Knowledge Is...

There isn't much to say about yesterday's event on Yeonpyeong that hasn't already been said. The loss of two young lives completing obligatory military service in the middle of nowhere is obviously a tragedy (one had recently blogged about how much he was looking forward to end-of-service party in three weeks). The fact that a lot of us thought about how our bank balance was going to be hit is as well. The fact that some guy decided to write possibly the world's worst song about it all within minutes of the story breaking is a definite third.



To those at home and possibly worrying; it's more than likely nothing to get overly concerned about and something that will blow over. Of course, we're all keeping ourselves informed and being suitably sensible.

The really interesting thing I've noted about this (and Ireland's IMF bail-out earlier in the week) is the epidemic of 'expertise' sweeping my world these days. There's a bit of a myth that more accessible methods of communication and media are allowing us to become these well-informed, active citizens playing a part in the workings of everyday life. In reality what tends to happen is this: someone with too much time on their hands scans the headlines; reads a couple of message boards; aligns all this to what he/she had thought prior to accessing this new information; regurgitates it all over any willing listener. No matter how long the news broadcasters manage to drag out their coverage, they all end the same way: no-one really knows why this has happened or what might happen next. However, it seems that if you have access to bbc.co.uk, facebook, twitter, or an office full of trapped audience, you think you know better.