Why the Web tells us what we already know

But it provides a leveling of the playing field. Even if we don't believe it we've heard of it. Long term this will have an effect. The Internet also provides more people information so more of us know more stuff. Such "democractification" of information is a good thing.

I am getting thoroughly pissed off by elitist assholes rubbishing the web. No, it is NOT the font of all knowledge - but it does already contain vastly more knowledge than ANY other source.

Yes, you can find confirmation for any prejudice you bring to this medium. You can also find the refutation of any such prejudice. It's all a question of motivation. If you want to find what passes for the truth, you have a better chance of finding it here than anywhere else on the planet.

And when we read concerns about self-medication/treatment, I really want to rip their 'king heads off! At least some of us go looking for the information, unlike many of the Doctors we know. My mother is a case in point. She suffers from a debilitating case of Lupus and has so many complications that she is now effectively untreatable.

A few years back she was prescribed one thing for one of her problems and something else for another. She started experiencing palpitations. I suggested she use the web to research the drug combination she'd been given and sure enough she found references to known problems with the combination which produced high blood pressure, palpitations and in an alarming number of cases, premature death.

She stopped taking one of the drugs immediately and confronted her doctor with the evidence. He did his own research and sheepishly admitted that the combination was indeed potentially lethal. If she hadn't self treated, it is unlikely she'd still be here today.

I have successfully pioneered self treatment of my own severe plaque problem with Manuka honey, after consulting the primary authority on the material (Dr Peter Molan - Waikato University) - across the web; and I have used web based data to diagnose and suppress my tendency to acid blood and gout. In the process, I have learned that there are not only severe shortcomings with the web based information but with information about the effects of diet on blood acidity/alkalinity generally. The definitive research simply hasn't been done. I'm actually trying to motivate fellow travelers into some collaborative research of our own. Something I couldn't even begin to do without the web.

The web isn't just a tool. It isn't just the biggest repository of information (and garbage) we've ever created. It is the basis of the most profound cultural evolution in human history. Nothing prior to the web has had an effect to compare with the effect the web is beginning to have. Hang on to your hats, because it's only just begun and we're in for a hell of a ride...