{"168141":{"#nid":"168141","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Modern Elections Start in Plato\u2019s Cave","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA few weeks back,\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EHans Klein\u003C\/strong\u003E was a personal witness to the power of political persuasion.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMy nine-year-old daughter said in the most amazed tone of voice, \u2018President Obama wrote me an email,\u2019\u201d he recalled.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe associate professor in the \u003Cstrong\u003EIvan Allen College\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003ESchool of Public Policy\u003C\/strong\u003E knew that his daughter\u2019s email address must have landed on some list targeted by campaigns and other groups (\u201cshe also receives American Express applications\u201d), but he couldn\u2019t bring himself to burst her bubble. He told her that it was pretty cool she got a note from the President.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKlein takes a different approach with his students. He estimates that he teaches about 540 students annually in various sections of his philosophy course \u201cScience, Technology, and Human Values.\u201d There, students discuss and question tactics used in media manipulation. \u2018Manipulation\u2019 has intrinsic negative connotations, but that\u2019s not always the case in practice.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELook at canned TV laughter, for example.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s social proof. If everyone else is doing it, it must be true,\u201d said Klein. Hearing laughter creates an environment where we know it is safe to do the same.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECampaigns have long utilized marketing strategies during election seasons. Klein cited an Italian election where voters were lured with a free bag of pasta if they voted. In Venezuela, voter qualifications are some of the most minimal in the world, Klein said, because President Hugo Chavez is aware that his support comes from those in the country\u2019s lowest economic rungs. This year\u2019s United States presidential election has seen telemarketers asking people to describe their routes to their voting stations with the idea that simply thinking of the path in advance increases the likelihood of following it to the poll on Election Day.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMobilization takes many forms,\u201d Klein said. When it comes to fighting voter fraud or providing voting access, Republicans choose to fight fraud and Democrats opt for more access. Leaning towards one approach or another could change the results of an election.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou assume they will not, but it may or may not be true,\u201d said Klein.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESay you do a search for pizza recommendations using the Google search engine. Yelp is a popular site for restaurant reviews, but Google owns Zagat, a similar service. Google is motivated to show you Zagat ratings before Yelp, even if it\u2019s a less-trafficked site. The results are true, but the search engine is \u0022biasing the resulting you\u0027re getting,\u0022 said Klein.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo help students recognize the media framework in which we live, he first requires them to read Plato\u2019s \u003Cem\u003EAllegory of the Cave\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cTechnology has changed, but media hasn\u2019t changed in 2,500 years,\u201d Klein said. The shadows on Plato\u2019s cave wall are today\u2019s media \u2013 your phone, your computer, the newspaper \u2013 all the sources from which we get information.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKlein knows Plato can seem \u201cfuddy-duddy\u201d to students. His solution? \u201cBlack jackets and lasers and hip hairdos,\u201d he joked.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn other words, he has his students watch excerpts of the 1999 film \u0022The Matrix.\u0022 Klein knows not everyone has read Plato, but familiarity with landmark sci-fi film is practically a rite of passage for most Georgia Tech students. The parallels between the stories create a connection from the present to the past.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cPlato has a lot to say about new media,\u201d Klein said. In turn, it gives Klein a lot to say about the present media landscape. In his words: \u201cI bring 2,000 year-old insights to new technology.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKlein has an undergraduate degree in engineering and computer science from Princeton. He worked for five years in software but found he wasn\u2019t happy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI felt I had learned how to get the right answers,\u201d Klein said. \u201cYou\u0027re empowered to solve problems, but it\u0027s also very important to define a problem too.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe said those that can define a problem are \u201ctrained for citizenship.\u201d \u0026nbsp;Students studying liberal arts are grasping the theories that govern the republic.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey are also learning to question them. This way, the next time they see a candidate with a significant number of endorsements in a social media feed, instead of thinking \u201cTwo hundred people can\u2019t be wrong,\u201d Klein said, students are more apt to think critically about the number, and to consider that some of those endorsements may have been paid for.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough it\u2019s easy to get down about manipulation in media, Klein advises against defeatism. He calls his approach \u201ccritical optimism.\u201d It\u2019s not all a pack of lies, but \u2018the truth\u2019 is worth questioning.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd if your daughter is excited the President wrote her, Klein said it\u2019s okay to save those questions for another day.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ERelated Links:\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/discovermagazine.com\/2012\/sep\/25-facebook-elections-candidates-you-actually-like\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EKlein on the Online Election Model\u003C\/a\u003E, Discover Magazine\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/faculty-and-staff\/faculty\/bio\/klein\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EBiography\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Hans Klein brings 2,000 year-old insights to new technology"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA few weeks back,\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EHans Klein\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;was a personal witness to the power of political persuasion. \u0022My nine-year-old daughter said in the most amazed tone of voice, \u2018President Obama wrote me an email,\u2019\u201d he recalled.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27167","created_gmt":"2012-11-02 16:52:03","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:13:06","author":"Rebecca Keane","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-11-02T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-11-02T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"168131":{"id":"168131","type":"image","title":"Hans Klein","body":null,"created":"1449178968","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:42:48","changed":"1539024579","gmt_changed":"2018-10-08 18:49:39","alt":"Portrait of Dr. Hans Klein","file":{"fid":"225880","name":"HANS-KLEIN-DSC_4879_preferred_200x300.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/HANS-KLEIN-DSC_4879_preferred_200x300.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/HANS-KLEIN-DSC_4879_preferred_200x300.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":37247,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/HANS-KLEIN-DSC_4879_preferred_200x300.jpg?itok=2mA4mYkM"}}},"media_ids":["168131"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"45401","name":"2012 Presidential Election"},{"id":"11516","name":"Hans Klein"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERebecca Keane \u0026nbsp;404-894-1720\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["rebecca.keane@iac.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}