34jake Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Hey guys, With all the Back to the Future craze as of late. I came across this video. I consider myself a rational guy, but I have to admit it's pretty compelling. Here it is: At least in the begining there is a "sophistry" disclaimer. Any who, I was thinking about a thought experiment that could be used to disprove/debunk videos like these that rely on drawing connections and metaphors between events and objects. For example: We could pick an arbitrary or imaginary event, then see how many connections we can draw to a random movie. Then see if we can make a reasonably coherent story that connects the two without sounding batshit crazy. If this task yields no connections that seem meaningful or predictive relative to our selected event, it would suggest there is something more to the "Back to the future predicts 9/11 video" If we can do this easily, we can safely say it is just a trick and a bit of coincidence. What do you guys think? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dermot Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Wow. Thats crazy! I would love to see stef look at this. The part about marty mcfly being in the walk is nuts! I feel all conspiracy even acknowledging this especially here, but holy moley! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsayers Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 That was very creative! Both in the writing and the editing. It's a damn shame that it's going to be responsible for people years from now claiming such things and believing those claims. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dermot Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 I have avoided this stuff for a long time but it sucks me in! Could be the parts of me that had to believe in a web of lies when growing up just to survive and function. Conspiracies are great for taking away focus and personal responsibility I have found. "its the aliens man". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wuzzums Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Robert Anton Wilson, referred to as the world's foremost expert on conspiracies when asked if there are any conspiracies he does not believe in he answered all of them. This was from a man that had an encyclopedic knowledge of conspiracies. He had a fascination about finding patterns where there were none and how ulterior events seem to fall in place as if by design. Much like a Rorschach test, if you're looking for patterns you're gonna find one for sure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sage of Main Street Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 I have avoided this stuff for a long time but it sucks me in! Could be the parts of me that had to believe in a web of lies when growing up just to survive and function. Conspiracies are great for taking away focus and personal responsibility I have found. "its the aliens man". Upside-Down Power Structure. The King Apes Are on Top of the Building. These well-financed conspiracy sites are all plants. Their purpose is to make us believe that the ruling class is super-intelligent and could pull it off if it becomes immoral enough. Whether suckers believe the government did it or not, as long as they believe that those brainless HeirHeads and their Diploma Dumbo flunkies had the ability to pull off such a complicated operation, then the intimidating goal of the plant is achieved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dermot Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Interesting Sage. My feeling watching or thinking about these things is often fear and hopelessness. Which is great for people who don't want you to think calmly like those in power. Like parents make you think they know whats right but often we grow up and find they were full of shit. Keep you in worship mode or fear as long as your not in the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Mister Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Upside-Down Power Structure. The King Apes Are on Top of the Building. These well-financed conspiracy sites are all plants. Their purpose is to make us believe that the ruling class is super-intelligent and could pull it off if it becomes immoral enough. Whether suckers believe the government did it or not, as long as they believe that those brainless HeirHeads and their Diploma Dumbo flunkies had the ability to pull off such a complicated operation, then the intimidating goal of the plant is achieved. A conspiracy within a conspiracy within a conspiracy. Very sexy, I assume you will be forthcoming as to how you could know this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
34jake Posted October 26, 2015 Author Share Posted October 26, 2015 A conspiracy within a conspiracy within a conspiracy. Very sexy, I assume you will be forthcoming as to how you could know this. I think he has an interesting theory. Regardless, the aim should be to put these videos in some sort of context. So we can see if they are BS. I refer back to my thought experiment as a method to do this. If enough people are interested to see, I might do it and post the results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Mister Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 I think he has an interesting theory. Perhaps, but it is put forward as an assertion, not a theory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosencrantz Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Hindsight is 9/11 The debunking is easy. Has there been one case where events have been predicted before they happened by using this analysis? In retrospective you can always construct relationships knowing what to look for. Two or three weeks ago, a video went semiviral that tried to make us believe that the Simpsons warned us of a nucular attack this fall. Needless to say, nothing happened. Unless I am presented with a solid case, I call massive bs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsayers Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 So we can see if they are BS. IF? Thank you for making my point. First of all, one has to address the fact that the human mind wants things to fit so much that it will actually add missing parts. Then there's our capacity for error. Then there's the fact that the moment you start saying you can turn things upside down or read them backwards to make them fit shows you're not talking about the subject matter. Then there's the fact humans do not possess the aparatus to "pre-cog." Or how about the fact that almost half of the "evidence" referred to similarities to another film, made 30 years later. As if a person couldn't make the present day item resemble the old one to their heart's content, or wouldn't given that the old item was their professional crowning jewel. While not exactly evidence, I would say just the fact that the presentation is rapid fire and repetitive shows it's artificially trying to suspend your disbelief. It's no different from a magician using exaggerated arm gestures in order to capture and divert your attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Mister Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Hindsight is 9/11 The debunking is easy. Has there been one case where events have been predicted before they happened by using this analysis? In retrospective you can always construct relationships knowing what to look for. Two or three weeks ago, a video went semiviral that tried to make us believe that the Simpsons warned us of a nucular attack this fall. Needless to say, nothing happened. Unless I am presented with a solid case, I call massive bs. right, that's not exactly a debunking of the content, but a debunking of the value of this approach to "truth". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan C. Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 Sharpshooter Fallacy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AncapFTW Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 If you think this is interesting, look up "the Pixar Theory" on Youtube. Talk about interesting connections in movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A4E Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 Might explain why even my non US country was force fed a national television news piece called "What did Back to the future predict correctly?" ʇolᴉd uǝɯunƃ ǝuol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luxfelix Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 (Relevant?): 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sage of Main Street Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 Hindsight is 9/11 The debunking is easy. Has there been one case where events have been predicted before they happened by using this analysis? In retrospective you can always construct relationships knowing what to look for. Two or three weeks ago, a video went semiviral that tried to make us believe that the Simpsons warned us of a nuclear attack this fall. Needless to say, nothing happened. Unless I am presented with a solid case, I call massive bs. You might as well say that The Gunfight at the OK Corral predicted the OKlahoma City bombing, which was caused by a fight over gun rights. There are probably incidents in the movie you could spin. There could have been an extra named McVeigh and a speaking character named Timothy, etc. I think these clowns look at dozens of movies until they found one that they could spin as relevant to 9/ll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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