In 2011 two psychologists, Clayton and Dunning, published an article with the title:" No Good Deed Goes Unquestioned".
They presented situations to their test people, in which a person did something good, e.g. an altruistic act.
In almost every unselfish act the test people saw self-interest, helping someone implies you do to feel good yourself, givimg money to a homeless person is just to show off how "good" you are.
For some reason we are well trained in believing that eventually we are motivated by self-interest and egoism. Why is that.....?
Suppose we introduce a new drug, highly addictive and free available. Research then reveals that the use of the drug causes side effects like
misperception of risks, fear and anxiety, negative feelings, a feeling of helplessness, animosity against others and blunting.
Would we love to use such a drug, offer it to our kids. Would the authorities legalize it? The answer is a threefold YES!
Yes... ???????
Yes, we consume it every day and offer it to our children too: it is the NEWS. We are educated with the belief that we have to keep up with the news, be well informed citizens, good for democracy.
Research shows, that people who keep up with the news are more inclined to agree with statements like :Most people only think of themselves.".
They more often believe that the individual person can contribute little to creating a better world. They are more stressed and depressed.
Recently people in 30 countries were asked this question: What do you think, is the world improving, staying the same or getting worse?
The majority of respondents from Russia to Canada, Mexico to Hungary, answered that the world was getting worse, that it was deteriorating.
"Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think" is a 2018 book
by Swedish statistician Hans Rosling with his son Ola Rosling and daughter-in-law Anna Rosling Rönnlund.
In the book, Rosling suggests the vast majority of human beings are wrong about the state of the world.
Wrong indeed. The extreme poverty, the number of war victims, the infant mortality, crime, hunger, child labor,
the number of deaths from natural disasters and the number of airplane crashes have gone down in the past decades.
We live in the richest, wealthiest, safest and healthiest time ever.
Why don't we know that? Why are we inclined to assume that the world is slowly going down the drain?
The answer is simple: it is because the NEWS only reports about the exceptions. Haven't you ever noticed?
A terrorist attack, a natural disaster....the news programs go on and on reporting about it, even when there is hardly anything to report
they still have a reporter on location who offers us interviews with victims and eyewitnesses again and again.
You never see the headline "The number of people in deep poverty has been decreased by 132.000 yesterday",
while this headline could have been on the frontpage of every newspaper for the past 25 years
Do we seem to be blind for the Factfulness?
Let's investigate that in our next lecture....Thank you for your attention.
The Discussion
[13:21] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): Thank you Herman
[13:21] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): as I said before
[13:21] CB Axel: Thank you, Herman.
[13:21] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): the negative and terrible sell
[13:21] Ciska Riverstone: thank you herman
[13:21] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): not the positive
[13:21] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): thats why
[13:21] herman Bergson: That's the question Bejiita.....
[13:21] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and this gives us this pessimistic view that the world will soon end
[13:22] herman Bergson: The real question is WHY is this selling so well?
[13:22] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): even that is far from true
[13:22] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): sometimes I think of the reporters...leave it..You already told that hours ago
[13:22] CB Axel: I think that book proves that Swedes are a very optimistic people. ;)
[13:22] herman Bergson: Not just Swedes CB....me too :-)
[13:22] herman Bergson: And I am Dutch :-))
[13:22] CB Axel: Also, airplane crashes have gone up dramatically since 1903. :)
[13:23] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ㋡
[13:23] herman Bergson smiles
[13:23] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): before 1903 there were few air crashes...
[13:23] CB Axel: Exactly. Mostly birds and such. lol
[13:23] herman Bergson: Especially because there were no airplanes before that date, I guess :-)
[13:24] herman Bergson: Like the number of car accidents :-)
[13:24] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but also not the entire sky full of planes 24/7. www.flightradar.com
[13:24] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): bird droppings...
[13:24] herman Bergson: I know that site Bejiita....it is astonishing to see what flies around...!
[13:24] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ah
[13:25] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and ALL of these u see at moment will probably land all safe
[13:25] herman Bergson: they will
[13:26] herman Bergson: Bu tthe question remains WHY is the bad news selling so well?
[13:26] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): are the people more depressed since facebook ed?
[13:26] herman Bergson: I'll discuss it in the next lecture, ut maybe you already have some ideas about it
[13:27] herman Bergson: Social media as a cause?
[13:28] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): maybe people think...gladly it's not about me...the bad things happend to someone else
[13:28] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): yes
[13:28] Ciska Riverstone: thesis: generally people love to do something and they love to have a choice and then change something for the better - negative news has a certain motivational factor
[13:28] Ciska Riverstone: we are just not used to having so many choices.
[13:29] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): in earlier days people had many choises too
[13:29] herman Bergson: Negative news as motivational....
[13:30] herman Bergson: I recall CB telling she reduced het NEWS consumption and fewlt better because of it....
[13:30] Ciska Riverstone: sure - if everything is ok there is no sense in doing anything - then you just can be happy and isn't that boring?
[13:30] Ciska Riverstone: yes - we are not used to mass
[13:30] Ciska Riverstone: so we have to pick
[13:30] Ciska Riverstone: until we can balance better ;)
[13:30] CB Axel: When I find myself yelling at the TV or radio I know it's time to stop watching/listening to the news and do something else.
[13:31] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): but the news picks bad news..not happy news
[13:31] herman Bergson: and being happy is boring....:-)
[13:31] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): yes
[13:31] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): I prefer being happy
[13:31] CB Axel: My local TV news station tries to include a happy story every day or so.
[13:31] herman Bergson: We are educated to call that fake news these days ^_^
[13:32] herman Bergson: So do I, Bejiita ^_^
[13:33] herman Bergson: Research shows that the news the way it is now produced has a negative effect on many people
[13:33] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): i can imagine
[13:33] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): why give so much attention to bed things
[13:33] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): bad
[13:34] herman Bergson: just imagine...take this corona virus.......
[13:34] CB Axel: No thank you
[13:34] CB Axel: lol
[13:34] herman Bergson: Dozens of times it is reported that 1780 people have dieded from it....
[13:34] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): how many are cured?
[13:34] herman Bergson: They almost forget to tell you that 13.000 people recovered without a problem
[13:36] herman Bergson: Slowly they begin to report that only 2% dies, which is with respect to the numbers something equal to a general flue epidemic
[13:36] herman Bergson: In other words....the good news is that it is just another flue epidemic....with a new virus
[13:36] CB Axel nods
[13:37] herman Bergson: But the emphasis is on FEAR....on DANGER.....on the worldwide THREAT
[13:37] herman Bergson: that is how the news programs started of
[13:38] herman Bergson: From the negative perspective....
[13:38] herman Bergson: Those dirty Chinese.....!
[13:38] CB Axel: In the meantime, Flint Michigan's water is still polluted with mercury. But no one seems to care about that any more.
[13:38] herman Bergson: Indeed CB.....
[13:38] CB Axel: It's easier to demonize the Chinese than US businesses and governments.
[13:38] herman Bergson: The news focus obscures a lot.....
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ah
[13:39] herman Bergson: Hardly anybody is aware of the fact that Trump abolished almost all environmental protection measures of Obama....
[13:40] CB Axel: I'm aware!
[13:40] herman Bergson: The News is only all about his impeachment
[13:40] CB Axel: I hate Trump so much.
[13:41] CB Axel: I know so many things are better than the were in "the good old days," but Republican policies are going to make them worse.
[13:41] herman Bergson: So....the News we are fed can distort our view on the world and life considerably
[13:41] herman Bergson: Bejiita even exploded...!
[13:41] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): lol
[13:42] CB Axel: Yikes!
[13:42] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): poor Bejiita
[13:42] herman Bergson: That's NEWS!
[13:42] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): call a reporter!!'
[13:42] CB Axel: It just doesn't pay to be an optimistic Swede. LOL
[13:42] herman Bergson: Seems so indeed.....
[13:43] herman Bergson: I have to be careful myself as an optimistic Dutchman, I guess :-)
[13:43] CB Axel: :)
[13:43] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): but not a boring dutch man
[13:44] herman Bergson: and yet I feel happy , Beertje :-))
[13:44] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): but that's not news I guess
[13:44] herman Bergson: no...just boring :-)
[13:44] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): :)) good
[13:45] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): i'm a happy woman ...very boring
[13:45] herman Bergson: I guess htis is becoming a boring lecture :-)))
[13:45] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): :)))
[13:45] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): we are leaving with a smile
[13:46] CB Axel: Not at all boring. :)
[13:46] herman Bergson: Maybe we'l wait for the next one when we try to understand and unraffle waht is behind this lust of negativism of homo spaiens :-)
[13:47] CB Axel: Maybe it's schadenfreude.
[13:47] herman Bergson: I can tell you...it really is interesting.....
[13:47] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): we'll wait fr the next lecture then..
[13:48] CB Axel: I'll be looking forward to it.
[13:48] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): in the meantime we are happy and boring
[13:48] herman Bergson: Believe me..I have the feeling the more we dig into this subject the more optimistic we'll become
[13:49] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): :)
[13:49] herman Bergson: So....keep on smiling till Thursday at least....it's worth it ^_^
[13:49] CB Axel: Bye, everyone. See you Thursday.
[13:49] herman Bergson: Thank you all again......class dismissed :-)))
[13:49] CB Axel: Thank you, Herman.
[13:49] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): thank you Herman
[13:50] Ciska Riverstone: thank you herman
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