Mike Burr - log

But what will the aliens think?

If we're all sitting inside avoiding the plague, and we're all more or less staring at our phones getting our important data about what's going on in the world from Facebook, I think obviously we are setting ourselves up for some strange times.

Meanwhile, "democracies" are scrambling for a meaningful idology on which to base their favorite arbitrary geographical blob. "Go, go Freedomistan!!" you shout. Why? If someone on the other side of the world is also getting their whole world via the internet, possibly because they're required by law not to actually interact with other people, and that's true of their neighbors, and their neighbors, do you really expect the "leader" of their state to be representative of them? Or is that "leader" just the result of some arbitrary mob or other reaching critical mass? Enough folks marching in the streets to convince the 51% of the other 99% that they MUST vote for Honest John. Honest John will keep "them" in order and bring great fortune!

To say nothing of how the Great Facebook Filter influences the outcome of these, if I believe most of what I hear, very, urgently critical election outcomes...

How much is the random average American voter, for example, voting in reaction to actual threats vs perceived threats?