# Choosing in the Age of Choice By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2024-06-29 The response to the Information Age is the Age of Choice. Where once information was hard to come by, it is now so readily available that one must choose what information is worthy of consideration. Many do this by relying upon algorithms controlled by corporations who have found a way to transform one's attention into capital via advertising and manipulating one's choices. Those who are informed and choose to care are left to discern what is trustworthy information in an increasingly complicated landscape. The issue with information trustworthiness is nothing new. Since the dawn of human existence, one had to decide whether the information provided was meaningful, useful, and accurate. Deciding the value of the information for a long time was pretty straightforward as one rarely ventured far from home and immediate neighborhood. One knew everyone and could develop a good sense of information discernment within the context of their small society. Today, information travels at the speed of light worldwide and across nearly all societal boundaries and subcultures. The opportunity for manipulation and collective action has never been greater. However, one is still left with the choice: is this information manipulative or a solidarity revolution? It is impossible to sift through it all. The only hope is to develop some heuristics to deal with it. Some will choose only to accept information that comes from specific sources. Others will follow along with whatever their social group thinks. Both put much faith in hierarchical power dynamics outside of one's control. If one wishes to minimize this, one is often only left with two options. One can exile oneself from society and the information as a hermit, or one can choose to understand who one is and what one believes. These are not mutually exclusive options, as both embrace freedom. The hermit is free from society but has given up on solidarity. The person who discovers themselves is free from many ideological norms but shares in the human suffering for an existential reason. #### Related Items [[Information]] [[Choice]] [[The Age of Choice]] [[Society]] [[Heuristics]] [[Power]] [[Solidarity]] [[Existential]]