Into the Rabbit Hole We Dive — The Strange Journeys We Take in the Digital Age
As I do several times every day, this afternoon I found myself cleaning out my in-box, as I do several times a day. There were actually a lot of messages, for a Friday... but hey, I guess we're supposed to work seven days a week, so people do check their mail on weekends.
I also belong to a fairly nifty local social utility called NextDoor which essentially only covers what's going on in your extended neighborhood — from people helping people, to reports of lost pets, to coyote flocks having been spotted. It's both useful as well as pretty benign. Most of the time, at least.
Occasionally, we brighten each other's days with local anecdotes of funny stuff ("There are several chickens loose on Cape George Road, if they are yours you should go round them up") or predator animal sightings and pictures of pretty sunsets... which we all saw, but what the hay, it never hurts to report that what you just saw out the window actually DID happen...
So, I decided to click over because there was an update on the local animal shelter's pet food drive, and immediately below that was a "smiley" post about how "Covid is now driving people NUTS!"
Turned out it was actually a 3-year old post, but because someone had added a new comment, it had been bumped back into the "current" rotation.
Evidently, someone had sighted (3 years back) a woman at the local Safeway wearing a brown paper bag over her head and over her face with the words "Coronavirus is FRAUD!" written in marker on the back.
Of course, that had ignited a 200-comment shitstorm in the course of which the amusing part — that she was effectively covering her face to protest having to cover her face — was largely lost in the shuffle of people arguing over freedom of speech and expression, and conspiracy theories in increasingly heated tones.
I popped myself some (imaginary) popcorn and read on with amusement... noting how people had continued to add their opinions for several years... but that's not the real point.
I also read/watched what could be found at the other end of an assortment of links our good local people felt very passionate about accurately representing "THE TRUTH!!!!!!"
"THE Truth," of course, is a slippery beast at the best of times, but I did dive down the rabbit hole of some very interesting stuff... the most fascinating of which was a very long article pointing out (while not taking sides) just how much of this circus seems derived directly from game theory, and how something like QAnon or Antifa (for example) seemed like it has been pulled straight out of an ARG (Alternate Reality Game) or LARP (Live Action Role Playing) scenario.
Of course, that may not be "New News" to anyone... but what struck me as interesting is the way BOTH SIDES were deeply embroiled in a game that's playing them, even while vehemently defending the idea that it's "the other side; THEM" that have lost grip on what is tangible reality.
Oddly enough, I was reminded of a word I had not seen since senior college psychology: Apophenia. Short version: Our innate (inane?) ability to draw falsely "meaningful connections" between completely unrelated things. Among other things, it's part of how cults program people in such ways those people end up believing it's actually other people who have been programmed.
Pattern recognition has always been one of my most developed skills... which is both a curse and a blessing. Being able to detect patterns in chaos can lead to amazing solutions to complex problems, but it also means the onus is constantly on me to separate "signal" from "noise," and I don't always get it right. Most people get it horribly wrong.
I have long been fascinated by conspiracy theories; not so much by the content of the conspiracy as by the mechanics by which it comes into being and perpetuates. The perpetuate part is often easy enough to follow... it's a variation on the classic "Fastest Gun in the West" sleight of hand/mind trick: The reason nobody really knows anything much about the conspiracy is because of the conspiracy...
Regardless, it seemed like people have moved on a good bit, in the last three years.. but have they really?
Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!
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Created at 2024-06-01 01:20 PDT
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