Gday cobbers! (greetings friends)
joining you today for my first time on this site, from Melbourne Australia, on the USA 2020 election day, and for Melbourne it's another double doughnut day, zero new covid19 infections and zero deaths (5th in a row I think?). If it is thought relevant, I could describe in detail our (somewhat) difficult path to this achievement; useful facts maybe, to counter suggestions that mask mandates and partial locking down have no effect. (potential damage to the economy as a worthwhile sacrifice being a totally different question)
Seeing, hearing Alex Jones (Infowars) claiming "psychosis" when finally pulled up to defend his Sandy Hoax claims and evidence, seemed like a victory, but perhaps in the pyrrhic column - in view of his being off the leash for Years spreading his nonsense, doing damage that will outlive his psychosis defence for even more years.
I am moved to try to understand the motives and agendas of the voices spreading baseless CT narratives, and the reasons why some listeners are susceptible. I hope that with this understanding there is a path to (or back to) widespread skills in spotting nonsense and calling it out, teaching and equipping a healthy and rational form of skepticism.
I am inspired by the degree of forensic detail to which claims are tested on Metabunk; inspired that there is at least one good path out of the echo chamber for those who want one. My heartfelt congrats and thanks for the effort involved, Mick et al. I hope to be able to contribute when a claim enters on one of my 'areas'.
Me? I am another big wrap for the films of Stanley Kubrick, being such a fanboy in my teens (1970s) that I could barely wait to go bald. (Be careful what you wish for) Also, a huge wrap for the writing of Thomas Pynchon, particularly Gravity's Rainbow. My CV would include a bewilderingly wide range of employment, but just at the moment I am satisfied to be a woodworker/carver, and a historian of military technology who is currently investigating the Meillerwagen, a trailer for the WW2 German V2 rocket.
Cheers, and ciao,
Stephen