Few discoveries have changed mankind so much in so little time. Even fewer have their future in as much doubt as the Internet. Even though the Internet is still technically open and anybody’s public thoughts can be accessed, it doesn’t mean that worthy information can actually reach the people that need it.
Search engines have become gate-keepers of sorts while social networks transform themselves into walled gardens. Mobile apps are also filtering out the open web into cute little boxes where companies keep their users enthralled:
Some time ago, I wanted to use Google’s AdWords to publish an advert for one of my articles. I was censored. Why? Because my article was titled “The Virtual Reality Revolution^”. And of course, nobody in the establishment likes to see the world “revolution” printed anywhere, right? Right?
And while we’re at it, check out this article^ I wrote about 3 months ago regarding social threats to the Internet (as opposed to the ones that are featured in this posting, which I’d classify as economical and technological).
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Quote: “the need for the eye contact is something hard to do with tinted windows. As a pedestrian, before you step off a curb when you arrive at a four-way stop, the interaction with a driver requires a degree of not just acknowledgment, but trust. I have to know what you intend to do, and I have to know that you’ve seen me. Think of how often you respond differently because you see someone on the phone or texting. You need this information, and dark tinting obscures it.”
I don’t normally start my recommendations with a quote from the article I’m recommending, but sometimes I make exceptions. This time, the reason is that the quote I started with is exactly what made me feature this article. The same quote also got me thinking about how will pedestrians interact with self-driving vehicles. Food for thought…
There’s quite a lot of regional information in the article (pertaining to Canada). But once we get thinking about the dangers of tinted windows, a lot of risks will immediately pop into a driver’s mind: dangers of changing lanes in the dark, parking in an insufficiently lit garage and so on. Conclusion? Don’t tint your windows.
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In the past years, a steady stream of revelations has shown the extent at which governments spy on us. This shocked nobody in the know. We’ve suspected it all along. When it comes to nation-states, however, it’s a different story. Countries don’t like it when other nations are snooping around in their backyard. Enter quantum cryptography^.
Edward Snowden along with WikiLeaks and other organizations have exposed parts of America’s cyber-espionage program. Now, we finally see some of the rewards coming from those revelations. China is moving towards ensuring secure and private communications for itself and, I suspect in the near future, for any entity that pays a hefty fee. Large corporations will definitely be interested in having access to a spy-proof communications network:
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The fact that the educational system is flawed is not news. However, one would think that at least we’re working on improving the situation. Well, not quite. Apparently, in some countries they keep cutting into creative classes and replacing them with reading class:
Perhaps what’s desired of children by the many countries following this sort of educational paradigm is to be able to read instructions and be nice little drones? Is this some sort of revenge of the support technicians that waste too much time due to users that don’t read the manuals that came with their products? Regardless of the source of this misguided change, it’s probably not going to help, unless the goal is to ruin our children’s creativity and thus, happiness.
Still, let’s be thankful that at least we have such a thing as an educational system. It certainly has its merits. At least it got us thinking about the system itself. Now let’s continue thinking about it while in the same time act for improving it, because let’s get one thing straight: we didn’t get here as a species by reading instructions, but by being creative.
[ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/01020-DisturbingKindergartenTransformation-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’The Disturbing Transformation of Kindergarten’ desc=’The fact that the educational system is flawed is not news. Apparently, in some countries they keep cutting into creative classes and replacing them with reading class.’]
Now and then, the dirty tactics of Big Pharma burst out into the open. At the end of 2015, the disgusting maneuvers of Valeant came to light^. Then-CEO, Martin Shkreli, laughed at and insulted the representatives of the people^. We might sometimes dislike politicians, but the arrogance and greediness of these pharmaceutical companies is absolutely staggering.
Last week, another drug maker entered the spotlight. Mylan, makers of allergy shot EpiPen have been greedily and unscrupulously raising the price of their products:
Mylan promised to do something about the situation^, even though the company’s decision has left more than a few experts in the field rather confused. In the meantime, people with low income that depend on these products are sacrificing the quality of their life to fill Mylan’s coffers. This takes “unfair” to a whole new level.
[ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/01010-EpiPenMylan-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Big Pharma Finds Itself in the Spotlight Again’ desc=’Now and then, the dirty tactics of Big Pharma burst out into the open. Mylan, makers of allergy shot EpiPen have been greedily and unscrupulously raising the price of their products.’]
With ever-undented ambition, China rediscovers its innovative mojo. In the past decade, we’ve seen quite a few impressive Chinese projects. It doesn’t matter if this bus will not see wide-spread use, it still stands (ahem, rolls) as a testament that China Has Talent.
Still, I’d rather see China’s Talent invested in ways that can reduce motor traffic rather than work around the problem by throwing more metal (and fuel) at it. Beijing and other major cities around in the world would love to get rid of the smog epidemic.
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According to some researchers, the Zika virus, which causes the Zika fever^, can cause microcephaly and other brain malformations in some babies if the mother is infected during pregnancy. However, there have been indications that there might be other causes for the infants’ malformations, such as the parents’ exposure to toxic pesticides. In 12000 Zika-infected Colombian pregnancies there wasn’t a single case of microcephaly. Unfortunately the sources for this last information are unreliable and contested, so take this with a grain of salt.
While the jury is still out on what is causing microcephaly, let’s take a look at one solution that’s being considered for fighting the spread of Zika:
OX513A is a genetically engineered male mosquito produced by a British company. The USA is tentatively playing with the idea of releasing this species into the wild with the purpose of controlling mosquito populations. This male mosquito passes a gene that makes females’ offspring die before reaching adulthood. It may even work.
As is often the case, humans scramble to find quick solutions for their own speciest interest, tampering with complex ecosystems about which they barely have developed an inkling of understanding. And also as is often the case, this might end blowing up in our faces.
Then again, the people working on such projects are top scientists so they know what they’re doing, at least momentarily. But that’s the thing. Momentarily, we’ve always been good at patching things up. It’s the long term effects^ that usually end up hurting us the most.
Bioengineering plants is one thing, but insects are highly mobile and I just don’t want to imagine what might happen when a certain mosquito’s genetic material combines with another’s, producing who-knows what sort of super-mosquito. This will probably not happen, but at times I can’t help thinking that our playing with the ecosystem is at best risky and at worst misguided, arrogant and deadly.
Fortunately, the proposal to trial OX513A in the wild will most likely be voted down, but the very fact that they’re considering it, is worrying – also from an ethical perspective. What right do we have to decide if another species can or cannot have offspring? Perhaps we’re taking “survival of the fittest” a bit too far?
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Relaxation and play constitute an important part of life. Most of us spend around half of our waking time at work. We live in a world of informational overload. As such, the breaks we can take from the daily routines are quite important. The digital age has made audio-visual entertainment cheap, easy to obtain and, for an ever-increasing number of people it became one of the main means of counteracting the stress of daily life.
Cinematography and computer games are the undisputed leaders when it comes to this sort of fun. There are a lot of excellent movies and games out there. The opposite is also true and therein lays a problem: entertainment is a highly efficient means of propagating stereotypes and ideologies. Let’s take a look at some of these effects and observe how they sometimes end up damaging our society.
The human body
Nowhere are the stereotypes more apparent than the portrayal of the human body in mainstream entertainment. The prime example is the stereotyping of the female body and the worst offender is the computer games industry. Take a look at these examples:
Females in computer games
Most action flicks spewing from Hollywood ooze the same type of intellectual pollution. Through this, not only are men trained into appreciating a stereotypical body type, but women are also subliminally directed into attempting to become exactly that. Men fall prey to images of them as muscle monsters that have to go to the gym and eat stuff like this:
The Church of the Artificially Grown Muscle – the all-mighty Protein Store
Why is this happening, who benefits from all this? On the one hand, we have the chemical nutrition industry, the cosmetics industry and of course, the pharmaceutical industry (which comes in when the chemical nutrition & cosmetics succeed in damaging the body). For these businesses, mainstream entertainment has become excellent free advertisement. The emphasis placed on the word “mainstream” is there to remind that we’re targeting the trend, rather than the exceptions.
On the other hand, we have the entertainment industry itself. With the stereotypes now in place, it is easy to create generic movies and games, all following the same template. This sort of patterned repetition generates quick income and strengthens existent stereotypes. It’s a clever system that feeds on itself and grows in size through the conversion of human intellect, not unlike religion really, which at one point was some societies’ means of escape from real or imaginary threats.
Many people try to resist this sort of programming. However, entertainment can be an insidious force. After showering the brain with sounds and images, it has the advantage of dealing with a relaxed mind that is at its most receptive to external stimuli, with most of its defenses lowered (because it’s just “fun” broadcasting). To better envision how important the state of relaxation is, simply remember how a muscle has to be before getting an injection.
Humans are relaxed when they are entertained, and it is therefore difficult to resist the poisonous messages delivered to them. The pornographic industry, for example, takes advantage of the receptivity of the brain while being entertained by erotic imagery. While in this state, the rewiring of neural pathways (obtained through repeated suggestion) is very efficient.
Devaluing beauty
The result of this “war against uniqueness” is a net devaluation of beauty. Stereotypes may be funny at times, convenient shortcuts at others, but sadly, a significant part of the entertainment industry has turned firmly against that which is unique, special and beautiful in favor of what sells. See this excellent short video^ about how men are treated in video games – like sacks of meat that should be stabbed, beat, shot and blown into oblivion.
Objectification leads to a loss of identity. When any person diverts too much attention towards physical aspects, they neglect the equally important internal world. That is not to say that physical beauty is irrelevant. Of course we should respect and take care of our bodies. However, due to the perpetual conditioning received through various forms of entertainment, many victims lose touch with the natural beauty of their bodies.
The mainstream pornographic industry is probably at the pinnacle of objectification. Taking advantage of already established stereotypes while in the same time reinforcing them, this business is one of the biggest earners in audio-visual entertainment. Many, if not most of the women performing in adult movies have done so under social pressure. There are many means of coercing, ranging from criminal (slavery) to exploiting social programming. Because of Social Contribution Inequality^, the number of vulnerable women is astonishingly high.
The advertisement business is akin to pornography
How many people have been through depression due to the way they believed their body looks? Notice here the use of the word “belief”. The human body is beautiful throughout the many changes that happen to it. But those that can influence what people see and hear love nothing more than to teach humans what to think about their and others’ bodies. The purpose is to divert people from their internal world, even abandon it in pursuit of cosmetic fixes. It’s no wonder many victims end up numbing themselves with antidepressants, filling up Big Pharma’s coffers.
In a healthy culture, there is no “ugly” person. A proof of this is that we often find ourselves in awe of a special, twisted tree. This is because we haven’t been conditioned as to what “the perfect tree” should look like. Although, it should be added that gardening is also an industry.
Devaluing life
While we’re at the subject of trees, why not look a bit further. Animals, robots, aliens, zombies, mutants, they’re all shoved into the cinema/gaming stereotype-fest in often unhealthy ways such as serving as cannon fodder during various types of massacre. Again, this is not about those beautiful productions that manage to challenge our intellect and present unique perspectives or teach us about compassion. It’s about the downward spiral towards the dark side of the survival instinct – fear.
There is little respect given to the creatures portrayed on-screen and even less compassion – which is not surprising, since the industry has reached a point where writers are demanded to produce shallow stories that satisfy consumers whose intellectual appetite has been numbed by low quality entertainment. There are exceptions to this, but they are increasingly rare.
Desensitization to violence & devaluing life
All of this devaluesour society’s inherent respect for life. It is therefore not surprising that humans are destroying their environment or subjecting other forms of life to benevolent imprisonment.
Solutions
Education is the obvious key here. Our children will be happier when they are aware of their natural beauty and even more importantly, they should know how to find and respect others’ natural beauty, how to appreciate the value of life, regardless of species.
An Intellectual Diet^ can help by getting rid of some of the toxic programming. A pro-active attitude is perhaps necessary. Boycott the companies that engage in such practices; refuse to see movies, buy games or products that sustain “dirty entertainment”.
Knowledge such as this is widely available all around us. Once incorporated, it can serve as a sort of mental immune system. I’m certainly not the first one to write on this topic and I wish others will continue to advance this discussion further. I rarely, if ever, ask anybody to share one of my articles, but if you can see value in what you just read, if you think that this is a good explanation for something that you already felt, perhaps now is the time to administer an intellectual vaccine to those that you care about.
To conclude on a positive note, here are some proposals for male costumes, if only artists would apply the same techniques used to emphasize women’s bodies.
Men Dressed Like Women
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Late in the sixties, the USA, along with Denmark who controlled Greenland at the time, thought that it’s pretty safe to bury the remnants of a military nuclear reactor within the ice sheet. They assumed continual snowfall would only bury the waste deeper.
Needless to say, the assumption was not only wrong, but the exact opposite is happening. Due to global warming, in as little as 75 years, the buried remnants will resurface and will have to be dealt with, or else. Or else they’ll enter our ocean.
Taking care of the problem isn’t really rocket science. Extract the waste, haul it some hundred kilometers north and bury it again, this time in a concrete or metal sarcophagus. It won’t be cheap but it’s probably the easiest solution. A more complicated solution would be to mail it to Washington.
Sadly, we’ve proven ourselves once again to be incapable of finding a good long-term solution for the mess we’re making through irresponsible use of technology (which is more often than not related to the military industrial complex). But humans eventually learn from past mistakes, even if sometimes the lesson needs to be repeated a hundred too many times.
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Recent studies show that ducks may be capable of abstract thinking. Scientists have reached this conclusion after hatching about a hundred ducklings and playing shape games with them while they were imprisoned in an enclosure:
The fact that we’re the dominant species on this planet certainly has its perks. I suppose it would also be just fine if a race of curious aliens starts taking our babies away and make them crawl after floating spheres and cubes in order to examine how their curiosity develops.
Oh, did you know we’re able to hatch chicks without eggshells?
Wouldn’t it be great if those aliens would start to populate our planet with babies grown in grocery bags with tubes rather than a mother’s womb? Do you think those children would turn out smarter and perhaps less merciless than we are?
And last but not least, here’s one last bitter pill for the day:
Congratulations brothers and sisters, both for causing this and for fighting against it. Sarcasm doesn’t go well with optimism, does it?
Sharkasm
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Because being informed is just not enough anymore…
