📘 Part 3: Accessing information

This episode's vocabulary

Word of mouth (adj.) given or done by people talking about something or telling people about something.

To match up (phrasal verb) - if two pieces of information match up, they are the same.

Applicable (adj.) - affecting or relating to a person or thing.

Source (noun) - someone or something that supplies information.

Factual (adj.) - using or consisting of facts.

Repository (noun) - a place where things are stored and can be found.

Indispensable (adj.) - something or someone that is indispensable is so good or important that you could not manage without it, him, or her.

Current (noun) - a particular opinion or feeling that a group of people have.

Ebook (noun) - an electronic book which can be read on a small personal computer.

Digital (adj.) - using or relating to computers and the internet.

Algorithm (noun) - a set of mathematical instructions or rules that, especially if given to a computer, will help to calculate an answer to a problem.

Wary (adj.) - not completely trusting or certain about something or someone.

Prevalence (noun) - the fact that something is very common or happens often.

Weariness (noun) - great tiredness.

To regulate (verb) - to control something, especially by making it work in a particular way.

To legislate (verb) - to make rules or laws relating to a particular activity.

To enforce (verb) - to make people obey a law, or to make a particular situation happen or be accepted.

Shift (noun) - a change in position or direction.

Force of habit - if you do something out of force of habit, you do it without thinking because you have done it so many times before.

To reinforce (verb) - to make something stronger.

Awareness (noun) - knowledge that something exists, or understanding of a situation or subject at the present time based on information or experience.

The able-bodied (plural noun) - people who are healthy and have no illness, injury, or condition that makes it difficult to do the things that other people do.

To network (verb) - to meet people who might be useful to know, especially in your job.

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Questions and Answers

M: Rory, let's talk about information. What are the ways of getting information these days?

R: Well, aside from search engines, I mean, I suppose people still read books like encyclopedias, for example, or other kinds of reference books. And they watch videos and different TV programs like documentaries. And they'll probably go through different articles if needed. Oh, there's also still a huge role played by word of mouth, since not all information is shared online yet, like lots of people find accommodation this way.

M: How can people check whether a piece of information is correct or not?

R: Well, I suppose the first way is by comparing it to reality. But that might not always be so easy. So the next step is using memory or experience and seeing if it matches up then. And neither of those are applicable, then I suppose that's when it's a good idea to check the internet or news, even then that can be hard because multiple sources are needed to check things these days.

M: And what about fake news?

R: Well, that's the problem, isn't it? Even with fact-checkers, and fact-checking websites, it's still an issue. However, if you can find multiple sources covering the same thing, and they roughly match up, then you can check if something is factual.

M: But do you think that many people these days believe the fake news?

R: I don't know how you would begin to measure that. Because you couldn't ask somebody do you believe in something that's not true. Because obviously, the answer would be yes. So it's sort of like, it's difficult to measure.

M: Do you think libraries are still important in the digital age?

R: Oh, absolutely. I mean, a library isn't just a repository of information, but also culture and the artefacts, they're associated with it. They allow people a place to gather for different events and share ideas. So they're pretty much indispensable in my opinion.

M: And who goes to the libraries these days? And why? Because pretty much everything could be found online.

R: That's true. And I think fewer and fewer people, in general, are going right now. But generally, older people who may not be so comfortable with internet access or just people that want to support local libraries. Like there's lots of small communities with libraries that, and they support the fact that their library functions pretty thoroughly, I would have said.

M: Will libraries be replaced by the internet?

R: Oh, it's the common wisdom, and there is a trend of libraries closing, but there's also a counter-current of people becoming more community-minded. So it's possible, they might continue to close, though I think more people will band together to save their libraries in the future.

M: And what do you think about online libraries? Are they popular?

R: I couldn't say, to be honest. I think I can see why they would be. For example, there's a variety of places where you can take our ebooks online, and more people are reading ebooks these days. So it wouldn't surprise me if they were. Similarly, there are websites like Librivox, which is an online library. But that's not where you borrow things, you just download them for free. And that seems to be pretty popular.

M: And what are the differences between an online library and a physical library?

R: Well, aside from one being digital, and the other being like a real place, in a digital library, the closest you get to a librarian is maybe the algorithms that you use to organize and search for information. And then an online library will not have events that are targeted at the local community either. So it's a bit more sterile in that sense, I guess, or the function is purer.

M: Do most people trust information online?

R: Well, they probably used to, but now people seem more wary of what they read. And there's an increased prevalence of fact-checkers, though there's an increasing weariness around them too, as their bias has become clear. So I think they probably trust it, but it's a cautious kind of trust.

M: And do you think that there should be laws on the spread of the fake news?

R: I don't know if that's something that you can regulate or legislate. Because how do you measure whether something's fake or not? I mean, on the surface, it seems like it's, it should be easy, like something is wrong or not. But the other thing is why people have put that information out in the first place. Because some people might have said something is true, and it's not and they didn't mean that maybe they made a mistake, for example. So between working out how true something is and working out why someone put it out there, I don't think it's possible to enforce that kind of legislation.

M: What information can people get from television?

R: Well, just about anything. The most common is through news programs, especially those on national or state networks. And there are also a lot of documentaries on different aspects of life. Although there's a definite shift towards streaming online and getting your information from online sources.

M: Why do you think that still many people watch television so they rely on television to get the news from?

R: Well, there's a few reasons for that. I mean, first of all, it's force of habit. So like when you get into this habit of watching television, that's difficult to break it and move into looking at things online unless you really have to. Well, and if you're older too, that sort of reinforces this habit, because it's difficult to learn how to use technology to in the same way to use your television, for example.

M: Does the development of the Internet have any impact on disabled people?

R: Well, it definitely increases their access to information. And I suppose it could help raise awareness among more able-bodied people of the struggles they face. I imagine it also presents greater opportunities for disabled people to interact and network since they don't, well, need to travel. And sometimes travel and transportation can be difficult if you have a disability.

M: Thank you, Rory, for your answers!

R: No problem, hopefully, they were quite accessible.

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