Lippmann uses this story to illustrate that we do not react to the real world, but to a —a mental map of the world that we build from reports, stories, and pictures. The Reality: World War I had begun.
He believed the "omnicompetent citizen" (someone who knows everything about every political issue) is a myth. Instead, the public is often a "phantom"—disengaged and overwhelmed by information they cannot verify. Full article: Walter Lippmann and Public Opinion Public-Opinion-by Walter-Lippmann
Lippmann coined the modern use of the term "stereotype," describing them as mental shortcuts we use to simplify a complex world. We "define first and then see," rather than seeing the world as it truly is. Lippmann uses this story to illustrate that we
Lippmann begins with a story about a small, remote island in the ocean in . On this island lived a few Englishmen, Frenchmen, and Germans. Because no telegraph cables reached the island and the mail steamer only arrived every sixty days, news was incredibly slow to reach them. Instead, the public is often a "phantom"—disengaged and
On the island, the "world" was still at peace.
The people on the island acted based on their mental picture of peace, even though the reality was war. Key Takeaways from the Book
For in the late summer of 1914, these people continued to live, work, and socialize together in peace. They shared meals, traded goods, and treated each other as friends. However, unknown to them, the great powers of Europe had already declared war. For those six weeks, while they acted as friends, they were technically enemies. The Lesson: The "Pseudo-Environment"