What makes a video go viral? Is it a formula or is it just something elusive and unpredictable? trying to make content that will go viral can be a dangerous game for content creators, limiting their creativity or trying to tailor their talents to what they think people like, rather than just trusting their gut with what is actually good content.
Unfortunately we have an online system that prioritizes vitality over quality. Videos such as “Charlie bit my finger” or the salt bae meme show that these things are almost impossible to predict and that trends change often, if you become good at what you like, it is likely the trend will follow you rather than the other way around.
Neil deGrasse Tyson discusses the ignominious dismissal of science in the political arena. Arguing that if those in power think that science is just an opinion and begin to implement policy and legislation in that vein, then that is beginning of the unravelling of an informed democracy.
If the scientific method is reduced to something that people think is an opinion and is thought to be a partisan issue. Tyson argues this is a fundamental misconception of what science is and why it works. And how this mistrust shows the poor standards of the american education system. There is legitimate scepticism on scientific claims due its funding and the vested interests in the carrying out of the research and then there is flagrant denial of scientific consensus based on nothing but feeling.
This is an engaging and lively monologue which touches on the american political climate and the mistrust in science without evidence to refute scientific claims.
Inventor, Entrepreneur and Englineer discusses what he views as the most important work to be doing if he was a young person in 2017.
Musk has been at the centre of the conversation around artificial intelligence and sustainable energy consumption over the past 15 years. He is ranked the 21st most influential people in the world and his current company SpaceX are working on a project to eventually allow humans to colonise Mars.
Are humans just naturally lazy, comfort and pleasure seeking beings? Or do we really want dignity and fulfilment?
in this riveting excerpt professor Noam Chomsky discusses how the billions upon billions of dollars spent on advertising has been used to psychologically manipulate are ideas of what we want.
Tracing trends from the industrial revolution of the 1800’s to the educated poor in the 1930’s, Chomsky argues that what we really want is a sense of belonging and dignity in our work, not evermore accumulation and consumption of products.
Katherine Maher, executive director at the Wikimedia Foundation discusses how Wikipedia went from a site loaded with errors and false information to the world’s trusted open encyclopedia.
Through the process of constant self improvement and a dedication to ensuring accurate information, Wikipedia shows that sorting fact from fiction is a much easier job than has been made out from public figures such as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
Maher suggsts that the way news is consumed and how information is spread is more the problem than fake news itself. It is the profiteering, commercial model of clickbait and stretching of truth as companies and individuals fight for our screen time that must be seen as the focal point of fake news.
She states the product design is flawed and the major providers need to take a stand on the way information is presented to the consumer and allowing quick resolution to removing what is fake, just as Wikipedia has done:
“When I’m looking at a Facebook feed I don’t know why information is being presented to me. Is it because it’s timely? Is it because it’s relevant? Is it because it’s trending, popular, important? All of that is stripped out of context so it’s hard for me to assess: is it good information that I should make decisions on? Is it bad information that I should ignore? And then you think about the fact that all of the other sort of heuristics that people use to interpret information, where does it come from? Who wrote it? When was it published? All of that is obscured in the product design as well.”
So does Fake News really have the problem or is this an obfuscation of what is really causing the spread of misinformation?
In this extraordinary clip Dr. Dan Siegel, clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine reveals how social media is actually physically rewiring our brains.
The addictive nature of social media has become starkly apparent as anyone who takes public transport will be aware. Yet its capacity to manipulate and reshape our brains is something not often discussed and something parents should be particularly aware of in relation to exposing their children to smartphones.
