Guerillas in our Midst
… it's utterly bogus… As all of this pseudo-content made its way online, the dance grew even more complex. At one point when the team thought the tension on the message boards was dissipating, it created … a character playing the role of a… the boards went wild...
…if you're on the side of the equation that believes [the hoax], then it's fascinating, and if you're on the side that gets that it's not real, then it's just great entertainment."...
The extract above is taken from an article in Fastcompany about the marketing firm, Campfire. Campfire is run by the people who turned a $22K unscripted movie with no-name actors into a quarter of a billion dollar take at the box-office. The movie is called The Blair Witch Project. Campfire has taken the lessons it learned and now sells its services to the likes of Sega, Audi and Pontiac. Please read the complete article, it is fascinating. Here are some more little gems; recognize anything?
… expands its audience by drawing in the gullible, the curious, and the merely bored--simultaneously... the audience needs enough backstory and a sufficient flow of detail to keep it guessing...
... To prime the palates of the conspiracy junkies…"what these guys are doing is strategically hiding parts of the story in an interesting and entertaining way, and getting people motivated to figure it out for themselves…
...The virus… catches on only if it forges a community where none existed. The infection has to start small and feed on fascination. "You can't start by thinking about what's going to appeal to the mainstream," says Monello. "You have to ask, 'What's this narrow target market going to embrace and absolutely make its own?'"
To create that kind of bond, Campfire immerses itself in the unspoken etiquettes and motivations of different target communities--Internet anthropology with a commercial twist....
… multiple layers of rabbit holes for people with varying levels of interest: the "divers," who participate minute-by-minute; the "dippers," who casually tune in on the message boards once a week; and the "skimmers," who accidentally read about it while surfing the likes of BoingBoing. Rather than cross its fingers and pray for the audience to pass the tale on, Campfire pushed people along by inventing a "fan" to track the saga on his own Web site, summarizing the story for casual observers. "You let the hard-core audience figure the story out and tell it to each other," Monello explains, "then archive it for people who are following along from the sidelines."...
You may ask yourself why I am posting this story if I am so convinced of Steorn's honesty. Good question. I want to demonstrate that I have not simply swallowed someone else's guff without researching and thinking deeply about the subject. So often, so-called believers are accused of having no idea of science, of unquestioning loyalty to a company that is using them as pawns, of a faith-based predisposition to being conned, of not paying attention, of not understanding the facts or how impossible all of this is, of having a poor grasp of the scientific method or of just being stupid. Some of these people, whose stance I can often otherwise relate to, seem to be stuck in a rut, unable to see that their mantras lose their power when they close their minds or denigrate others in trying to prove a point. Some are unable to recognise that, while scientific proof is the absolute and only end-game that matters, there are a myriad signals that could, if one chooses, be used to make an interim call. It is quite reasonable for someone to reserve their judgement, quite another to assume that this is what everyone should do.
I also want to encourage true vigilance and not simply have people buy into other's preconceptions of belief or scepticism. On either side of the fence, the ultimate proof is some way off and, until we get it, it is very easy to be wrong. What we read about in magazines is usually not the state of the art. Who knows what is happening now and where?
However, for me, the circumstantial evidence is so strong and the people that make up Steorn are so believable, that I intend to give them the benefit of the doubt while keeping an open mind (a truly open mind) to other possibilities. Thus, until I know otherwise, I will run with my conclusion that Steorn is going to change the world. If I had money, I'd bet on it.
…if you're on the side of the equation that believes [the hoax], then it's fascinating, and if you're on the side that gets that it's not real, then it's just great entertainment."...
The extract above is taken from an article in Fastcompany about the marketing firm, Campfire. Campfire is run by the people who turned a $22K unscripted movie with no-name actors into a quarter of a billion dollar take at the box-office. The movie is called The Blair Witch Project. Campfire has taken the lessons it learned and now sells its services to the likes of Sega, Audi and Pontiac. Please read the complete article, it is fascinating. Here are some more little gems; recognize anything?
… expands its audience by drawing in the gullible, the curious, and the merely bored--simultaneously... the audience needs enough backstory and a sufficient flow of detail to keep it guessing...
... To prime the palates of the conspiracy junkies…"what these guys are doing is strategically hiding parts of the story in an interesting and entertaining way, and getting people motivated to figure it out for themselves…
...The virus… catches on only if it forges a community where none existed. The infection has to start small and feed on fascination. "You can't start by thinking about what's going to appeal to the mainstream," says Monello. "You have to ask, 'What's this narrow target market going to embrace and absolutely make its own?'"
To create that kind of bond, Campfire immerses itself in the unspoken etiquettes and motivations of different target communities--Internet anthropology with a commercial twist....
… multiple layers of rabbit holes for people with varying levels of interest: the "divers," who participate minute-by-minute; the "dippers," who casually tune in on the message boards once a week; and the "skimmers," who accidentally read about it while surfing the likes of BoingBoing. Rather than cross its fingers and pray for the audience to pass the tale on, Campfire pushed people along by inventing a "fan" to track the saga on his own Web site, summarizing the story for casual observers. "You let the hard-core audience figure the story out and tell it to each other," Monello explains, "then archive it for people who are following along from the sidelines."...
You may ask yourself why I am posting this story if I am so convinced of Steorn's honesty. Good question. I want to demonstrate that I have not simply swallowed someone else's guff without researching and thinking deeply about the subject. So often, so-called believers are accused of having no idea of science, of unquestioning loyalty to a company that is using them as pawns, of a faith-based predisposition to being conned, of not paying attention, of not understanding the facts or how impossible all of this is, of having a poor grasp of the scientific method or of just being stupid. Some of these people, whose stance I can often otherwise relate to, seem to be stuck in a rut, unable to see that their mantras lose their power when they close their minds or denigrate others in trying to prove a point. Some are unable to recognise that, while scientific proof is the absolute and only end-game that matters, there are a myriad signals that could, if one chooses, be used to make an interim call. It is quite reasonable for someone to reserve their judgement, quite another to assume that this is what everyone should do.
I also want to encourage true vigilance and not simply have people buy into other's preconceptions of belief or scepticism. On either side of the fence, the ultimate proof is some way off and, until we get it, it is very easy to be wrong. What we read about in magazines is usually not the state of the art. Who knows what is happening now and where?
However, for me, the circumstantial evidence is so strong and the people that make up Steorn are so believable, that I intend to give them the benefit of the doubt while keeping an open mind (a truly open mind) to other possibilities. Thus, until I know otherwise, I will run with my conclusion that Steorn is going to change the world. If I had money, I'd bet on it.
posted by Paul Story at
17:23
6 Comments:
Indeed Paul...if Steorn are really serious, sincere and legitimate what the irks the skeptics even more than the seeming impossibility of what they claim is that McCarthy et al. have mastered the art of narrative.
Never in my recollection has so much impact and passion been stirred up over so relatively little, other than implications.
When (and maybe if) validation day comes it will be like the climax of an epic that we all had some role in...but not really, because then the Orbo becomes real and goes on to change human civilization itself, an even LARGER tale which will last as long as we do.
Paul,
You've put a lot of thought in your comments the past several days. I grant you provide many reasoned comments w/r/t humanistic behavior of Steorn. Overall, I don't disagree.
Yet, I'm a scientist, has Steorn provided satisfactory explanations of the phenomena how it works and doesn't work to you? Why? Why Not?
Hope your not disappointed. I'll give you credit in explaining your reasons so far.
BTW...I'm open to the possibility of Steorn, as I've said earlier in the forum. If this is real, offer probably as much or more powerful subsequent doors would open...this gets into theoretical science. If you search my past comments in the forum...I suggested Steorn would and probably would improve the process of the initial stop and start setup well BEFORE they actually announced it. No,I didn't have prior knowledge...but the science and concepts they obliquely describe suggest it.
That is why I ask about the phenomenology of the process above, if Steorn was more forthcoming, they could identify and expand in two or three areas...that would compel me to take them more seriously (and may allow more improvement--maybe the SPDC is addressing this). I'm certainly not going to tip my hand ahead of time what these are, because if this is not real, it would just mislead more folks. Plus, it would be speculation on my part as Steorn is so vague it's beyond sound scientific reasoning for me w/r/t my limited understanding since they so obscure.
Again, there is much more here to science and our society IF THIS REAL. As your blog suggests.
Remember, all comes down to proof.
We'll see.
Kind regards,
--Nichoman
Exactly, we will know when the science comes in.
The fact the far most experts can dismiss it on faith alone is all the evidence I need to highly question the objectivity of their expertise.
I have emailed an university asking why they said something was impossible before doing the science on it.
And what life expectancy they expected for a business after the TV gangs up with an university to call someone a liar.
The inventor was a pensioned electrical engineer. This stands for years of experience and old people do deserve some extra respect.
Now I find the statement that an senior engineer is probably making a measurement error rather insane, it makes me wonder what the kind of mistakes this professor makes in order to think others can make such huge mistakes. It's far more ridiculous as over unity.
But most of all it's insulting.
Think about it, would you read any documentation written by crazy people? I would 100% ignore it, and so would everyone else.
I've been reading all those website for a year in a row. The more 'crazy' the author is said to be the less serious his work is taken.
Now I do happen to know how meta-data works, I probably know this better as anyone. How crazy someone is is only relevant for prejudgments.
There is nothing science to do with such unit, if there was it would be mathematically woven into physics.
Bill Gates was crazy, Steve Jobs was crazy, the Wright Brothers, Galileo etc etc etc etc
What about the people pointing out all the crazies and calling it science huh? How crazy is that? LOL!
Hi WP, to be fair, not all sceptics are irked, but most are puzzled by the story you talk of. You're absolutely right that Steorn is a master of narrative. For some this is proof that they are all fluff and no substance, but it could equally be viewed as a glimpse into the qualities that make them uniquely qualified to make this thing happen. The balance of engineering skills coupled with a wider appreciation of, and care about, the modern world make them very unusual. It is a subject I look forward to talking about later.
Thanks for the feedback.
Thanks, Nicoman. It may surprise you to read that I agree with most of what you say.
I am passionate about science and very supportive of the scientific method when it is not corrupted by ego, politics or dogma. I think your comments go to the heart of the passions that seem to run so high when talking about Steorn. If I were to guess, I'd say that they had good reason to be frustrated by the reaction they had from the scientific establishment and this has caused them to court controversy by announcing that they'd broken physics.
In so doing, they have muddied the argument. 'Fuck Thermodynamics' may be a great slogan but everywhere you look the conversation appears to be dominated by the impossibility of pmm, breaking the laws of thermodynamics and the sanctity of CoE. Sean has said often that he is not out to convince anyone until the jury is ready to report so he probably doesn't care. I find it frustrating.
Hi Gaby,
I can only imagine how frustrating (and, yes, insulting) it must be to have your life's work dismissed by the gatekeepers of science and power when they have not even looked at what you are doing. I suspect that many things have been overlooked in the past because of this problem. On the one hand I understand the reticence of a scientist to waste his or her time on investigating something they think impossible (we all have to be selective) and on the other feel it is a problem that needs to be overcome.
Once more the changing world of science itself and Steorn's potential impact on it, are likely to be a future subject I want to explore. Thanks for you support, Gaby. Very appreciated.
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