Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect: Why You Shouldn’t Trust the Media
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Summary
The Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect describes the universal media bias humans have to trust articles they are less knowledgeable about, despite being skeptical of articles they know more about.
The effect was coined by novelist Michael Crichton, who claimed that the phenomenon was solely tied to news outlets, with citizens forgetting the false reports they read and consequently believe other reports are more trustworthy.
Crichton concluded that the media has completely undeserved credibility and journalists frequently publish articles based on inaccurate assumptions.
To avoid the Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect, readers should partake in media criticism, using tools such as the Argument from Authority to decipher and calibrate levels of trust for different journalists and publications.