Thought Control

Full Title

Thought Control is simply a pejorative term for the communications of Information. It implies deception.

Context

George Orwell wrote the novel 1984 as an expose of the devious methods that organizations (like governments) use to get people to think a particular way about reality. He was focused on getting out Information that reflected reality on the ground of the Spanish Civil war and the deliberate focus on just those facts that advanced the reality that the publisher wished their audience to be focus on.

Ludwig Wittgenstein focus on Language as a game that was played out where one person tried to infect the ideas of another person by crafting packets of Information in speech.

Problems

• The original problem identified by Orwell was that the publishers were interesting in promoting one side in the Spanish Civil war against another side and so were unwilling to publish a story that went against their preconceived ideas about which side was in the right. So those publishers would not publish Orwell's expose of the inhumane treatment by their favored partisans. Orwell was able to find other publishers for his story, so there was no net effect of the publisher's position.
• In the case of Chomsky arguing for broader access to the media he proposed a new access model where everyone would have access to the means to express themselves. Well, we got that, the Internet. So, are we better off for all this freedom or has the noise overwhelmed all the information?
  • Misinformation and Disinformation: The rapid spread of false information often drowns out credible sources.
  • Content Overload: The sheer volume of content makes it harder to discern valuable insights.
  • Algorithmic Bias: Platforms prioritize engagement, sometimes amplifying sensational or polarizing content over high-quality information.
  • Confirmation Bias: Humans seek out, and believe, information that preserves their preexisting ideas.