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The problem with the Internet is that it gives you everything - reliable material and crazy material. So the problem becomes, how do you discriminate?
Umberto Eco
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The Internet provides a vast array of information, both reliable and unreliable, which creates a challenge in discerning the truth.

Umberto Eco highlights a significant issue of the Internet age: the overwhelming abundance of information can be both a blessing and a curse. With reliable sources and misinformation coexisting, individuals must develop the skills to critically evaluate the content they encounter. This challenge emphasizes the need for discernment in an era where access to information is easier than ever, yet the trustworthiness of that information can vary widely.

Themes

InternetInformationDiscernmentReliabilityTruth

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about media literacy, one might say: 'As Umberto Eco pointed out, 'The problem with the Internet is that it gives you everything - reliable material and crazy material.' It's vital to learn how to differentiate between the two.'

More from Umberto Eco

The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity.
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I think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. But later in life good poets burn their early poetry, and bad poets publish it. Thankfully I gave up rather quickly.
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But why do some people support [the heretics]?" "Because it serves their purposes, which concern the faith rarely, and more often the conquest of power." "Is that why the church of Rome accuses all its adversaries of heresy?" "That is why, and that is also why it recognizes as orthodoxy any heresy it can bring back under its own control or must accept because the heresy has become too strong.
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You die, but most of what you have accumulated will not be lost; you are leaving a message in a bottle.
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"Then we are living in a place abandoned by God," I said, disheartened. "Have you found any places where God would have felt at home?" William asked me, looking down from his great height.
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The lunatic is all idΓ©e fixe, and whatever he comes across confirms his lunacy. You can tell him by the liberties he takes with common sense, by his flashes of inspiration, and by the fact that sooner or later he brings up the Templars.
Umberto EcoRead

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