Pareidola; the science of conspiracy theories

http://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2013/sep/05/conspiracy-theories-science-belief-secret-plots

This is a really interesting article on something Professor Harris touched on the other day, which is the tendency for your average human to be susceptible to conspiracy theories. This susceptibility comes from the brains desire to seek patterns. This pattern seeking component was extremely helpful in early human evolution because it helped us detect enemies and defend ourselves. It is known formally as Pareidola. 

Conspiracy theory believers often already have anxiety and worry about trusting the government, therefore when a pattern is detected that suggests a conspiracy, they are more inclined to believe it.

I think it's important for humans to keep our Pareidola in check in order to avoid jumping to rash conclusions about situations. However our brains tendency to be skeptical is also very important in modern times.

My Definition of Love #10

        My definition of love is when yoh care deeply for someone who means a great to you and your life. Love can come in all ways whether it is personal connection, visual connection, or trusting home your heart feels. How do other people feel when they care deeply? For me I physically feel it in my heart like with any emotion. It sounds strange but I think everyone feels that way sometimes.
         I think love can be immediately thrown away if the ither person does something powerful enough to make their devastation and hurt become more then their love. Have you ever felt stabbed in the back enough to make you not care for someone anymore? I definitely have! Probably still will in the future because human nature is inevitable.
         Personally I believe that everyone is destined to find someone that will become apart of their life forever. If someone doesn't have feelings for me or someone breaks up with me, personally I will be upset at first but if I am not the person that they will love forever then that is okay with me.

Maoi of Easter Island

Easter Island (Rapa Nui) in Polynesia is famous for the iconic Easter Island Heads or Maoi. These Maoi are said top be built in honor and memory of former high priests. They would be built and transported across most of the island to be put on hills facing the sun. But weighing up to 14 tons and being up to 13 feet tall, it is a mystery to modern historians how they moved these megaliths with the technology available back then. Some ancient alien historians have speculated that these Maoi could only have been brought by ancient aliens. Another interesting fact about Easter Island is that this island is the only Pacific Island to hold historical evidence of a written language (similar to the Egyptian hieroglyphics).  This causes many Ancient Alien theorists to believe that ancient aliens helped this 

civilization in many aspects including written language. Though people will tell you creativity and regular technological advancements can account for the great Moai, the sudden disappearance of the population and their forests, as well as the only account of a written language in the Pacific Islands, the mystery of it all does make you wonder. 

9/11 -Pat Minogue

After going over all the 9/11 conspiracy theories in class I decided to google 9/11 political cartoons and this was one of the top images. In this drawing, it shows the short term memory that U.S. citizens have. This image was released only 6 years after the tragedy and many americans already forgot about it.  It is now almost 14 years since the terrorist attack and the children and young adults of today barely even remember the attack if they were alive; which many young americans were not. It is important to remember this day not only to mourn those who risked their lives to save innocent americans, but also to remember the reason troops are still in the middle east today.

blog -trist

September 11 at 6:00 am, the President, a reporter friend, and his Secret Service crew went on a four-mile jog. As Bush was getting ready for the jog a van carrying several Middle Eastern men in the vehicle pulled up to the Colony’s guard station, they said they had a scheduled interview with the President. Secret Service me told the Middle Eastern men to contact the President’s public relations office in Washington, DC, after the van turned away. Some say the Secret Service protected Bush from an assassination attempt.

   I have never heard of this event until now. I thought this would be a big thing. Right after 9/11 our President might have almost got assassinated.

BLOG #10

So, after thorough discussion in class i made up my mind about love; I came to the conclusion that it does exist. We all came up with similar definitions of what love is to us, which was along the line of an extreme infatuation with someone who you feel romantic towards. I feel as if you can find true love without searching, and that is the beauty of it. When people go out of their way to find "the love of their life" they might be missing what could possibly be right in front of them. Another thing about love that we discussed is the fact that it might fade. I also do believe that love does fade. If something goes wrong in a relationship, sometimes you can't look at the person the same way, and the love beings to fade. For instance if someone cheats in a relationship, how are you supposed to forgive them, let alone promise to love them still? Over time feelings change, they either grow stronger or they fade. I believe if you find "the one" deep down, you will know. If the flame dies down then you know it wasn't meant to be. I am a believer in the flame of love, but i also believe that the flame can die.

"The War on Science"

   Running along the lines of the discussion we had with Professor Harris on Friday on the topic of the human search for patterns and acceptance, this month's issue of National Geographic contained an article entitled "The War on Science." It centered on why, in this day and age, human beings find a desire to question everything from the truth behind the moon landing to the side effects of vaccines (especially the claims that they can cause autism) despite loads of scientific evidence that proves otherwise.

   Science and facts have always been available to some human beings, but not all. The truths behind evidence and experimentation were usually left to those in their respective fields, but these days, everything is available through the Internet. This is by no means a bad thing; however, the issue with statistics is that they can be manipulated to appear as though they defend a certain thought or ideal and can therefore be misrepresented.

   With access to facts and numbers at everyone's fingertips, they are often used to defend whatever people feel most strongly about; not what is right, per se. Someone will seek out and latch onto the information that defends their core values and consider it a new foundation for their beliefs without considering the opposing viewpoint - which still leaves them a believer, not a scientist.

   Take, for example, the theory that the Earth is a globe. In this day and age, it is an irrefutable fact. It was proven in ancient times to be true. Yet still, in the nineteenth century, beliefs that the world was square or flat pervaded, making their way past fringe ideas into mainstream society. While this was considerably difficult to do by pony express, with the advancements of social media, it is far easier for this to happen in 2015.

   This is part of the reason why we hear theories such as those that 9/11 was an inside operation or that the moon landing was faked. The other portion would be because we search for patterns - as Professor Harris pointed out. "If subject A reacts to subject B, the same must be the case everywhere." This simple yet practically baseless argument is what drives a huge portion of modern dogma, which leaves everyone generally misinformed and undereducated. 

   There's also the thought that everyone simply wants to be accepted. The article discussed how people will not alter their ideas if those adjustments will insult the others in their "tribe" of believers, risking their expulsion.

   That being said, for the full, "scientific" explanation in the article, here it is:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/science-doubters/achenbach-text

   If anything, this article should be an encouragement to see both sides of a story and attempt to put aside one's previous contentions lest one be wrong.