I went to see the latest Indiana Jones movie the other day, but before doing so, I decided to check some of the critical reviews. I jumped on over to Metacritic, the site that compiles dozens of reviews from around the country, assigns a numerical value somewhat arbitrarily, and comes up with a score from 0 to 100 for a given bit of media. So as I browsed the Indy reviews on Metacritic, I found myself only reading the positive reviews. I was going to see the movie either way, I figured, and I’d rather be aware of the good aspects of the film than focus on the (many) flaws. In short, I only pursued the opinions I wanted to hear.

I think this episode highlights one of the growing concerns of the internet and how we use it. The internet is a tool that puts a world of information and opinions literally at our fingertips, yet it seems that we are predisposed to self-segregate into like-minded cliques. It would be a fair bet to assume that the more political-based sites you visit espouse viewpoints that you already agree with. It’s unclear to me how this might apply to online science communities, but we would be well-advised to seek out other opinions – interpretations we don’t agree with, scientific pursuits we might find counterproductive, etc. Encountering and dealing with contrary viewpoints will show us where our own prejudices and beliefs fit in the world and how we can best engage each other on important issues.

In this spirit, I recently heard about a project called Global Voices, a fascinating compilation of blogs from around the world. See what local Maldivans(?) think about their contaminated groundwater or get caught up on political gossip in Tajikistan. More of interest to this group might be the subject page on science views from around the world, including the somewhat provocative view that Madagascar is too focused on its environment.

This is but one small way to use the internet to better understand some of the most important issues of our day from various regional perspectives. By seeking out the opinions and beliefs of others, we can work towards broadening our view of the world.