Long weekend links: Social media creates angry partisans, how to tell if you’re a jerk, and what earwax is for
Are You A Jerk? (with attempts at definitions of jerk and asshole)
Illustration from Nautilus by Jackie Ferrentino
The scientifically recognized personality categories closest to “jerk” are the “dark triad” of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathic personality. Narcissists regard themselves as more important than the people around them, which jerks also implicitly or explicitly do. And yet narcissism is not quite jerkitude, since it also involves a desire to be the center of attention, a desire that jerks don’t always have. Machiavellian personalities tend to treat people as tools they can exploit for their own ends, which jerks also do. And yet this too is not quite jerkitude, since Machivellianism involves self-conscious cynicism, while jerks can often be ignorant of their self-serving tendencies. People with psychopathic personalities are selfish and callous, as is the jerk, but they also incline toward impulsive risk-taking, while jerks can be calculating and risk-averse.
Another related concept is the concept of the asshole, as explored recently by the philosopher Aaron James of the University of California, Irvine. On James’s theory, assholes are people who allow themselves to enjoy special advantages over others out of an entrenched sense of entitlement. Although this is closely related to jerkitude, again it’s not quite the same thing. One can be a jerk through arrogant and insulting behavior even if one helps oneself to no special advantages.
Read Are You A Jerk? in Nautilus.
Social media distorts how partisans understand the world and misinforms people across the political spectrum.
Social media sites like Facebook have democratized the media landscape, allowing anyone to create and distribute content to their friends and family. There are a lot of good things about this, but it’s also proving to have a serious downside: Without the quality filters traditionally supplied by mainstream media outlets, there’s a lot more room for total nonsense to circulate widely.
The increasing polarization of news through social media allows liberals and conservatives to live in different versions of reality. And that’s making it harder and harder for our democratic system to function.
Read How Social Media Creates Angry, Poorly-Informed Partisans in Vox.
Earwax: What is it for?
Earwax is often regarded as dirty, or gross—something to be removed with a Q-tip
But that’s just wrong. Over the decades, countless doctors—and friends and family in the know—have reminded us why it is a bad idea to clean out our ear canals. Still, many of us aren’t hearing the message.
Read What’s the Point of Earwax? in Smithsonian. (And yet the thought of not cleaning my ears with cotton buds grosses me out more.)
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
