A recent Pew survey showed a sharp ideological divide in media consumption. Nyhan disputes these findings: [H]ave the predictions of widespread media echo chambers really come true? It’s hard to tell using questions like Pew’s, which ask people to self-report where they get their news. People can be biased in what outlets they choose to name or forgetful … Continue reading Epistemic Closure Watch, Ctd
Pew looks at how conservatives and liberals consume their news: When it comes to getting news about politics and government, liberals and conservatives inhabit different worlds. There is little overlap in the news sources they turn to and trust. And whether discussing politics online or with friends, they are more likely than others to interact with like-minded … Continue reading Epistemic Closure Watch
Part of his press conference today, translated: Vladimir Putin: "Our major concern is the orgy of nationalists, and extremists and anti-Semites on the streets of Kiev." — Mark MacKinnon (@markmackinnon) March 4, 2014 After watching the full presser, Ioffe decides that “Merkel was absolutely right: Putin has lost it”: For the last few years, it has become something … Continue reading Putin’s Epistemic Closure
Plumer flags the numbers above from Pew: [A] majority of Republicans say that the United States can blow past the Oct. 17 debt ceiling deadline without “major economic problems,” Pew finds. But what’s striking is that 52 percent of tea party Republicans don’t think we ever need to raise the ceiling. Maybe this is the … Continue reading The Political Price Of Epistemic Closure, Ctd
A reader writes: Speaking of Ted Cruz and the possibility of a “one-man default,” you ask, “One wonders what kind of demented ego lies behind this reckless, phony demagogue?” It’s not “ego” in the normal sense of the word. It’s paranoia – as in Richard Hofstadter’s The Paranoid Style in American Politics. For example, here’s a … Continue reading The Political Price Of Epistemic Closure
In Politico, Bobby Jindal attempts a rallying cry for Republicans: At some point, the American public is going to revolt against the nanny state and the leftward march of this president. I don’t know when the tipping point will come, but I believe it will come soon. Why? Because the left wants: The government to … Continue reading Epistemic Closure Watch
Rod explains why he is not a Republican: Rod recently discussed his political evolution and the current state of conservatism: When I was in college, and first became a conservative, it was the liberals who had a reputation as rigid, doctrinaire, snide, and off-putting. I’m generalizing, but in those days, liberals were the ones who … Continue reading Ask Dreher Anything: “A Club Of Epistemic Closure”
The decline of conservative periodicals is continuing – first went the Hoover Institute’s Policy Review, and now Reagan’s old favorite, Human Events, is also folding. Jacob Heilbrunn suspects that the faltering publications on the right are symptoms of its fundamental confusion: Younger, more aggressive conservative websites have captured much of the audience that might once have thronged to … Continue reading Epistemic Closure Watch
Rachel Adams interviewed David Bahati, author of Uganda's anti-homosexual bill. The entire episode is a fascinating, if disturbing, window into an incurious mind. This reply to a question about the "research" that informs the bill stands out: We have enough information about how our society works. Family is between man and woman. Anything beyond that … Continue reading Epistemic Closure In Uganda
K.C. Cole turns to Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow to grasp why we have trouble grappling with unpleasant realities: Essentially, we have two different thought systems that work very differently, and Kahneman refers to them throughout the book as characters he calls System 1 and System 2. System 1 is a marvel honed by … Continue reading The Roots Of Epistemic Closure
The Dish 