Pritzker Fellow Matthew Yglesias on "Not Reading the Room"

(Current UChicago Students Only)

Tuesday, March 21

3:30-4:45 PM

A favorite social media exhortation is to urge someone to “read the room” rather than make an unwelcome or annoying observation. This is excellent advice when socializing and stultifying advice for committing acts of journalism where your job is to offer the “inconvenient truth” and contribute precisely what is not already being said in the room. Social media - it’s right there in its name - blurs the line between media and socializing and encouraging groupthink and tribalism.

We’ll review some stories from the content wars, including the now-forgotten controversy that first made me a “contrarian” plus a couple of episodes where these instincts led me astray.

The main subject, though, will be group polarization dynamics and how they tie into sociological and demographic polarization in the American electorate and across various American professional groups. I want to introduce Julia Galef’s concept of scout mindset vs soldier mindset, and make the case for journalists as scouts.. 

Pritzker Fellows seminars are off the record and open to current UChicago students only. Seating in the IOP Living Room is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. 

If you have any questions about accessibility, please contact Ashley Jorn (ashleyjorn@uchicago.edu).