Distance Learning, mLearning, Digital Education, Technology

Well, yes. Until I have evidence of a Twitter or FaceBook “revolution,” I’m going to go out on a limb and say selfies and cat videos are not particularly effective tools of change. At least they haven’t been to date. Who knows, maybe the cats will save us. Or maybe video games. Or VR. Or AI.

 

Not. These things are all the work of the Devil, designed to 1. Get your money and 2. Get your attention and 3. Get your “data.” OK, OK, not the Devil, but rather devils, plural. Many Evil Geniuses plotting to keep you in Mushroom Mode: in the dark, and fed s - - t. OK, OK, not like Evil evil, just the kind that puts money ahead of everything else in the world…including The World. The inter webs can still save us, but only if we DYODR..

 

“Tech” is mostly about military and security: better weapons and better ways to keep track of you; specifically anything to do with money. “They” really don’t care about you otherwise. Then it’s mostly about getting you to buy something. Yes, even I have succumbed to the magic of Amazon Prime. (I wish they had better movies though). That’s OK, Netflix has been satisfying my movie addiction since they mailed CD’s from a warehouse in Palo Alto. Ahhh, the good old days…oh wait, I had dial-up. The only “streaming” was this thing called Bit Torrent…..

 

Well, the hardware is improving, but still not exactly making Moores Law-type leaps ahead. A phone is still a phone; not a computer. I believe phones make people lazy and complacent. The “Face-Down” Generation. Literally bumping into or walking past the thing they’re looking for. while staring at a screen. Many people never bother to actually learn anything because they assume they can find it on their phone (even though they may not even know how to do a proper search).

 

Then when you challenge some off-base statement they made with “Google it,” they say “You can’t believe everything on the internet.” Which is true. But you can believe some things, and it’s actually pretty easy to get a consensus opinion from actual experts on almost any subject. That has always been the major benefit of the internet; fast, and mostly free access to information. 

 

I was on MySpace way back in the day. I tried FaceBook when it started; I immediately realized that it would consume all of my free time, so I bailed. I have been off and on of Yelp! three times.  When it started, I was telling one young lady about it and she said “Yelp? Is it family-friendly?” I guess she thought it was some kind of S & M site. Yelp! is presently one of the most community-based, troll-free, and useful website out there today. And it’s well-designed, too.

 

Here we are, in 2018, and most websites still look as if they were designed by 5-year olds, especially Facebook and Instagram. And LinkedIn. And Google+. Wouldn’t know about Twitter, never seen it. Never will. For what, exactly? Send me an IM, or better yet, a free (for now) email. But keep in mind that male-chauvanist pig that I am, I’m only comfortable with getting emoji’s from females.

 

But I digest. What is called social networking is mostly narcissistic gossip, online gaming, and some form of gambling. Online gambling has wreaked the lives of individuals and families just like the other kind has. It’s another multi-billion dollar industry based on a distraction. Worse, it plays on humans most disgusting trait; greed. The most popular social platforms that people stay up late and wake up early to check are little more than hyper-effective methods to separate you from your the contents of your bank account.

 

While you self-gratify by getting “likes” or trolling someone, a couple of wealthy men get even wealthier. Apps, telecom services, phones, and accessories are multi-billion dollar industries. How does this benefit society, or even an individual? A momentary and cheap thrill for you, another dollar for…whomever.

 

Meanwhile, many if not most people rely on social networks for their news. Big mistake. What happened yesterday halfway round the world is not news; what your crooked Congressperson is doing right under your nose is. But you won’t find that in the news. This type of news is soon lost in the next overwhelming tragedy. Also, your platform has algorithms that censors what you see. “Fair and objective?” Not anything that can be considered mainstream media. In fact, most corporate media today is really closer to propaganda than information. Just like most of our so-called “education” is actually indoctrination.

 

So, in a time when there is more information available to “everyman” than ever before; more people know less. Oh, they may know the name of the latest pop tune or Hollywood celeb, but they couldn’t find Latvia on a map. Most people “believe” what they see on television, which is the Second Social Network (Radio was the first). Fans of shows like Game of Thrones or The Wire can’t wait to twitter about the latest episode. Texting about movies and video games, selfies, and cat videos all feed upon one another, creating a self-enforcing resonance, an echo chamber… a silo.

 

So put down your bleepin’ phone, and dust off that laptop or desktop. Plug it into your smart TV, and DYODR. Know this; the anchors on CNN and Fox don’t actually know anything. They are only repeating what they are told by their producers, who don’t actually know anything either, because they are only producing what comes from “official sources,” which is often a CIA -approved press outlet or individual. And although the CIA can be a good source of information , I would compare and contrast what in their “Fact Book” just as I would any other source. When it comes to political matters, they definitely have an agenda…..

Via ThePlanetaryArchives/BlackHorseMedia - San Francisco

The most serious epidemic humankind has ever faced has swept the planet and has already affected billions of people; from the poorest illiterate rural villager to the people who have money and education. It affects young and old, black and white, Boyz and Girlz. It takes many different forms, but the result is the same; screenlock.

 

The Japanese have another name for it: ‘Facedown.’ Staring at that tiny screen for most of your waking hours. Oh sure, you watch Game of Thrones on your 72” 8K smartTV. But from the moment you wake up to the moment you fall asleep, you are engaged with and by that tiny little screen. That, amigos, is a form of mental illness.

 

It would be different if watching that screen was informing you of current events, or teaching you the Electric Sun theory, or even telling you the names of the plants and animals you see every day, but know nothing about.

 

Au contraire, mon ami. Numero uno, it’s impossible to actually see anything on that tiny little screen unless it is used in landscape mode, which nobody does. It blows peoples minds when I inform them that the phone was originally intended to be used this way. 

 

The reason everyone uses portrait mode is so they can type with one thumb. Spoiler Alert: anything that can be typed with one thumb is not important. Indeed, most of the cellular data being sold for extortionate fees by the telecoms is used for frivolous purposes, social networking being the most abused. 

 

I’ve observed toddlers, teenagers, and alleged adults so involved in their games they wouldn’t even make eye contact, let alone interact. Some people are so addled they can’t look away for 10 seconds straight. The problem is they don’t know how to interact because they never have to. I totally understand the need to disengage from the real world. I too have spent countless hours on mindless “entertainment.” 

 

But some of that entertainment were things that might be considered art and literature. I have read hundreds of books, including the Holy Bible cover-to-cover. Twice. Great stuff; some of it even accurate. The Bhagdad Gita is a fun read, as is the I-Ching. Siddartha is still cool. The Master and Margarita and Captain Corelli’s Mandolin are lessons in poetry as narrative. 

 

But nobody reads anything longer than a tweet on their tiny little screens. Nobody actually reads entire articles on their phone. Nobody scrolls below the ‘fold,’ or visits multiple pages on a website. Nobody spends more than a few seconds on any one app, unless it’s a game or their significant other. Nobody reads anymore; and that’s why the Elites continue to literally  get away with murder.

 

Nobody does multiple searches or anything like serious research on their phones; and yet many people forgo getting computers because all they do is WhatsUp and MyFace. Oh, and actually watch videos and movies in portrait mode. Saints preserve us…..

 

Fortunately screen-lock or Facedown aren’t necessarily fatal, unless you die taking a selfie with a speeding train, from a vertigo-inducing height, or with a dangerous animal. Oh wait, many people have died doing exactly those things. Oh well, natural selection is a cruel master.  

 

Since screenlock is more of a learned behavior than an organic disorder, de-programming is possible. I’ve found that immersing oneself in Nature to be the best way to overcome this addiction. The world is out there; not in there. And if you’re watching mainstream media, including the most popular so-so networking sites, you’re being given the mushroom treatment. That is, you’re being kept in the dark and fed shit. 

 

What, you think the truth is freely available to the Talking Heads who read teleprompters? That the Powers That Be want an informed and/or enlightened electorate? Everything you see in the MSM is lies, damned lies, disinformation, half-truths, innuendo, gossip, propaganda, talking points, official statements, here-say, trash news, and did I mention damned lies? If you want the truth, you won’t find it in a tweet on your phone.

 

©2019 J. Thomas/BlackHorseMedia

 

Via ThePlanetaryArchives/BlackHorseMedia - San Francisco

The most serious epidemic humankind has ever faced has swept the planet and has already affected billions of people; from the poorest illiterate rural villager to the people who have money and education. It affects young and old, black and white, Boyz and Girlz. It takes many different forms, but the result is the same; screenlock.

 

The Japanese have another name for it: ‘Facedown.’ Staring at that tiny screen for most of your waking hours. Oh sure, you watch Game of Thrones on your 72” 8K smartTV. But from the moment you wake up to the moment you fall asleep, you are engaged with and by that tiny little screen. That, amigos, is a form of mental illness.

 

It would be different if watching that screen was informing you of current events, or teaching you the Electric Sun theory, or even telling you the names of the plants and animals you see every day, but know nothing about.

 

Au contraire, mon ami. Numero uno, it’s impossible to actually see anything on that tiny little screen unless it is used in landscape mode, which nobody does. It blows peoples minds when I inform them that the phone was originally intended to be used this way. 

 

The reason everyone uses portrait mode is so they can type with one thumb. Spoiler Alert: anything that can be typed with one thumb is not important. Indeed, most of the cellular data being sold for extortionate fees by the telecoms is used for frivolous purposes, social networking being the most abused. 

 

I’ve observed toddlers, teenagers, and alleged adults so involved in their games they wouldn’t even make eye contact, let alone interact. Some people are so addled they can’t look away for 10 seconds straight. The problem is they don’t know how to interact because they never have to. I totally understand the need to disengage from the real world. I too have spent countless hours on mindless “entertainment.” 

 

But some of that entertainment were things that might be considered art and literature. I have read hundreds of books, including the Holy Bible cover-to-cover. Twice. Great stuff; some of it even accurate. The Bhagdad Gita is a fun read, as is the I-Ching. Siddartha is still cool. The Master and Margarita and Captain Corelli’s Mandolin are lessons in poetry as narrative. 

 

But nobody reads anything longer than a tweet on their tiny little screens. Nobody actually reads entire articles on their phone. Nobody scrolls below the ‘fold,’ or visits multiple pages on a website. Nobody spends more than a few seconds on any one app, unless it’s a game or their significant other. Nobody reads anymore; and that’s why the Elites continue to literally  get away with murder.

 

Nobody does multiple searches or anything like serious research on their phones; and yet many people forgo getting computers because all they do is WhatsUp and MyFace. Oh, and actually watch videos and movies in portrait mode. Saints preserve us…..

 

Fortunately screen-lock or Facedown aren’t necessarily fatal, unless you die taking a selfie with a speeding train, from a vertigo-inducing height, or with a dangerous animal. Oh wait, many people have died doing exactly those things. Oh well, natural selection is a cruel master.  

 

Since screenlock is more of a learned behavior than an organic disorder, de-programming is possible. I’ve found that immersing oneself in Nature to be the best way to overcome this addiction. The world is out there; not in there. And if you’re watching mainstream media, including the most popular so-so networking sites, you’re being given the mushroom treatment. That is, you’re being kept in the dark and fed shit. 

 

What, you think the truth is freely available to the Talking Heads who read teleprompters? That the Powers That Be want an informed and/or enlightened electorate? Everything you see in the MSM is lies, damned lies, disinformation, half-truths, innuendo, gossip, propaganda, talking points, official statements, here-say, trash news, and did I mention damned lies? If you want the truth, you won’t find it in a tweet on your phone.

 

©2019 J. Thomas/BlackHorseMedia

 

Via ThePlanetaryArchives/BlackHorseMedia - San Francisco, Federico Santarelli