Saturday, January 27, 2024

UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon) - 不明飞行物, 미확인 비행 물체, ユーフォー

 People have some wild imaginations, and there have plenty of myths and legends about UFOs (the technical term now is UAPs- I know, it's news to me but apparently it's like learning Pluto is no longer a planet, and the country of Turkey is now Turkiye...) but my stance is that until there are definite videos of UFOs that are not just weird lights in the sky, fog, a drone flying at night that someone thought was a UFO, a private helicopter, etc., etc., there's so many smart phones with photo and video capability nowadays that if alien life forms did exist in the world, someone should have been able to film a clear video already. And even with video now there are deepfakes, ways to play around with video that an authentic video would be discredited. 

Why am I bringing up UFO's again? Oh yea just a reminder that people in this country and the world in general are capable of believing all kinds of things, and they're also capable of being very, very wrong. I went to my blood donation place the other day and told my vein guy (some people have a plumber guy, or a car mechanic guy, someone I rely on to get a specific task done, I have a vein guy to put needles into my arm) about this theory that another phlebotomist had that she could see if someone's blood was healthy and had enough iron in it by looking at the color.... my vein guy brushed off the theory as a myth immediaely and declared that it had no scientific backing. So it's hard to believe almost anything (yet MJ will believe all kinds of theories about how acupunture helps fertility, or green tea will help fertility, or being less stressed will help fertility, etc.) Or Amy Schneider, 40-game champion, who has great knowledege about all kinds of things from earth science to historical figures to businesses, who believes in the power of Tarot cards, with the Major Arcana and Minor Arcana, Magician card means to keep your imagination open, High Priestess card means you need more spirituality in your life, etc. It's like the biggest placebo effect ever: you go to a fortune teller or Tarot Card reader to get some confirmation about what you believe, and then you act no it because of that thing with no substance affirms that belief and you act on it. So in that sense, I guess Tarot cards can be somewhat effective, as effective as buying a rabbit foot or anything else, but I definitely don't believe there's actually any meaning in the random pieces of paper turned into cards that somehow can be dialed into your fortune and life. 

I just finished watching True Detective: Season 1 with Matthew McConaguhey and Woody Harrelson, 2 of my preferred actors anyway, and I have to agree it's in the running for best season of TV, period. The 2 detectives tackle a weird cult or ritual in Louisiana that's similar to voodoo, and it reminds me of the danger that suspending belief and thinking one is some sort of divine figure can be. 

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