26_blog_groupthink
Searching for an original idea
I originally set out to write an article about how opinions tend to be the
same on each blog … it’s almost as if you can predict the reaction of the
bloggers to current events. I could write their dialogue myself. The
conspirator in me thinks that there are only three or four people actually
posting on all these blogs, and the rest of are just reading — thinking that
others are doing all the writing. Of course, I don’t really believe that
possibility.
Something — call it gut instinct — told me to do a
Google
search for "blogoshpere groupthink"
… turned out a hundred
million other people (give or take) had already had the same thought … and there
was a Groupthink definition on
Wikipedia, along with links to related subjects (my favorite one was the
Abiline Paradox … An article in the New Yorker about Saturday Night Live cast
groupthink … this is the verbal equivalent of two mirrors opposite
each other, reflecting into infinity, for no apparent reason.
And then it occurs to me that
since I had the same ideas as these other writers, we’re participating in global
groupthink. Great.
In an attempt to have an
original idea, I then decided to write an article about how hard it is to
have an original idea on the internet when everyone and their brother is out
there on the WWW, blogging away thoughts that match your own. The Google
search was much less definitive this time, but I still got the sense that my
latest idea was not new.
I wonder if original ideas on the
web has become the equivalent of "Meet the Buddha … the kill
Buddha."
Speaking of Buddhism, I gave up and researched that for awhile. Strange how the dispassionate qualities
of an enlightened one are so similar to symptoms of depression.
I started
contemplating the end. Nothingness. I used to do this as a child,
when I wondered what it would be like to experience the second death, after
Jesus and His Father threw me into hell because I wasn’t a good enough
Christian. Pleasant dreams.
Anyway, that nothingness used to make my heart beat fast. My
mind felt like it was imploding. Ceasing to exist was an impossible pill
to swallow. Unable to handle it, I always pulled back to our three-dimensional reality.
It occurs to me now that this nothingness needs to be
fully embraced for the journey to enlightenment to be completed. To
experience this before one’s death is necessary.
I started thinking about Neo
in the first Matrix movie, and how he woke up from the dreaming state to see that everything
he had known was an impermanent illusion.
I drove to work,
contemplating all this … my mind drifted into a scenario: what if I died
(naturally of course) after achieving enlightenment, and waiting for me at the
end of the journey … was the Joker, wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a 35mm camera
around his neck, gun pointed at my chest, saying, "Here’s to crime!"
Suddenly,
I’m in the Hall of Injustice. There’s Black Manta, Lex Luthor, and all the
rest … the most powerful supervillains ever.
"Oh, you though you
would become one with the Overmind? Ha ha haaa!" laughs the Earth-1
Luthor, wearing his 1980′s green armor. "When a soul dies in your universe,
your energy gets transferred here. Soon, we’ll have enough power to defeat
Superman and his superfriends. Then we will rule the Multiverse
forever! Hahahaahaaa!"
In a dark corner sat Emperor Palpatine (talk
about your mega-crossovers!), watching Luthor as he ranted. He cracked a
smile when I looked at him.
And this all leads to the thought: did a
supervillain create us and the parameters that govern this universe?
Now I sit
typing all these thoughts down. I decide it’s time for one more Google
search. Apparently, no one has thought of this particular idea.
Thank Odin.
Yo. God, Allah, Zeus, Odin, whoever, THANK YOU, for orange juice. That shit is awesome.
RT Thor review embargo lifted and the early consensus appears to be…. positive! Thank Odin for that!
Munkee – you are missing the point. Since 1939 the public has been led to believe that the spit curl and glasses will keep people from putting the two together and realizing they are the same person. Lois Lane and Perry White were supposed to be Pulitzer Prize winning journalists, and they couldn't tell Supes and CK apart? That has been the running inside gag for over 70 years! I mean even Lex Luthor (who supposedly grew up in Smallville, too) couldn't tell them apart?
Well make the most of the pope because soon he will become history according to St Malachi this is the last named pope in his prophecies & all of his past prophecies have been correct
The next pope will be the last 112th & is unnamed but seems to imply the end of the Roman Catholic Religion the city of seven hills (Vatican) will be destroyed
i won't take the niners for granted;thank odin for home field advantage!!SKOL VIKINGS!!!!
When did Aquaman start flying?
This page is just one giant flash ad now. It loads so damn slow. Thank odin for adblock plus
JUNO!
SHES A BACK LUIGI
RANCOR FIGHT ROCK
Thank Odin for yoga pants, and thank you chick at the Army training thing today in front of me, with the nice ass, who wore them.
Emperor Palpatine takes his custom Imperial AT-AT Walker out for…: Emperor Palpatine takes his custom Imperial…
Shitegeist ROFL
Uh oh. They’re calling me. It’s show time! I’ve a lotta lines to say– Thank Odin someone invented the teleprompter! Excelsior!
Aaah ngm merece essa indecisão se vou ou nao no "Lex Luthor". Aff' desde cedo isso.
Thank Odin, I thought I was the only one who couldn't understand those goddam games.
Totally agree with you. Her early recording career was totally mismanaged by her former record label (RCA), run by none other than Lord Sidious/Emperor Palpatine (a.k.a. Clive Davis). They totally wasted her talent and then dropped her like a rock when she did not sell enough “units.” RCA screwed over other ex-Idols like Bo Bice also. I have faith that David Foster and the new label will help her create material worthy of her excellence.
Veja a HQ de Lex Luthor e Coringa que homenageia Calvin e Haroldo – Quadrinhos | Omelete
Good morning, Lex Luthor in a sharp suit! Arlington Heights Metra)
BLASPHEMY!
HERETICS!!
It is written in the sacred tome, thou shall not sully the sancity of Star Wars with thy earthly perversions!
Thy profane utterances offendeth even the likes of Bib Fortuna!
ok..lol.
geez…i did not anticipate THAT response..lol
you bunch of perverts!
*sheesh* i never even though of lightsaber as a penis euphemism!
i must be tres naive.
and i said “we can all hit each other”…so dont be thinking some freaky shit!
So you all do not know of the bathrobe?
Biff's dad sent he and lisa these insanely HUGE bathrobes. I think they were roughly 10 pounds each…anyway, they are black and hooded and look exactly like emperor palpatine's robe.
it's uncanny!
When it comes to British bands of that era, I fold. All I had access to was AM radio, and a bit of FM (London Ontario FM). The first time I heard “Heart of Glass” by Blondie, it was literally a revelation. It was mind expanding.
I know. Sad.
London is stuck between Detroit and Toronto/Buffalo. Stuck in that we didn't get radio from either place (both 2 hours away). And being a country lad, trips into town were rare, and not focused on my musical tastes. Which is a long-winded way to apologise for being such a trog when it comes to British music. Thank Odin for the internet.
RT rel=”nofollow” Que dicen en Intereconomía que Rubalcaba le está pasando de estrangis kryptonita a Lex Luthor.
Thank Odin!
belle – the dodgers are no longer owned by News Corp. Emperor PalpatineMurdoch sold them in 2005 to Frank McCourt. i'm not defending the dodgers in any way, i find them bland and boring, although listening to vin scully call their games gives me the chills (in a good way). it's amazing how he can do a game all by himself when some networks cram three people into a booth.
RT Emperor Palpatine would electrocute anyone who misused the subjunctive mood #IfStarWarsWereReal #IfStarWarsWasReal
Yeah, I remember that one issue of Superman where he meets the Easter Bunny for the first time and they both mistake the other for a supervillain and get into a fight that threatens to flatten most of downtown Metropolis until Lex Luthor starts up some trouble and they have to team up to take him down, whereupon they realize they're both good guys and pledge to cooperate thereafter….
No, wait. Maybe that was Green Lantern.
deadpools reaction to the little “girl” is priceless.
If I can be of sound mind and body, I’d like to have an indefinite lifespan. Not sure why anyone would want anything less.
Hi sporkmaster:
Which do you fear most: Lex Luthor as an outlaw supervillian, or Lex Luthor as president of the United States?
Lex Luthor on his own is a bad guy with a group of thugs to carry out his orders. Lex Luthor as president of the United States is a bad guy with a group of thugs to carry out his orders, plus an army, a navy, a secret service and a police force.
I know it's a goofy reference, but it's relevant because unless we renounce our support for the government in Afghanistan in its current form, we're financing and training a national security apparatus and putting it into the hands of the bad guys.
I understand your concerns about non-violence if things get really bad. I'll just make a couple of points:
1) Using the history of the 20th century as a guide, you have a better chance of success struggling against repression if you use nonviolent methods.
2) I worry about what happens when it goes bad and everyone has weapons.
…Or Davros, lord and creator of the dalek race. Or the Mekon for that matter. Or Stewie Griffon…
belle – the dodgers are no longer owned by News Corp. Emperor PalpatineMurdoch sold them in 2005 to Frank McCourt. i'm not defending the dodgers in any way, i find them bland and boring, although listening to vin scully call their games gives me the chills (in a good way). it's amazing how he can do a game all by himself when some networks cram three people into a booth.
Adapting the message to fit the audience is not only antithetical to scientific inquiry, it's something religion is very, very good at.
So it's worse than attacking religion's strengths with science's weaknesses: it's attacking religion's strength's with science's fatal flaw.
It's like giving Superman a suit of Kryptonite armor to fight Lex Luthor.
looks like a good episode. i cant wait!!!
Obligatory Friday SP blog post.
Nice article. I think a superhero that is largely unrecognised is one's mother. They carry us in their wombs, they go through child birth, they protect us from harm when we unable to, they feed us, clothe us, bathe us, & shower us with insatiable love. Although saving the world from the likes of Lex Luthor or The Joker would entitle you to the title of superhero, its the small things mentioned above that makes a real superhero.
idiots
RT rel=”nofollow” Getting too personal? – RH advocates compare Benedict XVI w/ Star Wars villain Emperor Palpatine in this video –
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Thanks for spamming us on the “Blog Groupthink” article. The irony is delicious. Yum!