To me its a redundancy. It doesn't need to affect the masses, because they're already covered. It's a fallback designed to affect those who might not be otherwise affected. There are going to be a certain number of individuals who are going to dissent against your fabricated story. To manage them, you throw in this stuff. There was a saying when I went to college, "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, then baffle them with bullshit" (excuse the language but that is how the saying goes) and I think that's the operating principle here.Gracist wrote:It's a link to a story and video about the game winning shot. So do you think the point of using the same numbers and creating these patterns is just for show? Why does it matter if the masses, who never seem to notice or question these numerical patterns, are imprinted with these numbers and patterns? In other words, why is it important to imprint these patterns? They could make just as interesting a story if his mother died when he was 12 and his jersey was number 17 etc. What is the significance of using these repetitive numbers? I just don't see why, if it doesn't mean anything, they would bother to always do it.hoi.polloi wrote:Has the Internet not already been described as a massive psychological insight?
It doesn't have to mean anything at all. Throw in a few 11's here and there and you have the basis for people noticing them, which creates a pattern in the mind. It's stage magic.
Also, please explain the link. Is this citation of something?
It seems to neutralize opposition in three main ways.
- As a red herring. The majority of the energy of inquiry is diverted into meaningless nonsense and speculation which can never produce results.
- As a false display of power and competence. It tends to lead people to attribute supernatural powers beyond comprehension to the perpetrators. There is no point in resisting these people in any tangible or earthly way, not with their cosmic superpowers. That is an intended perception meant to neutralize the opposition from any practical resistance.
- To discredit. Finally, it prevents the spread of opposition, by ensuring the body of the opposition attracts and adopts absurd characters and viewpoints, ensuring it remains contained and takes its place as a fringe element, with zero chance of becoming mainstream or populist resistance.
Given that we can actually see all these effects actually are taking place, and given that we can see how this can be achieved through the use of these techniques, there is no need to invent any more fantastical motivations or purposes here. Occam's razor neatly slices all that out. What we're left with is rather more mundane and less impressive than we would be led to believe, but what else can be expected from seeing through these techniques? There is a sense of disappointment here, akin to Dorothy discovering the little old man operating the illusion of the god-king of Oz. But that disappointment should be expected, in searching for the truth.