It’s the Hive Mind Stans phenomenon that fascinates me, meme-activated collective action that is a very modern social body.

Some of the stuff BTS ARMY got up to was fantastic and a bit scary. Also large numbers. Very large.

So the Swifties haven’t been weaponized yet. But they could be, soon. Having deepfake A.I. impersonation of fans made by fascist followers of a reality TV star be the thing that raises their state of collective power to Ready is just… well, I am living in a Gibson novel.

So, you mean the proper response to the failure of a shitty business model is to introduce a worse business model?

Our local high school cafeteria program has been running a sophisticated version of this without the biogas element for years. Fish in very large tanks feed the leafy greens hydroponics growing in ranks of pipes on the walls, it’s very productive. Greens get used in the popular cafeteria (open to the public) and also the salad food truck they run in the summer months. Fish used are tilapia. Power is solar.

The students studying food services get a lesson in energy systems and food sourcing as well as running a business. Superb food, too. All mostly due to one chef-teacher with vision.

Um, one thing that helps is reading the entire message, including disclaimers…

Also, please don’t try to reduce media literacy to fact checking, you’ll just get hung up on authenticity.

lol does throwing chickens back over the fence count?

I used to own a W124 series Benz (bought used for 5% of sticker price, I ain’t no fauntelroy). Nearly everything on it was redundant or excessively skookum.

When systems that weren’t as rugged started going down, like the vacuum controllers for doors or the 4matic computer etc, the car still worked safely with reduced convenience. A few minor design flaws like the wiring harness but that’s it. Room to work under the hood, too.

It was built in '93 when the engineers still ran the company.

Current main driver is the super reliable '03 CRV.

One of our cars is a 2016 GM and I just unscrewed the cell antenna instead of ripping out the cell module. Tracking disabled, or at least unreliable. The subscription nav is useless and easy to ignore. I would like to figure out how to prevent the siriusxm ads built into the infotainment system, still.

I look forward to better infotainment hacks down the road.

This is true for nearly everyone!

However, I have been immunized by media literacy studies, digital literacy practice, reading history, having a healthy respect for the scientific method and a basic understanding of political economy.

You know–what in some jurisdictions is called schooling.

[someconditionsmayapply, immunization does not confer immunity, merely resistance, consult your local poets]