Monday, February 22, 2010

NOW, MORE THAN EVER, WE MUST BEWARE THE FNORD


If you have fogotten as I had (but received a timely reminder from Boing Boing), or have yet to discover the depths of deception, Wikipedia provides us with a reminder…

“Fnord is the typographic representation of disinformation or irrelevant information intending to misdirect, with the implication of a worldwide conspiracy. The word was coined as a nonsensical term with religious undertones in the Discordian religious text Principia Discordia (1965) by Kerry Thornley and Greg Hill, but was popularized by The Illuminatus! Trilogy (1975) of satirical conspiracy fiction novels by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. In these novels, the interjection "fnord" is given hypnotic power over the unenlightened. Under the Illuminati program, children in grade school are taught to be unable to consciously see the word "fnord". For the rest of their lives, every appearance of the word subconsciously generates a feeling of uneasiness and confusion, and prevents rational consideration of the subject. This results in a perpetual low-grade state of fear in the populace. The Government acts on the premise that a fearful populace keeps them in power. In the Shea/Wilson construct, fnords are scattered liberally in the text of newspapers and magazines, causing fear and anxiety in those following current events. However, there are no fnords in the advertisements, encouraging a consumerist society. It is implied in the books that fnord is not the actual word used for this task, but merely a substitute, since most readers would be unable to see the actual word.” (Click here for more.)

Now you know. There can be no further excuse for complacency.

Click here for small knitted creatures playing and singing “Walk Don’t Run” (sent by Zmyth)

The secret word is Invisible

3 comments:

Lyle Hopwood said...

Hee! Those are the cutest small knitted creatures playing "Walk Don't Run" ever.

slinkymalinky said...

"People don't like to be meddled with. We tell them what to do, what to think, don't run, don't walk. We're in their homes and in their heads and we haven't the right. We're meddlesome."

roldo said...

and from the same source:
“That tie you wear keep you warm? No – its just what grown-up men do in our culture. They put a piece of cloth around their necks so they can assert their status and recognize each other as non-threatening kindred. You wear the tie because it never occurred to you not to. You eat eggs every morning but never at night. You feel excitement and companionship when rich men you’ve never met put a ball through a net. You feel guilty and maybe a little suspicious every time you see that Salvation Army singing. You look down for at least half a second if a woman leans forward and your stomach rumbles every time you drive by a big golden arch even if you weren’t hungry before.
Everybody’s programmed.”