Previous: Dr. Fetzer And The Flat Earth
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| source: robin-williams.net |
I think it must have a database that tracks which videos have been accessed and from where, and some code that drills through the database to find out where your interests lie, and tries to figure out how you can be induced to waste as much time as possible.
The database must be getting bigger all the time. And, unless I am mistaken, the code is gradually being refined as well. So YouTube keeps getting better at making suggestions.
I've never paid much attention to any of this, but I got thinking about it after I watched Dr. Fetzer's podcast about the flat earth, when YouTube started suggesting other flat earth videos.
I figured, "Richard Pryor and George Carlin are both gone, and I haven't seen anything this funny in a long time. So why not? What's the harm? Where am I going to find anything funnier?"
To be clear: the flat earth videos that I watched are not intended to be funny. The people who made them are all very serious. And that's what makes them hilarious. They're better than bad 'B' movies. There's an unlimited supply. And it's all free, right on my sidebar.
So I watched a handful of them, and I laughed. I told my sons about them, and we all laughed. One of the boys said, "That's funnier than Robin Williams!" and we laughed even harder.
Later I told my wife, who gave me a worried look. "I'm gonna have to keep an eye on you," she said.
"Don't worry," I replied. But her expression didn't change.
I said, "I've spent hours listening to John Marciano on American history, David Ray Griffin on 9/11, Doug Horne on the Assassination Records Review Board, and Michael Parenti on just about everything. I'm pretty well grounded in reality, but every now and then I need a break. And I can't find anything funnier." But her expression still didn't change.
"You don't have to worry!" I insisted. "It's all in fun!"
And it was all in fun, until YouTube started suggesting videos about The Mandela Effect.
"What is The Mandela Effect?" I wondered as I clicked on the sidebar.
That was one small step for a mouse, and a giant leap on the path to delusion. But I didn't realize this until later.
Next: The Mandela Effect
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Previous: Dr. Fetzer And The Flat Earth
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