Reloading memory

Time to review the Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect. We believe a newspaper when it writes of things we don't know about, even though when it touches on stories we are familiar with it generally makes a botch of them. Why?

Perhaps we recognize and respect the confidence of the writers. They even put in background information sometimes, to make sure we understand the context. Good teachers make the explanations as simple as possible, bad ones rely on $50 jargon. Perhaps they are the only designated authorities left, so we overlook their occasional failings.

Or maybe we've gotten so used to getting our external information from the paper or the TV that we reload our memory every day from them. The stuff we live with day in and out--work, hobby, whatever--that stuff we remember from month to month. But if it isn't sports or celebrity gossip or other hobby we can just listen to the TV explain how Senator Q supports this policy; and not recall that he opposed it last year.