Several years back I wrote an article suggesting that we could use data mining strategies on the Internet to find all of the everyday geniuses in our society.
Those folks that slipped through the cracks perhaps because they didn't go to a major university, and therefore were never discovered for their abilities, and incredibly high IQ.
Or, perhaps they never found exactly what they were good at or they chose a human endeavor that doesn't get a lot of public scrutiny, or ever make the headlines of the newspaper.
How many creative geniuses of our time have slipped through the cracks? That's really hard to say, and it's too bad we don't know who they are so we could have them help our society and civilization do all we do better.
When I wrote that article and 2007, it seemed like a great idea, and not long ago someone contacted me and made a statement that most people on the Internet, and "the majority of people who made comments on average news websites were nothing more than ignorant, biased, uneducated, or racist people - okay.
That is my humble opinion.
" In addition to this comment they make they claim that the Internet doesn't seem to be as interesting as it once was, and that many of the people online were mediocre people.
This is indeed an interesting observation and place to think.
This does bring up a number of great questions, uncomfortable for many, but questions which need to be asked nevertheless.
One study showed that those who participate in Social Online Networks were of lesser intelligence than those who were not, but had access if they chose to join and plenty of folks inviting them in.
Another comment "the internet is full of uneducated imbeciles," is classical and hilarious, it's true really, it's good that the commenter is not afraid to say it.
Yes, the comments left on news websites, forums, blog posts, etc.
are very poorly expressed, and more often than not perhaps 80% or more by my observation are just as you say; uneducated, completely bias, and unfortunately somewhat racist to boot.
Indeed, I have found the same, being on the Internet really isn't as interesting as it used to be, my thinking is that as the average person has gotten access, the demographic has changed.
It has turned into a gossip free-for-all, and as we see billions of YouTube videos, web pages, etc, uploaded every day, how much of that is really relevant to life on Earth in the present period, what is its real value? If you feel the same way, maybe you are on the wrong websites, or maybe your mind has graduated from the mass nonsense? If so, perhaps you would like me to give you a list of my online newsletters, frequented websites, and choices, as it might give you some new material to peruse and if you accept, I'd like to have your list to broaden my own horizons.
Would that be a fair trade for you? Quite frankly, I am getting tired of the Internet myself.
You see, I just don't really care what Paris Hilton's dog had for breakfast, and it blows me away that others actually do, and it is considered news or Twitter Material - what does that say about humanity and society, that's just scary when you think about it.