A friend writes:
Personally, I'm strongly against the extreme recency bias of the internet.
I like the choice of words, "recency bias." The internet, of course, being a means of rapid communication, lends itself easily to immediacy. But sound thinking and immediacy often (though not always) find themselves enemies.
There is an international movement among chefs, the slow food movement, to return to the pleasures of prepared foods and "escape the homogenization of modern fast food and life." A great idea.
Maybe we need a Slow Thinking Movement. For those of us that take a week or two (or months, or years) to make up our minds about issues. The Gulf War? Not sure yet. The Sexual Revolution? Still thinking about subscribing to Ms. magazine to see what the fuss is about. The Renaissance? Waiting to see if it takes.
Every election, I get to have my brain insulted by political attacks on flip-floppers. Hey, a flip-flopper is someone who has made up his mind twice. That's a commitment to rapid commitment if I've ever heard of one. I can think of issues I have known about since childhood that I have not made up my mind about once. Jesus. Well, there's one right there.
Somebody needs to stand up for all the people who just don't know. The Slow Thinkers. The ones getting around to it. Do we really have to have an opinion today? Can't it wait? We could band together and force leaders worldwide to take things under advisement instead of blurting out first responses. Islamic extremists, for example, would benefit handsomely from a few more "Anti-American Reconsideration Committees." (Speaking of which, I love the word committee. Two ms, two ts, two es. A word that just doesn't want to end.)
We could encourage people to check off the "I don't know" option to every answer for every survey. Of course it would mean the end of the careers of many pundits, but luckily we haven't decided to eliminate welfare just yet. That plan is in the slow cooker.
I could be the leader. Well, let me think about it . . . .