.
If you’d rather skip the blah blah blah, and just check out the description and link, just scroll down to “Wasn’t this supposed to be about a website?”
The backdrop.
There have been many identifiable sections throughout human history — most, or all, were milestones based on technology. The Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Industrial Revolution, and so on. In school, I remember learning that we’re currently in the Information Age. I really didn’t think I understood what that meant, until recently.
The Internet changed the world, and increasingly affordable access to the Internet further expedited the changes many experts and visionaries saw developing. Smartphones and social media have catapulted us into the dead centre of a freshly changed world with little experience or knowledge in how to adapt ourselves and our individual lives. These major changes have typically been relatively gradual, giving cultures and societies time to adapt — not so, this time.
I mentioned not really understanding what the Information Age really meant. Yes, I understood that the internet was a new technology which allowed people to share and access information faster and more vastly than had ever been possible before, but how would that transform society as a whole? That was the part I didn’t understand. As a major science fiction fan growing up, I was fascinated by technology, but I thought we were still waiting for a fantastic technological breakthrough — mere information didn’t seem very transformative to my young imagination.
By now, I think you know where I’m going with this.
Adapting to the Information Age.
The number of changes in how we socialize can’t be understated. The ravenous appetite for information we’ve developed isn’t something anyone could’ve predicted. Omnipresent social media, 24/7 news coverage, real-time debates and squabbles between celebrities and world-leaders, and a truly global stage for creative people to showcase their works are only a few applications of this new access to information we’ve seen arise in only a few short decades.
But who verifies that information? How are we to know what information is being shared in good faith, by individuals, or organizations, and what information is composed with a deliberate intent to manipulate, disinform, or to cause pure chaos? The Internet, as it stands today, is one of freedom of information. Anyone is free to post anything they like — with a few exceptions — regardless of validity or intent. This leaves individuals very vulnerable to manipulation and disinformation.
Note: The distinction between disinformation and misinformation is important and, I believe, relevant here. Dis-information is when information is shared with a deliberate intent to manipulate the truth, in order to, in turn, manipulate people. Mis-information is when someone is simply incorrect. Example: To deliberately spread a false rumour about an individual is disinformation. To unknowingly repeat false information is misinformation.
Science is more important than ever.
All of this is one reason why the scientific method is so important. To put it simply, the scientific method is one where we observe the world, make a guess as to how/why a thing is the way it is, think of a way to test that guess, and present the results of that test. The scientist can then adjust their guess and try again, or show the world what they’ve learned, so others can test it for themselves. That last part is called peer review, and it’s a crucial step in ensuring information is unbiased, has no other motive, and is as close to the truth as we can manage.
If scientist one says a thing is true, then scientist two can do the same things that one did, and see if they had the same results. They can also point out any flaws in the way they tested their guess, so the test can be better the next time. If this process is repeated over and over again, then we can build upon the knowledge and work of others, improving our understanding of the crazy and wonderful thing we call life.
The Internet, as it stands today, creates a problem for this viewpoint. Information is presented without concern for validation. There is no peer review process for what goes online. Further, we have stopped asking if a thing is true or not, but most of us simply believe what we feel is true, or what we want to believe.
The popular TV show in the 90s, The X-files, made this their slogan, though their intended meaning was far from what I referenced above. Nevertheless, it’s hard to argue the Internet hasn’t encouraged a worldview of believing what we want, rather than what is objectively true. As the poster on the wall said “I want to believe” is often enough for people in the Information Age.
Wasn’t this supposed to be about a website?
The website I found was the inspiration for this post, yes, but like I said, I thought context would be valuable. I hope it opened your mind to how important a tool like this can be, if we consider the environment in which it was created.
It’s called Consensus, and it’s a search engine for verifiable facts people who don’t have time to read scientific papers. Never-mind not having time, have you ever read a scientific paper? They’re written to be thorough and accurate, not legible and enjoyable. This website does an admirable job of presenting you with relevant information, from a variety of sources — some contradicting each other — which you can look into further, if you wish.
Unlike a Google search, this one will only provide reputable sources of information. Who gets to choose what’s reputable, then? Put simply: scientists. People who pride themselves on discovering the truths of the world. There is no room here for corporate sponsored research, which looks to ask the right questions in order to arrive at a pre-determined answer. There’s no room for amateur ‘researchers’ who look to build fantastical conspiracy theories which don’t hold-up to scrutiny. There is only room for information which has been reviewed by numerous other scientists, who understand what facts are.
The website is as simple as possible: you type in a question, just as you would with any search engine, and it will present you with a number of answers from a variety of sources. By reading the responses, and the way they’re carefully worded, you might begin to understand how scientists view ‘facts’ and how they respect the infinite complexity of the world.
You will rarely get a yes or no answer from a scientist. You’ll more often hear something like “it depends” or “yes, but…”, and if you use this website/tool more and more, I think you’ll start to understand why.
The responses might not be as clear-cut as you’d like, but they’re true — in-so-far as the scientific community knows today. Humanity has always been curious, and I hope we continue to question our world, as well as our contributions to it. When we have vast libraries worth of knowledge at our literal fingertips, tools like Consensus are vitally important in ensuring we can distinguish what is true, rather than what we feel is true.
It’s virtually impossible for the average person to verify each fact they come across online. But, tools like Consensus give us an invaluable tool in fighting both misinformation, as well as disinformation.
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