Faster It Goes, Confuser We Get

All right, which is it? Among the amazing blessings of this age of technology is that we hear instantly about so much more. It once took 90 days to get to California. Now, 90 minutes for an e-mail reply seems downright rude. And 90 seconds to hear about a major news event 9,000 miles away is outrageous.

Among the damnable curses of this high-speed era is that half of what we hear now seems to contradict the other half. So what really happens these days is that we’re getting puzzled a whole lot quicker than in the past. And a whole lot more. Gore Wins Florida. First, U.S. crime is up; then, no, actually it’s down. What you “know” depends on which version you heard, which is great for dinner debates but creates a chronic mental unease, even hard feelings: Bush Wins Florida. Did you hear? Britney Spears was in a terrible car crash, which half of Australia still believes; now, some of us know that’s untrue. Others marvel at her rapid recovery.

Slower communications used to allow corrections to catch inaccurate initial versions before millions were misinformed. Like the distant earthquake that just killed 18,000, which becomes 1,200 missing, which becomes 189 dead. A minute ago vitamin C was really good for us; now--did you hear?--it isn’t, or might not be. Same for a daily sip of vino. And estrogen therapy, which helped women’s bones as recently as Monday, now might not. Of course, editorials are always helpful.