Filters
August 20th, 2006We’re only so smart… so we need filters to simplify stuff in the world.
The nightly news filters all the stuff coming from Iraq and elsewhere. (If you don’t know what is happening in Darfur, then your news filter may be clogged)
Radio stations filter the universe of music and give us tunes (presumably) we want to hear. (At least one friend thinks a better music filter might be pandora.com.)
Racists filter people by looking at the color of skin.
When we hang with friends, they filter the common experience. They crack jokes on what is going on. Or say something insightful about current events. Friends can filter the most mundane crap into cheek-hurt funny. (Don)
Political parties filter policy, opinion and news.
People make big money by being good/entertaining filters.
Big tobacco put useless filters on their Cigarettes to make you feel better about the poison entering your lungs.
Trusting the filters to which we pay attention is how our small brains categorize the world. Do you trust the filters you use? Is your news source a good filter? Is using the democrat or republican filter working for you? Are your friends making valuable comments over cocktails?
None of us are smart enough to understand everything… so make sure you check the filters sometimes. They could be all gunked up and in need of cleaning (or changing).
END-OF-RANT
