Gell-Mann Amnesia effect

[Shemp]

“Briefly stated, the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect is as follows. You open the newspaper to an article on some subject you know well. In Murray’s case, physics. In mine, show business. You read the article and see the journalist has absolutely no understanding of either the facts or the issues. Often, the article is so wrong it actually presents the story backward — reversing cause and effect. I call these the “wet streets cause rain” stories. Paper’s full of them.

In any case, you read with exasperation or amusement the multiple errors in a story, and then turn the page to national or international affairs, and read as if the rest of the newspaper was somehow more accurate about Palestine than the baloney you just read. You turn the page, and forget what you know.” – Michael Crichton

[MrMan]

I have noticed this slso. If I really know about the topic the news seems 40% accurate or at least some statements that show a glaring lack of understanding.

Journalists are specialists in journalism-- the ability to churn out stories they know little about.

Politics and some world events __might__ be exceptions in some cases. Some of them follow that in detail for years. Of course now there is polarizing bias. Watching Fox and CNN back to back shows how much the news people decide what the news should be.