I found this blogger through the WordPress reader. They have a keen take on things they find around and about. They also offer additional exposure to bloggers and other creatives looking to get their messages out to a broader audience. They have been gracious enough to offer little ole Nobody New in their postings! This is a post specifically thanking them and their efforts in everything they do as well as offering a spot for us to reside!
In the beginning, Facebook started as a place to share ideas, connect with friends and family, and become the global hivemind, has now decayed into a cesspool of vitriol, hate, and unfettered biased judgement.
I’d like to assume we have all been there, “I don’t use it as much anymore. It’s just filled with people bashing on each other. I only keep it so I can stay connected with my family. How else is the family going to see pictures of the kids?” Among these examples, I’m sure there are a million others. It’s like the Dane Cook joke (probably stolen), where the female stays in her relationship with her beau because her cd’s are in his truck. Same principal for Facebook.
We all make excuses on why to keep things and you would think after the documentary “The Social Dilemma,” it would have convinced many more to unplug from “The Matrix.” All human minds and attention spans being harvested to appease stakeholders. Most of the evidence compelling people to abandon their digital lives were literally spelled out, spoon fed, in an easily digestible format. But like the drug-addicted mind, the masses kept going back for more, looking for the next dopamine hit.
There are movements in the name of unplugging. Countless bloggers, vloggers, streamers, and influencers whom are attempting to persuade people to leave the platforms and log out for good. I know not everyone fits in the criteria of jumping ship as they need their logins for work. Social Media managers, directors, and content developers/curators do have important roles to fill. Albeit contributing to the mass addiction. This post is definitively aimed at Facebook, but it can be said for any social platform.
Conversely, I do have hope that I hold onto, white-knuckled at that, in the good of social media. The benefits of positive social media by cutting through the white noise of the negative. There have been strides made to encourage and maintain a safe-space for Facebook users, but is commonly met with even more backlash and negativity. I would like to think Facebook does have the global mind in its best interests, but I have yet to see the paradigm shift.
Nope, don’t like that.
Technology has advanced so fast, it literally has given older generations whiplash. Look to when any technology group or platform is required to go to congress. Most of the people in government lack the common knowledge to use their own “smart” devices, let alone, they probably still own a VCR. Similar to the medical field, technology has advanced so quickly, the majority of the world is running to catch up.
Maybe Facebook was put into the mainstream too fast, too soon. Maybe it should have remained on college campuses for a few more years to be perfected before handed to the likes of the world. I am curious if all this negativity was always in the world and platforms like Facebook provided these people and ideas with a digital soapbox. Or having this ability is what unleashed the keyboard cannon fodder.
The baseline to be questioned, what would your life be like without Facebook? Provided you don’t need it for work. When you open your phone, is the first application you go to a social platform, is it Facebook? Have we as a society been conditioned like Pavlov’s Dog to immediately be drawn to Facebook? Do we bite the hand that feeds? What would you consider the food Facebook provides you? Is it good for you? These are all critical questions we should be asking ourselves, instead of consistently increasing the MAU / DAU (monthly/daily active users) of Facebook to help line the pockets of shareholders.
In recent(ish) news Facebook was placed under scrutiny with earnings calls, essentially damaging the value of the stock ultimately losing Meta $230 Billion in a single day. This kind of loss is alarming, but at the end of the day, do you really think Mark Zuckerberg is concerned? Given his total value/worth, he can easily live the rest of his days without working another day.
Thinking back to the movie, “The Social Network,” if Mark Zuckerberg is anything like Jesse Eisenberg‘s portrayal of him and the conversations used in the movie are valid, Zuckerberg never wanted to create an advertising behemoth. Even further if this speculation is true, while the lavish luxuries are nice, there is a good chance Zuckerberg is looking for a way out. All contingent on if art imitates life.
Facebook has the foundation for good intentions, but leave it to humans to destroy something inherently beautiful. Humans have always been destructive, but now it seems even more so now that it is no longer physical. Destroying something digital needs to be that much more grand to satiate the thirst for demolition, at least in my assessment.
Ultimately, no one truly NEEDS Facebook, but after so many years using the platform it can be that much more scary to unplug. I have had the thoughts of unplugging and deleting my profile, but here we are, and it still lingers in my app drawer. I would like to think there are more positive social media advocates out there, but the battle is an uphill one and it seems not everyone is geared for the task. Until then, I’ll keep holding my breath until we have a perfect world and social media is used for its intended purity purpose and not just to tear everything down that doesn’t fit the deformed new status quo.
– Omnium Rerum Principia Parva Sunt – “The beginnings of all things are small”
A definitive(ish) look into our (random) theme and what it means
In a google search, Merriam-Webster shows 71 possible synonyms for the word random. At the root, the word is defined as made, done, or chosen without method or conscious decision. This, I think, is where we get into the causation of action. Humans have needs, wants, and desires, all of which can’t be truly random. The way I perceive it, there isn’t any action that can be completely random. You may think of things and they seemingly come to you without cause, but on the subconscious level, there is some degree of inspiration.
We can get even deeper into Quantum Physics. Harrison Crecraft maintains a PhD in Geology suggests in an article he published on Medium.com, “Quantum measurements and observations are fundamentally random. However, randomness is in deep conflict with the deterministic laws of physics. Do hidden properties determine outcomes, so that they only appear random to us? Does our observation or consciousness act outside of physics to instantiate random change? Does the universe spit with each possible outcome manifested in a separate branch? These and other questions are still debated and unresolved. The answer boils down to the nature of time.”
“Random” Words
The way I perceive this is that yes, everything is random at the fundamental level, but when you apply these parameters to humans, time and determination alters the foundations of random. This becomes intentional. Which is to suggest nothing is random, everything is pre-determined, and you have no control over your fate or destiny. Which makes me call bullshit on the movie “Garden State.”
“Random” image This has nothing to do with the post
Think about if you have ever played the lottery. When you get “quick picks.” There is nothing random about that. You have given your money for the chance to win the big one. Relying on a machine to spit out “random” numbers that will hopefully change your life forever. When that machine is prompted to spit out the numbers, it is running hundreds, thousands, maybe millions of processes (algorithms) to determine when was the last time it sequenced certain numbers at that specific terminal, what is the likelihood of those numbers winning, what value it wants to give the ticket for winning…etc. The list goes on an on. This of course is speculation because gaming lotteries will never express every part of the innerworkings of their machines.
I have seen the increase of people talking about numbers, values, and sequencing in Rubik’s cubes and playing cards, talking about the total possible permutations with shuffling cards and cubes, being in the quintillion range. This is true, and although the conversation is compelling, suggesting that shuffle maybe the only time in the known universe for that specific shuffle to happen, it is still not random. It took me some time to think about this and accept the shuffles can’t be truly random, yet they can be classified as unique. The correlation of the two words can commonly be confused. I know I have in the past.
It is not all doom and gloom. This is where I attempt to shift the conversation to a positive spin. You do have control over the choices you make and those choices will alter the determination of your path or trajectory in life. In essence, random is out of the question, but good intentions and good causation can adjust your outcome. Nothing is truly random, but the sequencing of events is always in your control. If you have passion, and you have motivation, go for it. Don’t let your mind or internal monologue stop you from pursuing your cause, regardless of how “random” you may think it to be.
Currently everyone is talking about the emails recovered by The Washington Post from Meta directly. I’m not saying I believe one side or the other, but it raises several questions that have not been answered, or at least I haven’t seen anything as of yet.
How were the emails recovered? Is there a whistleblower that provided the emails? Could this been even more convoluted where TikTok spoofed emails to appear coming from Meta to bolster their own brand (sometimes bad press brings good business…i.e. Chris Rock Ticket sales).
All tin foil conspiracy theories aside, this all begs the question that Facebook has been under severe scrutiny for quite some time. Why would they use a third party to smear a competitor, unless they were truly hurting. There are plenty of angles in which the situation can be perceived, plenty of closed door conference room huddles where none of us will ever know what truly goes on. As a user of the plethora of social platforms, this is alarming. Business can be cut throat, but to do something like this, and sloppily at that, is amateur. If this does turn out to be absolutely without a doubt true, for shame. But, I’m just one guy with an opinion.
Set in the distant future (year unknown, or it was disclosed and I missed it, more on that later), Earth has been brought to near extinction. The remaining population of inhabitants that had fled Earth are now burdened with returning in hopes of procreation. Their home planet of Kepler has riddled the women incapable of carrying full term.
More and more it seems as though concepts and ideas are being forced together in the name of entertainment. With that said, this film was enjoyable, when it wasn’t focusing on long, drawn out shots laying waste to inciting dramatic action. The performances from all roles was well executed and was able to suspend disbelief, pulling me into their worlds. I kept getting a Waterworld vibe, to the point when I finished watching and began writing this review, I looked up both films cast/crews on IMDB to see if there was any crossover.
The film was well thought out (even if thematically we have seen variations of this time and time again), visuals and sound were on point, but I feel it was too heavily relied upon. There were many elements, primarily in the story that were glazed over and as a viewer I found myself asking questions when the credits rolled (referencing back to the synopsis with year unknown). There were plenty of times the film could have used jump scares as the visual and sound elements built it up almost expecting them, and I give them credit for not invoking that trope. Conversely there was so much the film took for granted but didn’t earn. All the way to the last scene, they rush to get a last gotcha moment in. It felt as if the creators needed something to elevate the climax, but it wasn’t earned, and fell flat.
Overall the film was an easy watch, entertaining, but could have used plenty more substance. I would recommend this film as a fun sci-fi flick to pass the time. There is nothing new with the story. However, the performances, when able to play, have solid chemistry. Visuals and sound, very encapsulating. I just wish there was more substance.
Next on the roster to watch is The Colony on Netflix. Haven’t heard much about it, but I was served the banner last night when I launched the app. Seemed right up my alley. Review to follow.
From infancy to present day, you are running. What is the end goal, and when you achieve it, where then now? Are our minds so infinitesimal we as a species can be simplified to spikes in dopamine when we get to minute finish lines. Drawing new lines further and further into the future. When we cease to be, where is the line then?
It is a very strange thing when you Google your old handles and find old accounts filled with old memories. That instant punch in the stomach, who you were with or without. The memories of where you were, who you were. Who you wished you weren’t. In the moment you think about what happened next after that memory. Would you have made the same choices if faced with the same life? It’s that old proverb of, “if I had a time machine…” I thought this was a fun memory. Only because it was me, and only me, after Lateralus by Tool had released.
Me, in another life. Circa 2003
It feels like eons ago. I was just starting undergrad. The next two years proved to be the degradation of me as a person. I shed the skin of who I thought I was. Looking back, I was molding myself as a chameleon to check the boxes of someone else’s needs. I was so willing to eviscerate everything I was to please someone else. It is a shame to realize it literally took over a decade to truly discover myself and what my happiness really means. They always say, you can’t love anyone until you love yourself. Not only am I my own worst critic, I always seem to need to learn things the hard way. Maybe that is the ongoing human condition. Not willing to trust others that have experienced hardship and be able to apply the lessons to their own lives. Be it arrogance, stubbornness, or disbelief. Not sure. All I know is my life wouldn’t be as good as it is now, without learning the hardships and lessons I have learned. For that I am thankful. But I wouldn’t do it again. Unless I absolutely had to in order to reach the bliss I have now.
