Memes; Internet & Social – Page 3

Yet More Quotes with False Attributions

It seems a good week for mis-attributed Francis of Assisi quotes. Someone on Facebook posted an image with the following quote: “He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist. St. Francis of Assisi” That’s simply “Francis of “Assisi” for the non-Catholics among us, of course. But even without the questionable transformation of mortal flesh into an immortal, … click below for more ↓

And again, more mis-attributed quotes online

2012-07-04 2017-01-17 Arts / Balderdash & Hoaxes / Books & Reviews / Memes; Internet & Social5 Comments

“It’s easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled.” Allegedly by Mark Twain, but unlikely, and not found in any published source I have of Twain’s quotations. Online sources, of course, don’t count as authorities because they lack all credibility. As one person commented on Yahoo, The fact that “Quora attributes it to him” is worthless. Quora is yet another one of those idiotic “quote websites” that misquote and misattribute things all the time. Note that Quora doesn’t bother to give … click below for more ↓

The Decline of Information Quality

2012-06-19 2012-06-19 Arts / Balderdash & Hoaxes / Media Issues / Memes; Internet & Social / Social Order & Disorder / Uncategorized2 Comments

I’ve been troubled the last year or so by the increasing amount of trivial crap that is being presented on media sites as news, rather than what it really is: shallow gossip, pseudoscience, trivia, anecdote, voyeurism and personal experience. As titillating as some glitterati’s wardrobe malfunction might be, it is not front page news. In fact, it isn’t worthy of the description news even when relegated to a more appropriate location, buried deep inside the site. Gossip belongs with the horoscope, cartoons and word-search puzzles. … click below for more ↓

More Facebook Mis-quotes

2012-06-12 2012-06-12 Balderdash & Hoaxes / Language & Grammar / Memes; Internet & Social / Social Order & Disorder2 Comments

Saw three images (“posters”) on Facebook today with “quotes” I’m pretty sure are mis-attributions. As usual, I feel compelled to check out their validity. First is one allegedly by “St. Francis of Assisi.” This would be simply “Francis of Assisi” if you’re not Catholic or don’t believe in saints or canonization. One day I’ll post a blog piece about canonization and its politics, but not now. The quote is: “What we are looking for… is what is looking.” That seems one of those gooey, touchy-feely … click below for more ↓

Diablo III: Hype or Gaming Excellence?

2012-06-09 2012-06-11 Memes; Internet & Social / Science & TechnologyLeave a comment

The hype was huge and long. Diablo III was rumored, hinted at, promised, delayed, and even denied for years. Then it was embraced when it finally arrived after more than a decade’s hibernation since the success of Diablo II, released in 2000 (and 16 years since the original, released in 1996). Good technique for raking in the money: the anticipation meant huge sales initially. The spammers love it, of course, because it provides a wonderful, accessible platform for scams through its live in-game chat system … click below for more ↓

The Tin-Foil Hat Brigade in the Lab

2012-06-02 2012-06-02 Balderdash & Hoaxes / Faith / Memes; Internet & Social / Social Order & Disorder2 Comments

You have to admire science. Nothing is beneath its inquiring eye. When I read that students at Berkley U had seriously investigated the nature of the ubiquitous-in-the-wingnut-community tin foil hats, I had to smile. Once again, science saves the day. Bad news for the wingnuts. While research didn’t prove tin foil hats will stop the aliens from eating your brain, it did suggest that the hats may amplify certain frequencies that may be in the control of either governments or corporate interests. According to the … click below for more ↓

A Pyramid Hoax Reappears on Facebook

2012-05-29 2012-05-29 Atheism & Spirituality / Balderdash & Hoaxes / Memes; Internet & Social / Science & Technology6 Comments

This Facebook headline caught my skeptic’s eye right away: “Energy beam coming from the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun.” After I finished guffawing at the gullibility of some folks, I decided to spend a little time researching how widespread this silliness had become. As expected, and sad to relate, it was all over the Net. Seems every psychic-New-Age-crystal-therapy-astrology-aura-UFO-conspiracy-theory-Atlantis-Elvis-is-alive obsessed wingnut site has repeated the claims, usually copying and pasting them directly from the original source without even bothering to investigate the claims: A team of … click below for more ↓

A Delightful Farce Called Anonymous

2012-04-29 2012-04-29 Arts / Books & Reviews / History & Biography / Memes; Internet & SocialLeave a comment

Watched a delightful, satirical farce last night, called Anonymous. It’s a spoof about the conspiracy theory that the Earl of Oxford (Edward de Vere) wrote the works of William Shakespeare. This conspiracy notion has a pop following, but lacks significant scholarly and any historical support. Like other conspiracy theories, it has gained ground on the Internet from the simple fact that most people are naturally superstitious and suspicious, and would rather not apply critical thinking or do any serious research to prove or disprove outlandish … click below for more ↓

This time it’s a Machiavellian mis-quote.

2012-04-10 2016-02-26 Books & Reviews / History & Biography / Language & Grammar / Memes; Internet & Social / Quotes & Mis-quotes2 Comments

Whilst perusing the Net for some material for my book on Machiavelli, I came across this maxim: “Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception.” It’s attributed on many, many sites to Machiavelli in his most famous work, The Prince. Sounds pretty Machiavellian, doesn’t it? Well, it isn’t. Machiavelli never wrote those words. Sun Tzu wrote that, “All warfare is based on deception.” (Book 1, 18), which is close. Sun Tzu went on to add in the next two lines (19 … click below for more ↓

It’s not an Apache blessing, it’s just a Hollywood script

2012-04-08 2016-05-29 Arts / Atheism & Spirituality / Language & Grammar / Memes; Internet & Social5 Comments

“May the sun bring you new energy by day,” begins this saccharine saying that has enjoyed a continued life outside Facebook through the fridge magnet and huggable-puppies-and-kittens-on-posters and wedding planner industries. It gets passed off as an “Apache blessing” or “Apache wedding blessing” on Facebook, usually with some hunk-ish Indian brave pictures beside the words or some faux-Indian animal fetish images. The rest of the alleged “blessing” reads: …May the moon softy restore you by night; May the rain wash away your worries; May the … click below for more ↓

So many bad quotes, so little time

2012-03-20 2012-03-20 Language & Grammar / Memes; Internet & SocialLeave a comment

I was browsing through my blog posts today and found I have actually written about improperly attributed quotations on the Net nine times since I first started blogging back in March, 2005. On my old Mumpsimus blog, I posted two pieces about these bad memes: A quote misattributed to Henry David Thoreau, November, 2010. A quote misattributed to William Shakespeare, January, 2009. On this new blog, which I launched in mid_December, 2011, I have written seven pieces about bad Internet quotes, starting with the Slowly … click below for more ↓

James Miles? Goethe? Sorry: this quote is from Malcolm Forbes

2012-03-18 2012-03-18 Books & Reviews / Language & Grammar / Memes; Internet & SocialOne Comment

Another New Age quote showed up on Facebook today, one of those warn-n-fuzzy, touchy-feely sayings that either make you gag or go weak at the knees. This one is ascribed to James D. Miles. Miles was, according to answers.com (a site of dubious factuality and not terribly reliable at the best of timns), “…an associate professor of Psychology at Purdue University.” The author of this answer claimed Miles was “…quoting the German poet, novelist, playwright, scientist and philosopher Johann Wofgang von Goethe (1749-1832).” Miles is, … click below for more ↓

Does This Really Sound Like Sitting Bull?

2012-03-18 2021-08-28 Books & Reviews / Language & Grammar / Memes; Internet & Social3 Comments

Another quote meme going around on the Internet claims to be from Sitting Bull (Tatanka Iyotake), the famous Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux chief. A fascinating man in a difficult time, and a source of inspiration today. He was brave, intelligent and, from all accounts, wise. So when I read the quote below, I was torn. It’s a good comment, one that sounds like it should come from a wise man. But was that wise man really Sitting Bull? Or perhaps these words are from someone else. … click below for more ↓

Crystal crazy: self-professed psychics on Facebook

2012-03-17 2012-03-17 Atheism & Spirituality / Memes; Internet & Social / Science & Technology2 Comments

The Internet has provided a virtual continent for the colonies of faith healers, psychics, astrologers, UFO hunters, ghost and haunting sightings, crypto-zoologists, promoters of angels, spirits, demons, auras, and a wealth of pseudoscience and claptrap. In a culture where the critical thinking, quest of knowledge and skepticism that characterized the Enlightenment have given way to superstition and fundamentalism, the Net has proven a rich source of believers and followers for the charlatans and hucksters. Facebook and Youtube combine to make the Alexandria Library for the … click below for more ↓