I’m on a Criminal Minds binge. There is an interesting episode called “The Internet is Forever” near the end of Season 5. If you are unfamiliar with the show, each episode begins and ends with a quote from some philosopher or influential mind. The closing quote in this episode suggests that the Internet is an experiment in anarchy. Here is the full text of the quote:
“The Internet is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn’t understand, the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had.” – Eric Schmidt
Yes, ironically that quote is from Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google (aka. Alphabet Inc). It is so profoundly accurate it sparks many thoughts of just how much anarchy the Internet is creating. I decided on this topic on the 25th of January and since that day I witness nearly daily examples. It’s equal parts frightening and uncanny.
The Internet has Made Us All Sociopaths
I wish I could say I am exaggerating. Surely there are not daily examples of Internet induced anarchy. How often is there a story on the news where someone’s behavior was the result of a post on social media? How many suicides or suicide attempts are the result of cyber bullying? If you don’t want to think about it then how about a couple of examples. Tide Pods. The cinnamon challenge. The Bird Box challenge. People are lemmings! Yes, people did stupid things in the 80’s and 90’s, before Facebook, but it wasn’t as widespread. The consequences were more prolific because it made the news.
Unfortunately anarchy has become the social norm; and I blame Social Media. Everyone feels so indemnified by the facelessness of Twitter and even Facebook (ironic, I know). We’ve all become sociopaths because we post things on the various forms of social media with a complete lack of conscious. People don’t care who they harm, all they care about is what’s trending. A perfect example is this “Fyre Festival” thing that Hulu has been advertising. It shows just how dangerous social media can be. I don’t think Billy McFarland is a criminal, I think it’s hilarious that those people got what they deserved.
The Internet is now the digital mountain top from which people scream their opinions thinking the rest of us care. I admit that some people do care and many agree. However, what makes it absolutely absurd are the people who are trying to promote tolerance and inclusion are first to demonize anyone that disagrees with them. You can’t preach inclusion but ostracize anyone that disagrees. This is as much of an example of cognitive dissonance as this entire blog post (yes, I’m fully aware of what I’ve done). I’ll openly admit that joining Facebook and Twitter has turned me into a sociopath. In retrospect, I should have avoided them completely.
/cheers
I could accomplish so much more if I only had minions!
Lego has a very humble origin story. They 
The things that go through my mind when I’m alone with nothing but my thoughts for entertainment is dangerous. Some might even say eccentric. Consider this your warning about today’s Random Thought of the Day
It is now 18 years after the dreaded Y2K scare. I wonder if there is anyone still hiding in their bunkers. While the Y2K date issue was a valid bug in most software, it would never have caused the catastrophe the fear-mongers were predicting. Be that as it may, 2018 is over and another year is in the books. Most of us are still here but its hard to tell if any of us still like each other. Lots of people still have a hard time seeing past party boundaries and misguided political correctness. I’m going to cover a lot of the usual retrospective topics, I might throw in a couple of new items. So with that said, time for the 2018 Year in Review.
I actually made some strides in my home automation projects and I will go into detail of that in the upcoming “Year in Review” post. Just know that Samsung really handicapped me with the sudden change to the app. I’m not really sure what the goal will be for 2019 for any of my home automation endeavors (other than fixing the bugs and issues from 2018). I know we have a few more things we want to integrate, we just haven’t purchased them yet and I’m not entirely sure I’m done with the Raspberry Pi and home automation integration. Watch for a (long overdue) Biggs Lab post in 2019.
I really dropped the ball with my 2018 Reading Challenge. I set a reasonable goal of 12 books and only (just barely) finished 9. I’m resetting that goal to 12 books again for 2019 and I have a few 
This category is going to be a big focus area for me this year. Of all the areas I’ve been making intentions, this is the one where I’m most successful. I will be kicking things up a notch in 2019. Now that I have two 5k races under my belt, I think it’s time to try for the 10k this year. Granted this isn’t necessarily just my choice; I’ve been encouraging friends to run more and they, in turn, are now challenging me to run a 10k. I will also be putting a heavier emphasis on additional fitness training (i.e. strength and core workouts).
The next few days are going to be quite frenzied. Coordinating and orchestrating Christmas has its challenges and often leaves little room for anything else. With that said I want to take a quick opportunity to wish all those reading this (the 2 or 3 of you that exist) a Very Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year!
As you watch Solo: A Star Wars Story, they do leave you wondering what happened to Q’ira after her and Han are separated during the escape from Corellia. Her sudden appearance as a gangster’s lieutenant several years later is one of the great mysteries of the film. She’s clearly tormented by the her choices in the past leaving the audience, and Han, completely in the dark.