Things the internet's ruined

[bobnlesley]

I was surfing through the site wasting an hour before going to fix my motorbike when I stumbled on GordMay's 'On this day in History' thread and was reminded of the stuff which the internet/Google's ruined for us all

Originally Posted by GordMay

July 15

1606: Rembrandt van Rijn born, in Leiden, Netherlands.

One sunny, Saturday in the days before the internet, Lesley and I got into a discussion about Rembrandt; not his date of birth, but as to whether Rembrandt was his Christian name or surname. With no book in the house holding the answer, we took the only logical/sensible option: Get on the motorbike, ride 100 miles to Hull, catch an overnight ferry to Rotterdam and then ride up to Amsterdam to visit the Rijksmuseum, before returning to Rotterdam in time for the overnight ferry back; that arrived back in Hull with just enough time to for us ride home and get into work by 09:00 on Monday.

Now we'd just Google it.

[Mr B]

Google, Its great isnt it,

Every library in the world at the touch of your fingers,

Youtube Tutorials, How to fix or repair any thing by watching a video,

I wonder what this new product is like, Is it any good or is it crap,

Youtube reviews, They buy one or two and pull them apart and give a good review of the quality of parts inside it,
They line up the parts, Led Spotlights for instance,
A row of them and they show how good the lights are compared to other lights and comparable Leds, Etc,
How far the lights throw a light and how bright they are,

Invertors, Good or bad, Are they worth the money,
Solar Controllers, Solar Panels, How much shade to stop them working,

Which chinese products are crap before you buy any thing,
The chinese do make excellent products along side of the crap they punch out, Hahahaha

Its only draw back, You have to ask the right question to get the right answers,
Some times the right question can be elusive, Hahaha,

But a bit of due diligence will get you there, and rephrasing the question you ask,

I love it,

Brian,

[GordMay]

The main victim of the internet could have been ignorance.
Too bad, so many of us don’t bother to fact check ourselves.
"The only thing you absolutely have to know is the location of the library." ~Albert Einstein

[pcmm]

Originally Posted by GordMay

The main victim of the internet could have been ignorance.
Too bad, so many of us don’t bother to fact check ourselves.
"The only thing you absolutely have to know is the location of the library." ~Albert Einstein

Yes, unfortunately my often cited quip "The internet is making us stupider" seems to be more and more apt these days. With all the opportunity that the internet had to make us more intelligent. It seems more often that people just post unproven and illogical trash feeding the stupidity monster!

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by GordMay

... "The only thing you absolutely have to know is the location of the library." ~Albert Einstein

To which, I'd add Mark Twain:
"What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know. It's what we know for sure that just ain't so."

[boatman61]

One of the problems with the Internet is the fact it can be edited and previous facts/statements/opinions made to disappear forever without trace..
Take most people's Holy Grail of Information Wikipedia.. anyone can edit over previous script erasing previous information to suit agendas..
Take today's Cancel Culture with Literature for example, hundreds of books are being banned or re-edited because they don't meet some stupid extreme agenda over culture, race, whatever..
The beauty of Hard Copy is short of a Hitler, or a religious nutcase who felt a need to burn Harry Potter and other 'Ungodly works' there will always be the 'The Original' available for those who wish to seek it out..
The Internet however is once censored it is forever so.

[Spot]

Originally Posted by bobnlesley

I was surfing through the site wasting an hour before going to fix my motorbike when I stumbled on GordMay's 'On this day in History' thread and was reminded of the stuff which the internet/Google's ruined for us all...Now we'd just Google it.

My today also involves maintaining a motorbike and visiting a museum.
Thanks for the post!

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by boatman61

One of the problems with the Internet is the fact it can be edited and previous facts/statements/opinions made to disappear forever without trace..
Take most people's Holy Grail of Information Wikipedia.. anyone can edit over previous script erasing previous information to suit agendas...

Sources of information or evidence are often categorized as primary, secondary, or tertiary material. These classifications are based on the originality of the material, and the proximity of the source or origin. This informs the reader as to whether the author is reporting information that is first hand, or is conveying the experiences and opinions of others, which is considered second hand.

Factual information should always [as far as is practical] be derived from PRIMARY sources, whereas Secondary sources [like news reports etc], and Tertiary sources [like Wikipedia etc] are mostly, useful in directing one to the primary source.

Primary sources are records of events or evidence as they are first described, or actually happened, without any interpretation or commentary. It is information that is shown for the first time or original materials on which other research is based. Primary sources display original thinking, report on new discoveries, or share fresh information. They are generated by the people directly involved, and are the original materials, on which further research is based.
Theses, dissertations, scholarly journal articles (research based), some government reports, symposia and conference proceedings, are all examples of primary sources.

Secondary sources offer an analysis or restatement of primary sources. They often try to describe or explain primary sources. They tend to be works which summarize, interpret, reorganize, or otherwise provide an added value to a primary source.
News reports are secondary sources.

Tertiary sources index, abstract, organize, compile, or digest other sources. Some reference materials and textbooks are considered tertiary sources when their chief purpose is to list, summarize or simply repackage ideas or other information.
Wikipedia is, by its nature, a tertiary source, that provides a survey of information, already published in the wider world. Ideally, all information should be cited, and verifiable by reliable [primary] sources.

For example, in this post*, I cite [& provide links to] Primary Secondary, and Tertiary [& Anciliary] sources:
* https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ml#post3444684

PRIMARY: “Case 1:21-cv-22492-KMW Document 1"
➥ https://abovethelaw.com/uploads/2021/07/NCL.pdf
PRIMARY: “EXECUTIVE ORDER NUMBER 21-81" (Prohibiting COVID-19 Vaccine Passports)
➥ https://www.flgov.com/wp-content/upl...1/EO_21-81.pdf

SECONDARY: More about ➥ https://thehill.com/policy/transport...e-passport-ban

TERTIARY: DOCKET: No. 1:21-cv-22492 ➥ https://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/...F/1?1626348442

ANCILIARY: Norwegian’s “SAIL SAFE” policy
➥ https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/sail-safe

[CaptTom]

The great thing about the internet is that we can look anything up.

The worst thing about the internet is that, we don't.

Too many of us wallow in our own echo chamber of targeted content, with "news" feeds supplying us with a steady stream of confirmation bias to keep us "engaged" and enraged.

Is it a net good or net bad? Who knows. It brings out the best in us, and the worst in us. In the end, the problem is us.

[Group9]

Originally Posted by GordMay

The main victim of the internet could have been ignorance.
Too bad, so many of us don’t bother to fact check ourselves.
"The only thing you absolutely have to know is the location of the library." ~Albert Einstein

At this point, all the internet is becoming (maybe already there, even) is a way to research billions of people’s opinions on anything.

For whatever value that has.

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by GordMay

The main victim of the internet could have been ignorance.
Too bad, so many of us don’t bother to fact check ourselves.
"The only thing you absolutely have to know is the location of the library." ~Albert Einstein

My personal pet peeve is well demonstrated on this forum (and others), that being people who just must have to post something, but don't bother reading the thread. Thus, we get repeat of the same old incorrect "information" despite it often having been debunked in a previous post in the same thread.

I suppose it could be worse, on another forum in which I participate there is a habit for idiots who think they are funny to post stupid "funny" responses to real questions. Sadly, that's generally done without even the consideration of searching for the correct info on the internet (or, shutting up and reading real posts.)

To answer the original query, internet has ruined Subject Matter Expertise. With so many "answers" from all manner of "experts' ranging from opinionated morons to true experts, new people are unable to discern the difference.

[ArmyDaveNY]

The Internet is great, and it is terrible. This goes to show us that the Internet is neither. It is a tool and as everyone has posted, it is really how it is used that matters. It is a tool, and how it is used will determine whether the use has been for good or for something terrible. In this sense, it is no different than any other tool such as motor vehicles, knives, firearms, laws, and many others.

[sepharad]

It destroyed the small antiques store business. Ebay shattered this entire community of small family owned businesses.


Small bookstores. Crushed them, especially used bookstores. Amazon obliterated them.



Nautical chart shops. Poof.

[RiverRat37]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

The great thing about the internet is that we can look anything up.

The worst thing about the internet is that, we don't.

I submit that the worst thing about the internet is that we do!

How is the original poster's life any better for having found out if Rembrandt is the first name or the surname? What's more, after going to all that trouble they didn't even give us the answer!

The internet wouldn't have helped either. We DON'T NEED TO KNOW about Rembrandt's name. Our life is not one wit better for knowing or not knowing. The time spent looking it up would have been wasted. Completely wasted. As is my time banging out this reply.

Now, how to repair that cantankerous alternator .... that's a different kettle of fish.

[taxwizz]

Originally Posted by GordMay

The main victim of the internet could have been ignorance.
Too bad, so many of us don’t bother to fact check ourselves.
"The only thing you absolutely have to know is the location of the library." ~Albert Einstein

And yet....There are still people who don't believe in vaccines.
Incredible.