TAGS: #gametheory #UFO #burningman #criticalthinking #sagansbaloneykit
Two of my friends, Brian Dunning and David Brin have been taking up the fight recently in earnest (their respective movies and books are very much worth pursuing), and I’ve been privy to some ongoing conversations regarding (and lamenting) the newest interest in this topic.
While I don’t want echo chambers, there are times when I would hope there are some things I don’t need to imbibe ever again. If I could magically never hear another song by The Smiths or The Cure, this would notably move the needle on my happiness. I get it, they are talented, but they are talented whiney little bitches. And, I know at least one person who must have cringed as much as I did every time a recent Indiana Jones actor pronounced Antikythera (can’t this be fixed in post with AI?).
My point is, yeah, this newly regurgitated UFO crap (to be said with a Scot accent) is hard on the critical mind, I do have to apply my game theory filter to this however. By example, several of my friends were quite upset on the ‘reporting’ by news media of the washout at Burning Man last week (1st world problems). That it made BM look bad, and also was inaccurate reporting (I have to admit I get a bit excited when friends get ethically indignant, it’s one of Brin’s best qualities). In the same breath, they went on to complain how the quality of attendants has also given way to just people looking to party. I found humour in this, as my own logic is that the best thing to improve this is to promote false flags to the ignorant, win win. I’ve considered naming products, services, books, and even events things like Shit Stain, Pure Unfiltered Dribble, and ‘Applied Business Theory Vol IV.’
But in the case of UFOs, we do have to acknowledge there is an entire generation of adults who have never been exposed to this thought process, and while the yokels dominate the cameras, I’ve witnessed a few endearing darknet conversations among the young that yields great hope.
As I like to say:
Nothing defines an opposing force better than another opposing force
(see Howard Cosell/Muhammad Ali, et al).
So, indeed, we must endure this pablum yet again, perhaps we can leverage this a little better each time to attract and develop the minds of the few that are worthy.
I’ve oft believed that Sagan’s Baloney Kits should be on par with F.A.Qs Formated as a Socratic Q&A designed to educate through the dialogue, offered up as a standard, splattered across the Web for every and any topic (a BKQA if you will).
‘Why should I believe X?’
Wait for the pushback from the conspiracy nuts, and update the BKQA accordingly.
Hoping when we do make first contact, they don’t view us as just a restroom on the side of the 5 Freeway.
