User:Phyzome/Babbling

I'll occasionally refer people to this page when I want to make a point but there's not enough time or space to fully develop a case or argument.

Boring Philosophical Stuff

Conspiracy Theories

I used to subscribe to a very few small "conspiracy theories", in the sense of behind-the-scenes manipulation by a small group of individuals. However, recently I've come to a different understanding of certain suspicious events and patterns: feedback loops. Take this edit by Shorne, for example. He maintains that there is a conspiracy of some sort that controls the media. I do not condemn him for his belief; I would have agreed not that long ago. But ever since I started getting into complexity theory, my views have changed.

In a way, the media form a densely connected neural network with myriad feedback loops. If one news organization reports on an event, the others feel compelled to report on it too -- they don't want to look like they're slow or uninformed. People form opinions of what is important in part on the basis of what is reported, so when one org does not report something another has, it is seen as a serious oversight -- even if it's something like a celebrity breakup. (They wouldn't be celebrities if they weren't reported on). TV station executives sometimes complain about being "forced" to report on certain events, as if they didn't have control over it.

In fact, this shows all the signs of an unregulated neural net with excessive feedback. The wild boom and bust cycles are indicative of a lack of control, not of some mysterious, unseen controlling force. The appearance of bias is partially a product of the media's view of the public's view of the issues -- see the feedback loop?

I'm sure that there are real conspiracies out there, but I am finding more and more examples of these feedback-driven systems. Perhaps one day we will know how to regulate these systems, but for now, it is important to simply recognize them.

-- Tim McCormack 20:25, 2004 Oct 13 (UTC)