[kitchencabinetforum] WORRIERS OF COMET ELENIN GO BANANAS!

Astronomer David Morrison muses that cosmic conspiracy theorists are pushing aside the end of the world on 12/21/12 to make room for a more urgent threat from Comet Elenin, a faint long-period comet discovered in December. On Internet conspiracy sites, this comet is being blamed for the March 10 Japan earthquake and tsunami, and it is supposed to either hit the Earth or knock us off our axis in September! http://venitism.blogspot.com

Ted Goertzel points out conspiracy theories are easy to propagate and difficult to refute. Having long flourished in politics and religion, they have also spread into science and medicine. It is useful to think of conspiracy theorizing as a meme, a cultural invention that passes from one mind to another and thrives, or declines, through a process analogous to genetic selection (Dawkins 1976). The conspiracy meme competes with other rhetorical memes, such as the fair debate meme, the scientific expertise meme, and the resistance to orthodoxy meme.

NASA distinguishes between the small solid nucleus of rock and ice and the large atmosphere (coma) and tail that develop as a comet approaches the Sun. The nucleus has not been measured but is probably about 4 km across. The coma was reported to be about 80,000 km across in early April, with a tail estimated at ten times that length. These are not unusual values for a comet, and both coma and tail are expected to grow as the comet approaches the Sun (it is still beyond the orbit of Mars at this writing on April 15). Some comets have developed atmospheres that can be more than a million kilometers across. But please remember that the atmosphere (coma and tail) is extremely tenuous—far less dense than the best vacuum that can be produced in the lab. This thin gas and dust can have no effect on the Earth or anything else.

Goertzel notes the central logic of the conspiracy meme is to question, often on speculative grounds, everything the establishment says or does and to demand immediate, comprehensive, and convincing answers to all questions. Unconvincing answers are taken as proof of conspiratorial deception. When an alleged fact is debunked, the conspiracy meme often just replaces it with another fact. When the conspiracy meme is reinforced by a regular diet of alternative videos and one-sided literature, it can become a habitual way of thinking. People who believe in one conspiracy are more likely to believe in others.

NASA is worried about the effects of the fear campaign about Comet Elenin that is being waged on the Internet. We all remember the Heaven's Gate cult that became so obsessed with Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997 that the members committed mass suicide.

Scientific and technological conspiracies often allege the misuse of science by government, the military, or large corporations, and they include bizarre claims that the military suppressed technology that could make warships invisible, automobile or oil companies possess hidden technology that can turn water into gasoline, and the military is secretly in cahoots with space aliens.

Those are indeed weird statements about Comet Elenin. Some of them come from an amateurish video that was posted anonymously on the NASA Buzzroom website in late February but is no longer available. There is no inside source from NASA. That is a standard technique of conspiracy websites: make up some story and then attribute it to a secret unnamed source so no one can check up on the claim. NASA Buzzroom website was taken down because of the video claiming that the comet orbit had changed. Also, other people had posted several offensive videos that had nothing to do with NASA or space. Because of these inappropriate postings, the entire Buzzroom website was taken down. http://venitism.blogspot.com

Morrison notes that NASA spaceflights are not ending, as anyone can tell by reading newspapers or looking at NASA websites. Many people who are making comments on blogs don't know what they are talking about. Some think that the comet's orbit will change suddenly and it may hit the Earth, whereas in reality it cannot come much closer than 100 times the distance to the Moon. Some question what mysterious force is pulling on it to bend its path; they seem to forget that this comet is in orbit around the Sun.

FOCUS OUR MACROSCOPE

By Basil Venitis
http://venitism.blogspot.com

Hosanna our Creator!
Focus our macroscope in Your direction,
And inspire us for proper behavior,
To enlighten Your wise creation.

Transform us to magi of peace and love,
And give us the courage to face the odds,
To vamp but not to shove,
And help all folks with all our heart.

Thank You so much for Your great benevolence,
And all wisdom in all Your kingdom,
Thank you so much for the great experience,
In the school of Earth for love and freedom.

Amen