For the Anti-Intellectualisim article, I plan to add more about how technology and social media has contributed to the idea of confirmation bias and that leads to disregard for facts and thus towards Anti-Intellectualisim. I want to emphasis that in the past, the concept was related to witchcraft and was seen as odd if you were naturally more intelligent or had interest in academic pursuits, whereas today, the word does not have the same meaning but is more so about rejection of knowledge because of a conflict in conformation bias. Some sources I have include:
https://www.theguardian.com/media-network/media-network-blog/2014/may/13/internet-confirmation-bias
Assignment 2: Draft of my article/outline
Anti-Intellectualisim and Social Media
- confirmation bias
- non challenging ideas
- competing incorrect information
Anti-Intellectualisim and Society
-idolization of non scholarly individuals (Kim Kardashian etc.)
-Ignorance of facts https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/09/18/only-36-percent-of-americans-can-name-the-three-branches-of-government/
-dumming down of society
-rejection of educated individuals by non educated individuals because of pre-concieved ideas such as privilege and no experience with "real world"
Anti-Intellectualsim and Election
-rise of attention on the issue based on voting demographics. College educated more likely voted for Clinton http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/09/behind-trumps-victory-divisions-by-race-gender-education/
-political figures saying that they'd rather identify with the common man than the intellectual
-only the wealthy and educated were able to vote, and the trend has shifted Voting rights in the United States
Contribution: When discussing the meaning of the word Anti-Intellectualism, the word has evolved over a century’s old definition. Anti-Intellectualism was seen in a negative light due to the mistrust of wealth and upper class individuals trying to inform the general public[1] However, today, the word has taken on a more modern context with terms that are commonly used such as “alterative facts” “fake news” and “post-truth politics”. These definitions have also played part in the modern understanding and distrust of factual information, which plays into the greater term of anti-intellectualism in its most modern form.
21st Century Statistics: Some alarming statistics to show the devestaing results that the trend of anti-intellectualsim has generated in the 21st century. People deny climate change on a consistant basis[2] as a means of being at odds with the scientific community. One in four Americans think that the sun revolves around the earth[3] and 35 percent of Americans in 2014 could not name a single branch of American government[4].
Media: With americans having increasing access in the digital age in the 21st centrury, an increasing amount of individuals are getting their news from social media[5], in which is very easy to confuse fact from fiction. Because individuals now have social media, there has been a greater propensity to consider ourselves experts which leads to a rejection of classical and traditional thought and study.
Confirmation Bias and Anti-Intellectualism: Confirmation bias is the phenomena that reaffirms our self accepted ideas and creates hostility and mistrust to those other ideas that we do not expose ourselves to, thus showing a symptom of anti-intellectualism[6]. The rejection of outside knowledge, facts and points of view is likewise a trait of an anti-intellectualist. There is less willingness to learn about the world. With the increase of social media, it is easy to find an article that affirms one's own beliefs.
21st Century Anti-Intellectualism and Science: Another trend that can demonstrate the growing trend of anti-intellectualism in the 21st Century is the distrust of scientists as experts. In recent polls, there is a shown gap between the acknowledgement of scientists making advancement in human lives and the actual facts that scientists put forward that people are willing to believe[7].
Critique from notable figures: In the 21st century there have been other notable figures that have addressed the growing trend of anti-intellectualism. Bill Maher, a popular comedian, had a segment on his show Real Time with Bill Maher [[Real Time with Bill Maher]], pleading to “Make America Learn Again”[8]
Isaac Asimov, a notable writer and professor of Biochemistry,[[Isaac Asimov]] was quoted to say, “There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”[9]
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- ^ 1930-, Sowell, Thomas,. The quest for cosmic justice. ISBN 9780743215077. OCLC 898484807.
{{cite book}}:|last=has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Sample, Ian; editor, science (2015-01-29). "Many Americans reject evolution, deny climate change and find GM food unsafe, survey finds". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
{{cite news}}:|last2=has generic name (help) - ^ "1 In 4 Americans Thinks The Sun Goes Around The Earth, Survey Says". NPR.org. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
- ^ "A Shocking Number Of Americans Don't Know Basic Facts About The US Government". Business Insider. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
- ^ Mitchell, Amy; Gottfried, Jeffrey; Barthel, Michael; Shearer, Elisa (2016-07-07). "1. Pathways to news". Pew Research Center's Journalism Project. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
- ^ "What Is Confirmation Bias?". Psychology Today. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
- ^ "Americans' increasing distrust of science — and not just on climate change". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
- ^ Moran, Lee (2017-02-11). "Bill Maher Wants To 'Make America Learn Again' This Valentine's Day". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
- ^ "The cult of ignorance in the U.S.: Anti intellectualism and the 'dumbing down' of America - Progreso Weekly". Progreso Weekly. 2016-05-29. Retrieved 2017-03-01.