The UFO Meme
I'd like to start off by stating that I don't really believe in UFOs, or anything of that nature. The stories are interesting, and it makes you wonder if they do exist, and sure, sometimes I doubt my own beliefs. But, what I do believe in is the fact that every piece of data will get twisted by everyone who hears it and decides to pass it on.
So let's say that UFOs MIGHT be real, and the government MIGHT have some sort of "secret" agent in charge of keeping Roswell a "secret." And let's assume that this agent told ONE person of this incident. Well, that one person probably passed it on, and then that person passed it on while adding a dramatic theory to the story. Then that person told another curious human being, etc... So when it finally reaches us, are we hearing the right story? Or are we listening to only what others have made up? Probably.
Then you get into the whole idea of the internet. It's so much easier to put lies and made up "facts" online. There's no confrontation, and as long as your web page looks professional, it might as well be true. Heck, I doubt anyone is going to think twice about it anyway. I think it's going to get to the point where lies become our reality, and those made up stories become a part of our history. There's not going to be a way to identify what is real, and what isn't... unless you were actually there. It all comes back to what Pluto states, "You couldn't know what was true if you didn't have the person right there in front of you... the dialogue providing a necessary check."
So let's say that UFOs MIGHT be real, and the government MIGHT have some sort of "secret" agent in charge of keeping Roswell a "secret." And let's assume that this agent told ONE person of this incident. Well, that one person probably passed it on, and then that person passed it on while adding a dramatic theory to the story. Then that person told another curious human being, etc... So when it finally reaches us, are we hearing the right story? Or are we listening to only what others have made up? Probably.
Then you get into the whole idea of the internet. It's so much easier to put lies and made up "facts" online. There's no confrontation, and as long as your web page looks professional, it might as well be true. Heck, I doubt anyone is going to think twice about it anyway. I think it's going to get to the point where lies become our reality, and those made up stories become a part of our history. There's not going to be a way to identify what is real, and what isn't... unless you were actually there. It all comes back to what Pluto states, "You couldn't know what was true if you didn't have the person right there in front of you... the dialogue providing a necessary check."
posted by Ashley at 10:32 AM
5 Comments:
I really picked up on the similarities this article has to the problems we face on the internet everyday. The "Roswell incident" is the perfect example. The author speaks about how the story or the hoax has been passed from person to person for so long that who knows what is true and what isn't anymore. I face that problem with a lot of internet research I do. When you search on a generic engine such as google, who knows what you'll get. It's up to the researcher to decide what is true and what isn't.
The author also talks about the sources he cites in his essay, and whether or not they're real. Once again, even if someone posts something on the internet and signs it Dr. so and so who knows if that person really is a doctor, or where they got their information.
I agree very much with Ashley's post. UFOs are something I have never put too much thought into because I don't believe they exist. Of course there is information out there on UFO spottings, but who actually saw the UFO? Did they tell other people about it? Plato knew what he was talking about when he said "you couldn't know what was true if you didn't have the person right there in fornt of you." This has always been true, even before the Internet.
Whether it's UFOs, Bigfoot or the latest buzz about Mary Kate Olsen, false information is out there. It's up to us, as intelligent people, to judge what is credible and reliable. The Internet is a whole world of information at our fingertips; we should use it wisely and with skepticism.
I do not believe in UFO's either but I do believe that people that post things on the internet will post whatever they want, whether it is factual or not. Unfortunately then, people believe it just because it is in print right in front of you.
This just shows us that we have to be really careful about what we believe on the internt and check around for more information and not necessarily believe just one specific site.
I definitely agree with Ashley's post. I think the reason it's so hard for me to believe in UFOs is because of the internet. With the internet, I think, people tend to lose credibility. Those of us reading their posts cannot see them and therefore have no way of determining for ourselves whether they are credible and therefore just assume they are not.
his is especially true when you stop to think about the fact that anyone can pot anything on the internet. In fact, anyone with an ounce of creativity can invent an elaborate story and post it on the web.
first of all, the idea of someone leaking information to unreliable sources to make the true information uncreditable is just a cool thought. I also liked the discussion brought up of how unreliable sources can be on the internet. I experience this especially on forum websites where people think they know what they are talking about, when in fact they do not. The whole idea of not being able to see the person to get a real sense of their intelligence online, is a point im glad the author brought up.
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