CAPITOL RIOTS: ON THE SUBJECT OF NOISE

In Electrical Engineering there is a fascinating term for noise that can be applied directly to the news media and communications. Noise is an unwanted modification or a signal that your intended signal might have gone through. 

We have seen this a lot with the recent Capitol riots. As of today, people continue asking questions and talking about it but do not realize while it is quite bizarre what transpired, unfortunately, it fundamentally changes nothing that a bunch of hooligans got into the Capitol building. Certainly, some measures must be (and are being) taken to prevent such things from happening in the future. The only significant thing that occurred with future implications, is that Donald Trump has finally conceded, and hopefully we can look forward to a functional transfer of power.

However, the news has traveled all over the globe about the incident, and the world just loves the opportunity to make fun of the great bad USA.

Meanwhile, a lot of things have happened in the world, yet this is what we continue to hear about the most. The news tends to favor the things that will be watched, after all, it is how they get paid; but the world as you know, operates a bit less bombastic than that, and getting the big picture is getting harder, especially if you are following mainstream news sources.

It is essential to separate noise from the actual signal in this situation; the method is simple, just continue to ask the questions. Does this matter in the long run? If yes, then it is a signal that you should be paying attention to; if not, then it is the noise that can be safely ignored.

A lot of things can be a prelude to a much bigger event, in this case for example.

If the Capitol attack results in meaningful policy change and functional improvements, then it will teach us that, but for our senators to act, they must feel personally threatened, otherwise, they will mill around like usual.

Naturally, the world is more nuanced, and we should remember that when listening to the news. We must remember not only do the news sources have agendas, biases, and affiliations… Now we should add that noise to this list when hearing about the news.

The truth is often somewhere in the middle.