Stupid is as stupid does...

Classic case of the thick tax being adeptly exploited: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52810220

5G conspiracy theorists too stubborn to put that free education to good use and swallowing fake-news about 5G are being exploited by some enterprising con-men selling overpriced USB sticks. On the one hand I obviously have to agree fraud is wrong and illegal and hence, yes action should be taken. But a small part of me has little sympathy in that if these people are going to keep causing problems with their fake-news, anti-vaxing, burning 5G towers etc etc, I find it hard to be too bothered about them being taken for a ride with the modern version of snake oil. Given the medley of old USB sticks I have here it's tempting to badge a few up! Also on a wider point, how is this any more harmful than selling "healing crystals" or peddling "lucky charms"? They should just change the description to "may help protect ants against 5G in limited circumstances" and call it a "fortune device". Seems to me then they'd be fine.

Problem is, it's probably not the theorists themselves who'll get taken in by this, but the non techy types like your Nan, who don't know better either way.

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Originally Posted by Ttaskmaster

Problem is, it's probably not the theorists themselves who'll get taken in by this, but the non techy types like your Nan, who don't know better either way.

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Doubt it. She's been dead a fair few years - and when she was here she was one of the most savvy people you'd meet right until the end. A better example is it's people like my aunt (on the other side) who swallow this BS. Yes, you're right, it's those who can least afford it I guess. It would help though if those people being exploited would listen to reason when we try to explain to them why the internet isn't a bastion of truth but they don't, or won't, see how they could be mistaken. It saddens me.

As you say in the title - stupid is as stupid does.

The business person quoted, who is basically exploiting the pig-excrement thick part of the population, is clearly making a lot of money and is willing to defend it in almost political like slippery terms. Shouldn't we celebrate the entrepreneur?

I suppose the question is, though - should the non-gullible critical thinkers with high levels of self-awareness stop the stupid from wasting their own money? I suppose not.

There's also the benefit of the placebo effect that the councillor undoubtedly felt, which in itself is real enough.

That said, the stupid who swallow this 5G quantum memory stick guff are of the same ilk as those who have been damaging transmitters and assaulting telecoms engineers on the basis that they are dangerous and spread CV19. I see no reason why the rational side of humanity should pander to their nonsense.

My dad is into all this utter nonsense. To his credit, he has come across a couple of eczema creams which do actually work and one, when used in the right setting, is as effective as a decent steroid cream. But to get to one or two useful things, the amount of trial and error and wasted money was huge.

One of the things he wanted was some health wristband with a hologram on it (not the EMH, a hologram sticker thing like on a credit card). It was sponsored by some F1 driver and cost £25! He wanted it for Christmas or his birthday or something.

I found it online for £5 delivered and said to my mum that I'd got it and found it for a fiver, so I wasn't wasting a load of cash.

Her response?

"£5? It's not a fake one is it?"

Part of me wishes I had the sheer brass balls to do this kind of thing. I could make a fortune and also get away with it because I'd make something that actually does something. Like a 50Hz frequency generator to counter the 50Hz mains electricity which is everywhere you go. You couldn't say it's a scam in that it does do what it says it'll do... it produces 50Hz AC and puts it through a lovely little coil. It sits there and your mind does the rest.

Better yet, you get a coil and attach it to lots of electronics, including an op-amp to invert the "input" and send it to another coil. It'll do NOTHING but you can say if the EMF gets too high, it'll power the chip and produce and inverse waveform which it send to another coil to "counter the evils of EMF". It won't even need a battery and brings together the principles of "free energy", "EMF" which none of them understand anyway, "waves" because some are good and some are bad (especially when you're vibrating, so I hear - apparently "increasing your frequency of vibration" is very important. A lady at Ann Summers told me something similar, so it must be right) and of course.... the wonders of "DOCTORS AND SCIENTICIANS DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW THIS!"

I could make a killing. At the low, low price of my immortal soul.

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Originally Posted by philehidiot

Part of me wishes I had the sheer brass balls to do this kind of thing. I could make a fortune and also get away with it because I'd make something that actually does something. Like a 50Hz frequency generator to counter the 50Hz mains electricity which is everywhere you go. You couldn't say it's a scam in that it does do what it says it'll do... it produces 50Hz AC and puts it through a lovely little coil. It sits there and your mind does the rest.

Better yet, you get a coil and attach it to lots of electronics, including an op-amp to invert the "input" and send it to another coil. It'll do NOTHING but you can say if the EMF gets too high, it'll power the chip and produce and inverse waveform which it send to another coil to "counter the evils of EMF". It won't even need a battery and brings together the principles of "free energy", "EMF" which none of them understand anyway, "waves" because some are good and some are bad (especially when you're vibrating, so I hear - apparently "increasing your frequency of vibration" is very important. A lady at Ann Summers told me something similar, so it must be right) and of course.... the wonders of "DOCTORS AND SCIENTICIANS DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW THIS!"

I could make a killing. At the low, low price of my immortal soul.

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Yep my mind goes to the same place - if i had the lack of morals to do something like this, it would be trivial to make quite a bit of ££...Quack products have always been a winner for those that sell them right throughout the ages. If you write a good story, tell the masses how amazing your product is and how it will cure XYZ, get a long haired chap to travel the world saying how amazing it is and showing off miracles and how for a "small donation/charge/fee" you too can make wine, or save yourselves from "dangerous" 5G, or cure that baldness, etc etc etc.

Sadly, if you want to believe something is true, most people will believe it. Whether that is a product like this, an idea like a religion, a presidential election campaign, or that Dominic Cummings isn't really in charge - there will always be daft people in this world to be taken advantage of.

I just don't have the stones to do it to people ;)

The same people who think 5g spreads corona are the same people who are anti vaxxers and probably won't take a vaccine for corona. Thus keeping corona going for some time after vaccines are around.

We need to look at ourselves as a society and address why soo many people are soo susceptible to misinformation.

The guardian released a decent vid on the subject.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFHBPvMRvX4

It does involve Glastonbury.

There are a lot of weird people there.

Lets not go down another CV route on this thread please folks, leave it at 5G moronity :)

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Originally Posted by g8ina

Lets not go down another CV route on this thread please folks, leave it at 5G moronity :)

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Fair enough those threads always devolved into something crazy. However, there is a link between all these things.

noted + agreed g8ina. Re the glasto thing though, there is a link at the bottom of the bbc article I posted to how glastonbury council had a "consultation" and "expert panel" to research and advise on the risks of 5G. All the professionals with ability and demonstrable experitse who could sensibly advise resigned as it was dominated by as you put it "the 5G moronity". There is something most absurd going on in our society where the village idiot is getting air-time and some form of credability they really don't merit. It's also interesting to see that one of the key 5Gm protagonists was a Mr Corbyn - of direct relationship to a certain Jeremy.

edit: here's the direct article link for ease of reference: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52674949