“It used to be that when you communicated with someone, the person you were communicating with was as important as the information. Now, on the internet, the person isn’t important at all.” (Lawrence Krauss)
The internet is full of information—which is not necessarily a bad thing. But information is not knowledge; we cannot rely on its accuracy. In the course On Becoming a Filter, students explore the depths of the web—places where it is easy to lose oneself down the rabbit hole. As a group, they utilize their collective ability to gather, process, and shape knowledge—and then publish it online. This requires them to find strategies for dealing with the flood of data and misinformation.
Krauss argues that we must become our own filters, determining accuracy and relevance ourselves since the internetdoes not. But how do we do that? Perhaps by positioning ourselves—our experiences, interests, and perspectives—between the information and its (in)accuracy. This does not mean abandoning critical thinking; rather, it invites a contextual, experience-based approach, where even incidental knowledge gains meaning.
After all, today anyone can build a website.