A very long time ago–maybe 2003, which is a long time these days–I had an argument with someone with whom I used to work. I don’t remember what brought about his comment–I do know it was something I said that he didn’t care to hear–but it is a statement I’ve heard from a number of other people over the years.
It’s simple: ”You can’t believe anything you read on the internet.”
My response was to ask him if, since NASCAR results–he was a huge race fan–were posted on the internet, if I should consider them fake as well. This only pissed him off more, as, of course, they were correct since they reflected an action that had been seen by many.
Any medium can be fraught with errors. Back when I was growing up, I know some of the things found in my parent’s encyclopedic weren’t really, truly, totally correct. Or so we know now. It’s all a matter of information gathering; don’t get your data from one source, but rather from many. Then factor the information, and come to a decision.
It’s called thinking, y’all.
The Internet is going to have is fair share of crap floating about. You have websites on just about everything, so it’s inevitable that pure, unadulterated BS is gonna come floating your way eventually. It happens all the time to me, probably more so to you.
There is one current going around this weekend: the tale of the planetary alignment of Mercury, Venus, and Saturn, with the Pyramids at Giza, on 3 December, 2012. Only happens once every 2,737 years, you know. Hey, there’s even a picture taken at night showing you want it would look like–
Only it’s stated that this happens an hour before sunrise. So that’s easy enough to check out, because there are all sorts of programs that will let one see the sky in Cairo just before sunrise. Oh, and hey, there are those same three planets in the sky on the 3rd. Only they’re in the south-southeast sky, which means the picture is wrong, as a quick check of Google Maps shows the picture was taken from the south-southwest. So, to see this alignment, you have to be standing off to the north-northwest. And you have to be standing in the right spot at the right time, neither of which is given.
You can also see this same alignment on the 2nd and the 4th, so you can blow off that “once every 2,737 years” meme, too. Because when you can stand somewhere and make your own alignment, those years roll away very fast.
Yet, people buy this shit readily. The number of, “That’s incredible!” or “I never knew that!” comments are numerous. It’s not only on the Internet, but there’s a picture! So it has to be true, right?
It seems there is an inherent need for people to buy into bullshit of this nature, if for no other reason than to say, “Hey, see! This makes sense to me.” So many false memes float about, and yet I’ve seen comments to the effect that people don’t care if it’s fake, they like what it says.
Bullshit or not, it’s getting a like. Just deal with it.
Maybe I make too much out of this. Maybe it’s the writer in me saying, “Hey, just because you try to think things out, it means everyone else should as well!” Or maybe it’s just me wondering if people think this fake alignment is cool because it proves that aliens built the pyramids–
Hey, I already knew that last. I mean, haven’t you ever watched Stargate SG-1?
August 19, 2012 at 12:03 pm
Ah. Even Encyclopedia Brittanica has to change every 5 years. Do they still print this?
August 19, 2012 at 12:23 pm
Nope. They’ve gone completely online these days.
August 19, 2012 at 12:28 pm
Ha ? All 50 volumes of that ? Free to read ? Really, I’m interested.
August 19, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Not sure if they’re free. But you can contact them and find out.
August 19, 2012 at 3:06 pm
I knew aliens existed!
August 19, 2012 at 9:14 pm
Everything in the Universe, in every dimension and reality is all about The ANGLE. Yes, we can recreate the angles, to a certain extent. But the very difficult to move pyramids only hit that angle once, actually only once EVER. That is the mis-info about celestial line up. They are not once every so many years. They ARE ONCE. Ever and only. And that is what make living and existing so wonderful!!! the Uniqueness of it all. All the Best RF…I so love to read you…
And The tree. The cherry blossoms speak to your roots and what you are growing into, All good omens to continue the course you are on and to take it slow and easy…with the flow, if you will :O)
August 20, 2012 at 11:25 pm
I once had a college professor who was, rightfully, wary of internet sources in research papers her students handed in. However, her way of screening which sources were valid and which ones were not was to decide that every URL that ended in .edu or .org had valid information, and any .com url was suspect and not to be used. It made for very strange and difficult research, because many major resources were .com, but she wouldn’t believe it. I’ve also known people who have no internet filter whatsoever. So… I suppose we must all find our way of screening internet information.