Social media, authority and intelligence

A nice presentation and sorry I missed the session. I think that the fundamental point that was touched upon but not explored is that the development of knowledge and the creation of authority is a social process rather than an intellectual or technical one. Authoritative knowledge and authoritative sources receive their authority from groups of people. If no one thought that the New York Times was a credible source, it wouldn't matter if they were right 100% of the time. Social media is changing the way that we give someone or something (like a newspaper) credibility. If we experience enough credibility collectively, then we can bestow authority upon it.

very good