I’m So Angry!

grumpycatAmericans are politically polarized. The current impasse in Washington is proof of that. But what exactly has gone wrong?

There’s a widely espoused theory that the Internet is partly responsible. According to this theory, put forward in its most sophisticated form by Cass Sunstein, the Internet allows individuals of like mind who are geographically dispersed to get together, and indeed to associate with no one else. As Robert Reich recently put it, “we increasingly live in hermetically sealed ideological zones that are almost immune to compromise or nuance. Internet algorithms and the proliferation of media have let us surround ourselves with opinions that confirm our biases.”

Social science research has demonstrated that this sort of opinion isolation has two negative effects; first, people who associate only with like-minded individuals become more extreme in their views. Second, it warps their definition of deviance, so that when they encounter someone who thinks differently — even with moderate opposing views — they perceive that person as beyond the pale of acceptable opinion. Nichification is therefore the root cause of our current problems.

I don’t buy it.

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Milwaukee Succeeds Will Show Progress Soon, Three Co-chairs Say

It won’t be long before the needle on Milwaukee education outcomes starts moving for the better in ways that can be measured.

The three co-chairs of Milwaukee Succeeds, the broad-based effort to improve the educational outcomes of Milwaukee children, gave that encouraging assessment Thursday during an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” session before a full house of more than 200 people in the Appellate Courtroom of Eckstein Hall.

“I think we’re going to see success much sooner than we thought because we’re going to start to implement things,” said Jackie Herd-Barber, a retired engineer who is involved in a wide array of civic efforts.

Mike Lovell, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, said that Milwaukee Succeeds has brought together large numbers of people from many of the important sectors and organizations in the area and they have been preparing fresh efforts around important goals. “A year from now, when we measure, the needle is going to be moved just because there are so many people involved,” Lovell said.

And John Schlifske, CEO of Northwestern Mutual, said, “I think you’re going to start seeing some meaningful outcomes, that we’re going to start implementing things that will start moving the needle.”

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Making Eye Contact

I read about an interesting study on eye contact that was posted today on the legal writing listserv, “Why Eye Contact Can Fail to Win People Over.” The article refers to a study conducted in Germany where university students were polled about their opinions on controversial topics and then asked to watch a two-minute video on these topics. When the students agreed with viewpoint being expressed, they were more likely to look at the eyes of the speaker expressing the opinion, and less likely when they disagreed or felt neutral.

The students were also less likely to change their opinions, as measured in a second poll, when they looked directly in the speakers’ eyes. This was particularly true when the person in the video looked directly at viewers, rather than to the side of the frame.

Then in a second study, students were asked to look either at a person’s eyes or mouth.

The students who looked at the speakers’ eyes changed their attitudes less than the people who looked at the speakers’ mouths. They also said they were less interested in hearing more about the views presented.

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