Manufacturing Confusion

I read this article in Wired Magazine and found it to be extremely interesting. Maybe even an idea for my professional report- how does advertising contribute to this "culturally constructed ignorance?" Just an idea...

Clive Thompson on How More Info Leads to Less Knowledge

Is global warming caused by humans? Is Barack Obama a Christian? Is evolution a well-supported theory?

You might think these questions have been incontrovertibly answered in the affirmative, proven by settled facts. But for a lot of Americans, they haven't. Among Republicans, belief in anthropogenic global warming declined from 52 percent to 42 percent between 2003 and 2008. Just days before the election, nearly a quarter of respondents in one Texas poll were convinced that Obama is a Muslim. And the proportion of Americans who believe God did not guide evolution? It's 14 percent today, a two-point decline since the '90s, according to Gallup.

What's going on? Normally, we expect society to progress, amassing deeper scientific understanding and basic facts every year. Knowledge only increases, right?

Robert Proctor doesn't think so. A historian of science at Stanford, Proctor points out that when it comes to many contentious subjects, our usual relationship to information is reversed: Ignorance increases.

He has developed a word inspired by this trend: agnotology. Derived from the Greek root agnosis, it is "the study of culturally constructed ignorance."

As Proctor argues, when society doesn't know something, it's often because special interests work hard to create confusion. Anti-Obama groups likely spent millions insisting he's a Muslim; church groups have shelled out even more pushing creationism. The oil and auto industries carefully seed doubt about the causes of global warming. And when the dust settles, society knows less than it did before.

"People always assume that if someone doesn't know something, it's because they haven't paid attention or haven't yet figured it out," Proctor says. "But ignorance also comes from people literally suppressing truth—or drowning it out—or trying to make it so confusing that people stop caring about what's true and what's not."

After years of celebrating the information revolution, we need to focus on the countervailing force: The disinformation revolution. The ur-example of what Proctor calls an agnotological campaign is the funding of bogus studies by cigarette companies trying to link lung cancer to baldness, viruses—anything but their product.

Think of the world of software today: Tech firms regularly sue geeks who reverse-engineer their code to look for flaws. They want their customers to be ignorant of how their apps work.

Even the financial meltdown was driven by ignorance. Credit-default swaps were designed not merely to dilute risk but to dilute knowledge; after they'd changed hands and been serially securitized, no one knew what they were worth.

Maybe the Internet itself has inherently agnotological side effects. People graze all day on information tailored to their existing worldview. And when bloggers or talking heads actually engage in debate, it often consists of pelting one another with mutually contradictory studies they've Googled: "Greenland's ice shield is melting 10 years ahead of schedule!" vs. "The sun is cooling down and Earth is getting colder!"

As Farhad Manjoo notes in True Enough: Learning to Live in a Post-Fact Society, if we argue about what a fact means, we're having a debate. If we argue about what the facts are, it's agnotological Armageddon, where reality dies screaming.

Can we fight off these attempts to foster ignorance? Despite his fears about the Internet's combative culture, Proctor is optimistic. During last year's election, campaign-trail lies were quickly exposed via YouTube and transcripts. The Web makes secrets harder to keep.
We need to fashion information tools that are designed to combat agnotological rot. Like Wikipedia: It encourages users to build real knowledge through consensus, and the result manages to (mostly) satisfy even people who hate each other's guts. Because the most important thing these days might just be knowing what we know.

I Pledge...

I've completed my first week of the semester and so far I'm feeling pretty good about my classes.
1) Theories of Persuasive Communication/Consumer Decision Making - I've already taken an advanced theories course so this shouldn't be bad. There is a lot of work involved (readings, papers, etc.) but the content should not be an issue. This class has the potential to be extremely boring but so far I really like the teacher.
2) Integrated Communications Management - More of a business class than an advertising class. I don't exactly get excited when told to do case studies, and there are MANY case studies involved. So far seems pretty dry and boring. Oh well.
3) Immigrant Media - Based on the content of American media and how it is altered to reach multicultural audiences. It's outside of advertising in the RTF (radio, television, film) school and should allow me to study media from a different approach than I'm used to (demographics, cost analysis, etc.). The teacher seems cool and is holding a pot luck at her house for her students to get to know each other. Granted, it's a small class of less than 10 :)

If all goes as planned I should be graduating EARLY which means this time next year it is likely one of two things will be happening:
1) I will be freaking out because I can't get a job
2) I will be freaking out because I have to move across the country for a decent job
I would really love to stay in Austin AND have a job in a media department. I'll keep my hopes up and we'll see what happens!

I've decided to go to South by Southwest Interactive in March. I am PUMPED! My extreme nerdiness comes out with my excitement for the content, the trade show, the panels (see a list here). My desire to explode into the business world comes out with my anticipation of the networking opportunities. I have already developed a business card to give out to any new friend or potential business contact and I hope it will really stand out... It's not a typical business card size, it's skinnier, and on thick, black, what they call "indestructible" paper. On one side it has an Oscar Wilde quote, "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." On the other side it has only the address of my future website, www.whitneylawson.net and some stars around it. Mike is going to help me build the website. It's going to be very simple. A small bio, contact information and a link to my LinkedIn profile. I've already purchased the domain so it should be up in the next month. (Mike also purchased www.michaelmcbryde.com so we'll be working on that... aren't we such a trendy couple? haha) I realize my hopes for SXSW are probably higher than they should be, but I'll be on spring break and will be able to soak in everything to the fullest and stalk as many industry professionals as possible. I'm kidding. Kinda. I'm most excited to hear speakers from Razorfish (it's in my top 3 of where I sooooooo want to work), Adult Swim, Digg, Wired and, wow, so many others.

On a less nerdy note, Mike and I are going to see Ron White for his birthday. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it's his birthday wish so I'll deal with it.

Back to a hopeful note, here is a very nice video to our NEW PRESIDENT!

Spicy Garlic Rosemary Shrimp

I've made this recipe a few times- it's Easy and DELICIOUS!

Ingredients
1 pound medium shrimp, deveined, peeled, tail end left on
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lemon juice

Directions
To a large skillet, add olive oil and garlic slices and cook over moderate heat until golden. Remove garlic chips.
To the skillet, add rosemary, pepper flakes, and shrimp, and cook, stirring, until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and transfer to serving dish. Squeeze some lemon juice over shrimp.


My notes: I minced dried rosemary in lieu of fresh. Since Mike and I both love strong flavors, I minced the garlic, used an extra clove and didn't remove the garlic from the dish. I also used about 2 tablespoons of butter and a lot of olive oil to make a sauce in the same pan while the shrimp cooked, and served the shrimp and sauce over angel hair pasta. Super simple, super fast and very tasty!

FCC's future

What to Expect from FCC Under New Obama Chair
Julius Genachowski's Likely Approach to Everything From Decency to Net Neutrality

By Michael Learmonth
Published: January 19, 2009

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- For better or for worse, the Federal Communications Commission has been defined of late by public-decency battles, from Janet Jackson's Super Bowl nipple slip to Bono's F bomb at the Golden Globes to an underage sex party on CBS's "NCIS." It was also in the news for its 18-month review of the merger of two failing satellite-radio companies.

Julius Genachowski

Now, outgoing Republican chairman Kevin Martin is headed to the Aspen Institute, and Julius Genachowski, a close friend of President-elect Barack Obama, is expected to take the helm. Mr. Genachowski is a former executive at Barry Diller's InterActive Corp. who more recently became a venture capitalist and entrepreneur, starting the Washington-based incubator LaunchBox Digital and Rock Creek Ventures. He's advised companies such as Web.com, Ticketmaster, The Motley Fool, Beliefnet (sold to News Corp.), Truveo (sold to AOL) and Rapt (sold to Microsoft).

So, what kind of changes can we expect with the first Democrat at the helm of the FCC in eight years?

Decency

Before: Mr. Martin was a decency hawk, levied fines against broadcasters, and seemed to delight in tweaking the entertainment industry. The case of whether broadcasters can be held liable for "fleeting expletives" uttered on air was heard before the Supreme Court in November, and it didn't go well for the broadcasters.
Now: Decency issues won't disappear from the agenda, but they'll take a back seat. Lobbyists such as Brent Bozell and the Parents Television Council will keep the issue alive, and occasionally force the commission's hand, but the FCC won't be trolling for violations or looking to score political points against Hollywood.

Media ownership

Before: Mr. Martin inflamed public-interest groups by proposing a loosening of the cross-ownership rules to help struggling newspapers and TV stations. The commission has handed out waivers to allow media companies to skirt the rules, such as the one that has allowed News Corp. to keep two TV stations in New York, as well as The Wall Street Journal.
Now: Mr. Genachowski doesn't have much of a track record in media, but most observers believe that a further relaxation of the rules is a nonstarter. The No. 2 tenet of Mr. Obama's tech agenda -- written by Mr. Genachowski: "Encourage diversity in the ownership of broadcast media, promote the development of new media outlets for expression of diverse viewpoints and clarify the public-interest obligations of broadcasters who occupy the nation's spectrum."

Net neutrality

Before: Late in his term, Mr. Martin earned some cred from net-neutrality advocates (most forcefully, Google) by taking action against Comcast for attempting to slow down BitTorrent traffic.
Now: While net-neutrality proponents got some of what they wanted under Mr. Martin, they'll be looking for a lot more under Mr. Genachowski, who helped put "Protect the openness of the internet" at the very top of Mr. Obama's stated tech agenda. Specifically: Advocates would like a statute or net-neutrality law that would be enforceable by the FCC. That would be supported vigorously by service providers such as Google, as well as activists, and opposed by cable operators and wireless companies.

Broadband access

Before: Mr. Martin has made open access to broadband networks a priority, including forcing Verizon to open up its network to competing devices and applications as a condition of winning a wireless-spectrum auction.
Now: Expect no big change here except emphasis: broadband is expected to be a core priority of a Genachowski-led FCC and a key economic priority for the administration.

A la carte pricing

Before: Cable isn't regulated for decency, but Mr. Martin used his bully pulpit to push for a la carte pricing to allow families to just subscribe to the channels they want, rather than the packages peddled by cable companies.
Now: Expect this issue to go away. "Cable won't be beaten over the head; they did not fare well under Martin," said former FCC official and Stifel Nicolaus analyst Rebecca Arbogast. Instead, expect a new emphasis on technological controls such as the V-chip and parental controls offered by cable and satellite-TV operators.

Digital-TV transition

Before: On the eve of the transition to digital signals Feb. 17, the switchover is a bit of a mess. The coupon program to subsidize the converter boxes is out of cash, 2.1 million people are on the waiting list, and the Martin-led FCC just awarded the contracts for call centers and support groups to help people with transition.
Now: The House Appropriations Committee recommended another $650 million for the DTV transition, and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), incoming chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which oversees the FCC, proposed legislation that would delay the switch until June. Still, this will be a mess that Mr. Genachowski will have to clean up, and could take precedence early on over the more ambitious aspects of his agenda.

Management style

Before: Mr. Martin chaired the most secretive FCC in recent memory and was known to micromanage agency decisions.
Now: Expect the FCC to get elevated status during the Obama administration, and look for Mr. Genachowski to open up the decision-making process. Some priorities will be tempered by the economic climate, and the commission likely will be wary of any policy that could chill continued broadband rollout to the rest of the nation.

stuffed mushrooms

I've been cooking a lot so I'm going to start posting my favorite recipes. I'll start with stuffed mushroom I made on Wednesday:

Ingredients
1/2 cup Italian-style dried bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
28 large (2 1/2-inch-diameter) white mushrooms, stemmed

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Stir the bread crumbs, Pecorino Romano, garlic, parsley, mint, salt and pepper, to taste, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium bowl to blend.
Drizzle a heavy large baking sheet with about 1 tablespoon olive oil, to coat. Spoon the filling into the mushroom cavities and arrange on the baking sheet, cavity side up. Drizzle remaining oil over the filling in each mushroom. Bake until the mushrooms are tender and the filling is heated through and golden on top, about 25 minutes. Serve.


My notes: I "accidently" doubled the amount of both mint and garlic but the mushrooms still turned out nicely. I also used slightly less than 1/2 cup bread crumbs, as I didn't want the filling to be too grainy. They turned out great and were even good the next day as leftovers. The mushrooms were a little softer on day 2 but still crisped up nicely in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes.

Q5

timmy

My mom mentioned Tim Tebow could do so much more with his life than be a football player. I don't disagree! But Mom, here is a great video that explains why being a football player is a great role for him, even aside from his talent:

New Year, New Post

It has been almost a full month since I have posted and so much has happened in that time.

• finished off the semester with straight A [minuses]
  
• went to Dallas for a night to visit Lilly on a business trip, ate an amazing [and not so politically correct] meal of Chilean Sea Bass, schmoozed with rich people
• brought Lilly back to Austin, ate tons of TexMex, shopped, bar hopped
• had a smooth flight to Florida with Winston
• enjoyed mani/pedi pampering with my mom
• had a lovely Christmas- got tons of Vicki's Secret and a GPS!
• spent New Year's with my parents, aunt and a bunch of old fogies, danced, laughed, had a great time
• Sara came to visit and we spent a few days beaching, exploring the space coast and planning her wedding
• spent a few days in SoFla and got to stay a night with Cindy, beached, ate at Angelo's- our favorite pizza!
• ate delicious sushi and caught up with Cori, shopped at an outdoor mall in the rain, drank an amazing sake sangria
• between my dad and I, finished four boxes of Pop-Tarts in 5 days
• went to the BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, tailgated, saw old friends, went to the game by myself but made friends, CHEERED ON THE GATORS TO A WIN!
• had a not so smooth flight back to Austin
• watched Wall-E three times
• tried two new delicious and healthy recipes- a walnut and spinach pasta salad and stuffed mushrooms

GREAT month... now back to school and work. BOO!