On the Asethetic Appeal of Facts
You have seen the Chuck Norris fact generator, and attendant list of the top 30 facts about Chuck Norris.
The excellent thing about these facts is that they are created and rated by the Internet at large, and neither created nor rated based on their truth or utility, but on what amounts to their aesthetic interest. Top facts are tops because they're appealing or interesting, not because they're true.
This is a great idea; it's Hot or Not (as opposed to True or False) for ideas. It's a shame that the two other fact generators (Vin Diesel and Mr. T) are so similar in concept. I'd like to see a fact generator for physics, or the war or drugs, or Spongebob Squarepants. (The fact generator code has been made available by its creator. An alternate universe version of me has probably already set it up on alternateuniversehttp://jefftidball.com. But sadly, my browser will not load pages according to that protocol.)
If you want to scare yourself with the fact generator concept, think about how what passes for real news in the mainstream press these days arises through the same basic process the fact generator uses. People with no particular training or intelligence spout things, and they are reported — presented as fact — based at least as much on some market segment's aesthetic appreciation (I'm looking at you, intelligent design) as on any serious truth that adheres to them.
Comments
That's why media bloggers (despite the rabidness of some) are mostly a good development. Nowadays if you print some bullshit, someone's gonna call shenanigans on you.
It reminds me of when an international newspaper republished an outlandish Onion story, believing it to be true. This recently happened again, with some information on the Defamer blog. Scary. (Although, yeah, not as scary as the "credible" mainstream press presenting things that are just as ridiculous - but not as ridiculous-sounding - as fact.)