Is social media rotting our brain? (podcast)
A 'Forbidden Conversation' with Gurwinder Bhogal
My guest, Gurwinder Bhogal, is a writer examining the intersection of psychology and technology. On this episode of Forbidden Conversations, we explore some of the ideas central to his work—namely—ways in which we tend to get fooled in the digital age. Why have we seemingly abandoned reason? Is the Internet really rotting our brain, or do we share that responsibility? We have more data available to us than ever before, but it isn’t necessarily making us more knowledgeable. And there’s few of us that have been able to avoid the Kruger-Dunning effect. Why is it that smart people believe false things? And why is it so difficult for many of us to change our minds?
Most importantly, what is the antidote?
After working in web development on projects like Microsoft Bing, Gurwinder left the tech industry to pursue a career as a freelance writer. His work has featured in UnHerd, Quillette, Areo, The Humanist, The Sunday Express, and on the blog of the counter-terrorism think-tank Quilliam. He also writes at
gurwinder.substack.com and you can find him on Twitter.The FORBIDDEN CONVERSATIONS Podcast is a series that takes on topics that don't always get attention or are more challenging to tackle and seeks to address them through civil discourse and nuanced exploration. To view all episodes so far, visit here. Please subscribe, like and comment. You know, all the YouTube things. It helps a LOT!
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Probe : Electric media environments are orphic baroque spirals of dopamine induced distraction ...
Good questions. Sadly few answers, at least few that most people find all that palatable, or "inoffensive" ... 😉🙂
But something which Jonathan Swift remarked on, some 300 years ago:
JS: "... Reasoning will never make a Man correct an ill Opinion, which by Reasoning he never acquired: For in the Course of Things, Men always grow vicious before they become Unbelievers. ..."
His "vicious" and "unbelievers" being particularly noteworthy and relevant ...
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/07/10/reason-out/