Discover what the Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect reveals about expertise, media credibility, and why confident sources fool us in journalism, AI, and investing.
When I was trying cases, a few attracted local media attention in the venue where they were tried, and I noticed the exact same thing. It is nice to have a term for what I recognized. Ironically, even though it made enough of an impression on me that I would often mention my experience to others, when I look at my own behavior, I think I remained about as gullible as before. There is probably a term for that as well.
I still catch myself doing it too. My fix over time has just been to read less news, and to be honest with myself about which bucket something falls in: is this entertainment, or is it education? The trap is the middle category — "edutainment" — which is most of the content out there. That's where the guard drops, because it feels like you're learning when you're really just being entertained, and that's exactly the moment the amnesia sets in.
I believe the thing you are referring to is called G.I. Joe fallacy — after the old cartoon's "knowing is half the battle." Turns out knowing is maybe a tenth of it. Being aware of a bias does almost nothing to stop us falling for it in the moment. We can't think our way out of it in real time. The only solve seems to be building the skepticism into a habit — something that fires on its own, instead of relying on remembering to be smart right when it counts.
When I was trying cases, a few attracted local media attention in the venue where they were tried, and I noticed the exact same thing. It is nice to have a term for what I recognized. Ironically, even though it made enough of an impression on me that I would often mention my experience to others, when I look at my own behavior, I think I remained about as gullible as before. There is probably a term for that as well.
Same here!
I still catch myself doing it too. My fix over time has just been to read less news, and to be honest with myself about which bucket something falls in: is this entertainment, or is it education? The trap is the middle category — "edutainment" — which is most of the content out there. That's where the guard drops, because it feels like you're learning when you're really just being entertained, and that's exactly the moment the amnesia sets in.
I believe the thing you are referring to is called G.I. Joe fallacy — after the old cartoon's "knowing is half the battle." Turns out knowing is maybe a tenth of it. Being aware of a bias does almost nothing to stop us falling for it in the moment. We can't think our way out of it in real time. The only solve seems to be building the skepticism into a habit — something that fires on its own, instead of relying on remembering to be smart right when it counts.