MAN VS MACHINE - WHO SHOULD WE TRUST?

When I was growing up there were a limited amount of ways for people to find out information. You could either ask someone face to face, go to the local library, or, if your query was locational based, call up an adviser on the phone. However, since the advent of the Internet age, finding out information has changed a great deal. So much so, in fact, that nowadays we're not quite sure which way to turn.





Well, on the one hand, there are plenty of search engines at our disposal so we can research a specific subject plaguing our minds, such as Google, Yahoo, and God knows what else. On the other hand we can also go the social media route, and tweet, facebook, pin, or plus one our way towards the eventual answer. And on yet another hand – yes, I do have three hands – there are those aggregator websites which allow people to rate and review a selected area of interest, like TripAdvisor or Rotten Tomatoes.

But, even with all of this at our disposal, sometimes it's not quite clear if what we're getting is accurate or not. I mean, can we truly believe what we see on the Internet? Or for that matter, should we use the Internet just because it makes life easier for us? Personally, I don't think we should. Not always. Primarily its down to us to use our own common sense to figure out what is true and what is false, keeping in mind that we shouldn't take everything we see at face value just because it's printed in black and white or spoken via a healthy looking Youtuber. Having good impartial judgement is paramount when it comes down to matters such as these, good judgement that is complimented by a healthy dose of mind over matter. 

Now please don't take what I've just said the wrong way, as I'm not trying to imply that we should never, ever, believe what the Internet is able to show us. No. I would never say anything like that. I'm no hypocrite. As a matter a fact, in the past the Internet has helped me out quite a bit, especially when it comes down to buying stuff, fact checking certain sources, as well as connecting with people with similar interests. Although, to be fair, while doing this, I still needed to trust my own instincts and follow my own path. Not the path the internet Gods have easily paved for us to follow so we don't think, act, or use our own brains.

And, pray tell, what do I mean by that exactly? Well, without trying to sound like an old fuddy-duddy (Ops! Too late) the problem with some people nowadays is that they would rather believe something they see on a machine than they do another human being. Case in point, a couple of months back, me and a handful of relatives were having a discussion about a fairly old film. Yet, during our discussion, some of them didn't believe what I was saying about it, even though I previously reviewed this film and have a vast knowledge in this particular field. So, what they decided to do, is to click onto Wikipedia just to double check and confirm what I just said. Which it did, quite quickly in fact, and they said as such a soon as they saw it on the screen. What they didn't know, though, is that I was the one who contributed this fact to Wikipedia in the first place, and to my pleasure I threw this right in their face while exhibiting a modicum of proof. 

Yes. I know this all sounds like a silly joke, doesn't it? But I'm afraid to say that this is no joke. To me, this is just another way of proving that some people believe computers more than they do human beings. What a shame. What a real damn shame. Although, on a more positive note, due to their incorrect presumption, some of them did actually start to follow me on Instagram, so at least that's something. Something, nothing, and everything, because at the end of the day behind every machine is a real person who assembled it to begin with, a real person with real motives and real objectives, whatever they may be. Please keep this in mind before you do your next web search! Many thanks.