I don't
know who first said 'Believe only half of what your eyes see and
believe nothing of what your eyes read.' There are a few similar
sounding quotes, peppered around the internet, that have rightly or
wrongly been attributed to different people. In the world of the
internet, something previously written, that is often then attributed
to someone. Turns out to have been written sometime before. Often the
earlier quotes are only found due to the huge amounts of books that
are and have been digitised then placed on-line. But usually the
quote is in a different context that makes the original quote less
than memorable.
The world
of the 'real' author has been invaded by many other 'amateur'
authors. Which through varying degrees of skill, have reinvented the
(unique quotation) wheel many times over. In something
resembling a real world take, on the fabled 'infinite monkey
cage.'
If you are not familiar with the term infinite monkey cage. The infinite monkey cage theorem says that if you take an infinite number of 'monkeys' and an infinite number of 'typewriters'. Which you then place in an infinite sized monkey cage. In an infinite amount of 'time' all of the worlds greatest classics would be rewritten by the monkeys, purely by accidentally hitting the typewriter keys.
The
infinite monkey cage theorem is an illustration of the mathematics of
probability. However, the public's mind often oversimplifies or
confuses important aspects of the different scales of the concepts
involved, infinity, probability and time. All of these are in
measures beyond average human experience and practical comprehension
or comparison.
However, what the infinite monkey cage theorem fails to acknowledge is during this same infinite time period, additional 'world classics' would also be written. Classics that were new to the world, in languages that are also new and unknown to us. All would be world classics that were previously unpublished in any known or unknown language. There would also be an infinite pile of publishers rejection slips.
However, what the infinite monkey cage theorem fails to acknowledge is during this same infinite time period, additional 'world classics' would also be written. Classics that were new to the world, in languages that are also new and unknown to us. All would be world classics that were previously unpublished in any known or unknown language. There would also be an infinite pile of publishers rejection slips.
Its the
uncertainty created in our minds by mathematics, that point to these
actual certainties. Take a pack of playing cards. With four suits and
thirteen values. Which if shuffled into a purely random order. That
order is almost certain to be in a completely random - but unique -
order. It is almost certain that the pack of cards has never been in
that random but unique order before and it is almost certain for that
pack of cards to never be in that random but unique order ever again.
Its actually the same outcome – even if you include all the other
packs of playing cards in the world. No two packs in the world will
ever be randomly shuffled into the same order. However, if you take
an infinite number of monkeys and an infinite number of packs of
playing cards..... well you already know the rest!
'Believe
only half of what your eyes see and believe nothing of what your eyes
read.' Is actually quite an astute observation of the way of the
world today. Everything that is written is from a particular
standpoint and so naturally contains some personal bias of the
author. However, the quotation is most often quoted, when its
applied to modern media – such as newspapers and television.
Most
people of the opinion that newspapers have recently sold their soul
to the devil. Well I would agree to that allegation for any number of
British publications. They are no longer editorially free to publish
whatever they want. They have been bought by very wealthy people and
now only provided carefully screened propaganda to the paying masses.
So why does the quotation say, only believe half of what you see.
Television in its various forms is now also owned by the wealthy or alternatively it is state controlled by government. One such institution is the BBC which
is state controlled by government who hold the budgets.
There is
now the start of a trend away from print to digital. As print copies
and circulation numbers continue to fall. There is a move to the new
on-line, pre-paid subscription service. But the take up has been
patchy at best. Some print newspapers who were also into the digital
publishing have already dropped their subscriptions. Some print
newspapers are making to move to digital only. The next few years are
going to be challenging. Its a whole new world, because information
now comes from many places and sources and its almost instantaneous.
News is a 24/7 fact of life and print copies are almost becoming
historical documents by the time they hit the street.
To a
point I can understand this because our tastes as a news consumer
change. Anyone can be a blogger and any blogger can be a news
provider. The grip of the big news corporations is being eroded
because every smartphone is connected to the internet. Every
smartphone is capable of recording the news as it happens. Every
smartphone owner is a reporter on the front line. The internet is
becoming in its own way, a micro version of the infinite monkey cage.
Now
because of the instantaneous reportage, social media allows for the
first time, people pressure to challenge biased and deliberate
misreporting of content. Challenging in a way that would have been
unbelievable only a few years ago. The digital media tries to get
around this obvious shortcoming by allowing reader comments on
articles. Yet we all know, comments can be selectively sorted,
excluded and surreptitiously attached. The biggest problem for the
newspapers moving to digital, is that they are late to the party and
in the digital world their content is already lost in the
noise.