JBall Makes A Good Point
Me: So maybe it's not that social media facilitates a discourse lacking in nuance, but it's that social media provides for an uninformed discourse, thanks to a media which facilitates said discourse without much nuance through channels which emphasize brevity and speed?
JBall: also, maybe it is the case that "public discourse" that might involve nuance is a new idea - unique to modern societies that have developed compulsory education?
JBall: that informed, public discourse has never been a reality
JBall: maybe nuanced, informed discourse is something that require education and training, and is actually contrary to the skills we've evolved with
JBall: The ability to make black & white judgments and align yourself with the opinions of your tribe are much more evolutionarily adaptive.
Me: what about socrates?
Me: wasn't informed discourse important to the ancient greeks?
JBall: Well, who do you think socrates was railing against?
JBall: Everybody else
Me: Well. That's a good point.
JBall: He was bitching about the same shit we bitch about today
Me: But he was pretty popular.
JBall: They killed him.
