"Google." My favorite verb.
I'm a huge fan of access to, and exchange of, large quantities of information, and I know I'm not alone. It's estimated that nearly 80 percent of baby boomers -- nearly 60 million -- are online and spend more time there than any other group. Women boomers over 55 are also the fastest growing "friends" on Facebook. We're the most technologically tuned-in of any demographic.
Intuitive search engines and social media have increased both the availability of information and our opportunities to connect and share online. The communal conversation has ballooned and the standard for assimilation is speeding up. If "hashtag" isn't part of your vocabulary, you're behind the curve. This expanded exposure could potentially improve your quality of life, but it could just as easily overwhelm you.
The teacher Shirdi Sai Baba is commonly credited with these simple prompts for self-review when considering our words: "Is it necessary? Is it true? Is it kind? Will it improve on the silence?" What he has offered are filters with which to discern and judge what we dispense. Given the ever-enlarging conversation, I'm proposing we learn to apply similar filters to the information we are willing to take in.
The Center for Critical Thinking and Moral Critique conducts advanced research on critical thinking and has established Universal Intellectual Standards to guide learners. They list seven standards to be applied to our thought processes when we're concerned about the quality of our reasoning, but, for the purpose of choosing what information to assimilate, three standards seem applicable and pertinent.
Is it clear? (true) This is the entry criteria. If the information isn't clear, I can't decide if it's relevant or fair. I want it simplified when possible -- I don't want to work harder than is absolutely necessary. There's a lot vying for my attention.Is it relevant? (necessary) This can depend on where I'm headed and what I want to accomplish. It will change according to my agenda at the time. It's my job to keep this criteria in the front of my mind as I scan information.Is it fair? (kind) It's human nature to present information according to our personal biases, but I prefer to read and watch material offered from a balanced and thoughtful perspective. As a consumer, I'd rather not have to sift through someone else's unfinished business.I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the standards that most appeal to me can easily be paired with three of Sai Baba's prompts, and I can whole-heartedly echo, "Is it an improvement over silence?" In a world of stimulation and distraction, silence might be the ultimate competition.
There are any number of standards to choose from and which standards we adopt is a personal preference. And, just in case you're wondering, the three standards I apply to the information I take in are the same three I use when writing my posts. I hope it makes for enjoyable reading. :-)
This post originally appeared on kimberlyawyatt.com.
Earlier on Huff/Post50:
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"I remember when I was very young, my family calling me to the phone, excited that we were making a 'long distance' call from our home in New Jersey, all the way to Chicago! I listened to the person on the other end, who sounded like they were at the end of a long tunnel. What a miracle!" - Wayndom, 64 (Image via Flickr, Si Levitas)
"The first computer I used was a remote terminal that would read the punch cards we fed it, sent the data 200 miles to a mainframe where the data was run and the results were returned, several hours later. The terminal, as primitive as it was occupied an entire classroom." - Slowshot, 59 (Image via Flickr, Marcin Wichary)
"In the mid-60s (my early teens) I was the only person I knew who owned a reel-to-reel tape recorder... and I owned it expressly to record TV show's audio off the air. I still have the recordings actually -- the first Star Trek episodes, The Prisoner episodes... and in 1967 portable audio cassette recorders became available." - Chuxarino, 59 (Image via Flickr, Carbon Arc)
"The first video game I ever played was Pong." - SOmuch2learn, 71 (Image via Flickr, Jimmah82)
"I built my first 'computer' as a science fair project in 1962. It was just a register made from transistor flip-flops, a rotary phone dial for input, and incandescent bulbs for display. I wrote my first program on punched paper tape on a teletype machine connected via 300 bps modem to a timeshare computer. It was in fortran, contained an infinite loop and timed out the CPU at 3 mins. That bug cost me $50, minimum wage was around $1 then." - Anonanon1313, 63 (Image via Flickr, Providence Public Library)
"I remember our first little black-and-white TV, and our first color set several years later, and how much tweaking you had to do to get even crappy green faced images." - Anonanon1313, 63 (Image via Flickr, Jacob Whittaker)
"I remember my first cassette player. It had a built-in radio. I taped the Beatles first hits. I remember 8-track car tape decks. I remember the first Walkman (cassette), I bought it in an appliance store. I remember the first CD player, buying it and my first CDs ($17!), and soon after boxing up my collection of over 1,000 LPs and hundreds of cassettes, where they still sit." - Anonanon1313, 63 (Image via Flickr, edvvc)
"Technology fascinates me. I used PCs for years & now am finding my way around a MacBook Pro. When VCRs came out, I was first in line. Watching movies at home -- unbelievable -- as was using a phone without being limited by the length of the cord. Now I have an iPhone which is really a mini-computer. Love the Internet and trying new apps. I'm excited to see what's next." - SOmuch2learn, 71 (Photo credit: Getty)
"We had two TV stations, on a black-and-white TV, but there was always something to watch. Today we have over 100 channels (most in HD), but the same programs that I watched as a kid, 'I Love Lucy,' 'Leave It to Beaver,' 'Andy Griffith,' etc. are still being re-run endlessly, while people complain that there is nothing on worth watching." - Slowshot, 59 (Image via Flickr, Jonas Merian)
"In school, educational films and documentaries came on reels of 16 mm film that ran 15 minutes. Today you get high def blu-rays that run four hours on a 5 1/4" disk." - Slowshot, 59 (Image via Flickr, Salvagenation)
"My first introductory computer class about 35 years ago used punch cards for very remedial database programming exercises. It was tedious as all get out, but it gave me a huge foresight into an understanding of the power of data and how to harness that power and manage it to your benefit. A substantial portion of my current job still involves database administration." - Reg-o-matic, 57 (Image via Flickr, Marcin Wichary)
"In the late 50s/early 60s stereo recordings and phonographs were just becoming popular. A high quality vinyl record had a max of 45 minutes of music on a double-sided 12" disk. Today you can get 6 hours of music on a thumb drive." - Slowshot, 59 (Photo credit: AP)
"Biggest technology wonders in my 52 years, definitely communications. Work has changed dramatically... I started as a medical receptionist and learned an antique, handwritten system for keeping track of the money (in 1979), and the last system I learned was a completely comprehensive computer system that kept track of everything, and I mean EVERYTHING." - MeliMagick, 52
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