Thursday, May 28, 2020

Edward R. Murrow's Day in news is gone forever!

In the old days, the closest thing we had to today's entertainment, that presented as fake news, was the War of the Worlds sketch by Orson Wells.  Today's entertainment is so full of realistic fiction, that anyone not well grounded in the subjects of science, will be easily fooled into thinking things that are, actually impossible, are possible.  In the days before special effects became so realistic, there was little need for the news to feel competition from entertainment.  Today that is changed radically, to the extent that there is a lot of entertainment that, presents itself as real to the scientifically untutored.  This presents a great problem to the operation of government institutions that must rely on facts not fantasy.  This malstrom of illusion creates a world of, what can only be described as "magical thinking" in the minds of many,  without their knowledge.  

Go have a look at some technical videos, watch machinists make things and see the complicated calculations they must make to accomplish their tasks, the same for pilots of large commercial aircraft, ships, both passenger and cargo, see them being built.  You get the idea that things aren't all as simple as they seem to be on television.  You begin to realize why so much training is needed by people before they are qualified to perform as equipment operators, ship captains, airline pilots etc., no one simply jumps into the captains chair and flawlessly operates as good as a skilled professional.  But entertainment programs today, using special effects, sure makes it seem that such nonsense is a possible reality and it would be fine if all entertainment were easy and obviously identified as such.  But like Orson Wells "War of the Worlds", much of the "bang for the buck" in today's entertainment, comes from purposely presenting the fare as if it could be real.  Leaving many viewers to come away with the feeling that what they have viewed is practical and possible.

If one is alert and aware, you can and will find cases all over the internet, where people are arguing that phantasy stuff is actually real.  Their arguments may even seem plausible until you look deeper into it, to discover their offers fall apart at the seams.  Just os you know to beware.

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