What it comes down to is simply that I think that weird and illogical thinking have always been common, and now the internet provides a realm for those ideas.

"G-----it! The world is just filling up with more and more idiots! And the computer is giving them access to the world! They're spreading their stupidity! At least they were contained before—now they're on the loose everywhere!" – Harlan Ellison

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"Slapping a guy on the head is just as funny now as it was eighty years ago."

Actually, it exposes it as well. For those who really think things through, they can see the absurdity of some of these claims. I think that can be beneficial.
Granted there are those, who for whatever reason, spread such nonsense...
I think they will be around for always no matter what.
Granted there are those who buy the nonsense...
They TOO will always be around...

All right, it's nearly been a frakin' week, and we still don't have a conspiracy.

So Matt, it's "put up or shut up" time, please explain in your own words how Stellar Parallax is a conspiracy.

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Carl Matherly

Offical Battlestar Galactica Apologist

Named Time Magazine's 2006 "Person of the Year"

I think the above attitude is the very foundation of fascism. People thinking like this think they are smarter than others and everyone that disagrees is an idiot. Which is fine, but they then go on to believe that, on that basis, they should be able to act on it to limit them.

Yes, some people are stupid. (Often I'm one of them, I admit.)

(
Side/related note:

My wife makes me watch "American Idol".

Ever seen one of those people who sings like a [insert insult here], and replies to the judges when dumped "well, you are allowed your opinion".

Everybody should have equal rights, where it counts; but people are deluded to think that they are all actually equal [some can sing, some can't], or that their opinions are all just as important [some are judges, some aren't].
)

Anyway, Mr Ellison (apparently) said:

(My emphasis)

While he laments their new-found ability to express themselves, he does not (in that quote) actually say these rights should be taken away from these idiots.

Idiots have long been able to write letters to the editor. e.g. I've seen Moon-landing-was-hoaxed letters in my own local paper. I've long been able to laugh at these people; and may have even wished that they'd not have spread their mistaken beliefs.

Nothing's changed.

That facism comment seems a little strong.

But then, that's just my opinion. And sometimes I'm a bit stupid.

Cheers,

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I think we got seagulled by matt.

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If it's just us, it seems like an awful waste of space.
Contact Carl Sagan

http://davidsuniverse.wordpress.com/

...he writes in his 2,762nd post...

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"Transport of the mails, transport of the human voice, transport of flickering pictures - in this century, as in others, our highest accomplishments still have the single aim of bringing men together." St. Exupery

If you mean things like censorship, then I have a hard time associating Harlan Ellison with it.

And I'm not advocating censorship, or fascism, either. But I agree with the quote that more idiots have been given more direct access to spread their idiocy than ever before. The Internet has enabled every Holocaust-denying, moon-hoax-raving, no-plane-hit-the-Pentagon nitwit to publish their drivel to the entire world at virtually no cost. Do you dispute that?

And, no, I don't think everyone who disagrees with me is an idiot. But they are out there (especially when I'm driving )

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"Slapping a guy on the head is just as funny now as it was eighty years ago."

I must assume that overall she is the greatest of wifes, because being forced to watch Idol, IMO, is grounds for divorce.

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"The facts gentlemen, and nothing but the facts, for careful eyes are narrowly watching." Isaac Asimov

The junk that my g/f makes me watch makes Am-Ide seem like Shakespear. Uuugh (sorry if I'm insulting any of your guys shows but): Charmed (all the low cut tops in the world can't make up for the mind-numbing eye-gouging stupidity and awful acting in this show), Veronica Mars (okay, so not *that* bad but still), Gilmore Girls (sorry, I'm a guy), America's Next Top Model, America's Next Top Designer, America's Next Top Cheif, America's Next Top ANYTHING (Please, make the hurting stop!).

Oh well, that gives me more time to play WoW, and guitar. So I guess it works out.

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I'm like one of those idiot savants...well, except for the savant part.
"In order to increase awareness of the homeless, security have been given binoculars."

so you would agree ......the idiots rule mediadom

If you can see through Fox's sensationalism, "American Idol" provides a great way to observe important aspects of human behavior and the human condition.

One example has been mentioned: people in gross denial of self-evident fact. When confronted with the fact, they prefer to remain in their own subjective world and write off the inconvenient fact as nothing more than someone else's opinion.

Another example from the cattle-call auditions: people who are reasonably good, but not good enough -- "But I sing all the time at weddings!" That's analogous to people who try out their conspiracy ideas in sympathetic settings, receive praise, and then go to pieces under meaningful scrutiny.

People are people, whether they're trying to sing or defending their ideas.

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"Facts are stubborn things." --John Adams
Clavius Moon Base

( quite admirably put, Sir ! )

alas, the conditio humana wants us in the position of the powerless observer and so our only recourse must be the poignant observation...

Good point. Except for me, I really do have an amazing singing voice, unfortunately its in a range that the human ear cannot detect. j/k I even sound bad when I sing to myself in my head.

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I'm like one of those idiot savants...well, except for the savant part.
"In order to increase awareness of the homeless, security have been given binoculars."

America's Next Top Beater Of Televisions With A Spiked Bat.

Where do I sign up?

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"I have this theory that the Apollo missions were faked when NASA found out that general relativity was wrong because the Earth was expanding due to the Sun's iron core being influenced by magnetic waves from the electric universe after being perturbed by Planet X and thereby causing global warming. Where should I start a thread about this?" ~ ToSeek

"Those are the people that wonder how a thermos knows whether to keep something hot or keep something cold." ~ NeoWatcher

I'm so glad Holland isn't full of them...

Well, they are, but there are always channels fun to watch.

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Spread the Love!

Sadly, my boyfriend quite likes Charmed. It's about the only show that he watches that actually makes me get up and leave the room. (Given my physical condition, that's really impressive.) Then again, I consider it blasphemous. So there it is, really.

There's a reason that I'm more likely to watch Law & Order reruns for the fourth time than most of the new shows out there, you know? However, I'm even more likely to put in a movie.

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Gillian

"Now everyone was giving her that kind of look UFOlogists get when they suddenly say, 'Hey, if you shade your eyes you can see it is just a flock of geese after all.'"

"You can't erase icing."

"I can't believe it doesn't work! I found it on the internet, man!"

Law and Order still has a special place of honor as the only crime drama ever to feature the stability of the proton as an integral plot element.

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"Slapping a guy on the head is just as funny now as it was eighty years ago."

America's Next Top Beater Of Televisions With A Spiked Bat.

I think I'll wait for the sequel:

America's Next Top Beater Of Television Executives Using A Spiked Bat.


I'd note here that anyone who attempts to beat on a TV that has a spiked bat, well.......

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Howling from the Shadows

It must be fun to lead a life completely unburdened by reality. --- JayUtah

You can't reason an irrational person out of an irrational belief. --- Noclevername

Apollo: The History and the Hoax
Enter the World of Athran

That's the one with the bomb that has an irradiated ballpoint pen spring, right?

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--Doug

"When your statics problem becomes a dynamics problem, you're in trouble." --me

Moor's Law: "As you go from freshman engineering to Ph.D., the amount of work required per credit hour doubles approximately every 18 months." --me, inspired by Prof. Scott Moor

I'm getting the feeling that Matt isn't coming back to back up his claims...whatever those claims were...

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"The facts gentlemen, and nothing but the facts, for careful eyes are narrowly watching." Isaac Asimov

I've closed the thread. If Matt returns and wants the thread re-opened, he can PM a moderator or admin and request it.

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Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.