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Photo by Dan Thornton
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I am glad to have survived another year of fake news, false claims, and frustration, and to tell you the truth, it has inspired me. I believe I am on the verge of the world’s greatest invention. When I was a child, I remember seeing advertisements in comic books for X-ray glasses. The prospect fascinated me, and I always wanted a pair of X-ray glasses, but the $2.99 price was always out of my reach. I must admit that I did not think it was possible to merely put on a pair of glasses and acquire X-ray vision, but the idea was very appealing. Later in life, I learned first-hand about beer -goggles, and much to my surprise they are at times very effective and affordable. Like many others, I have found that beer-goggles alter reality in amazing ways. While wearing beer-goggles, I find that I am taller, more handsome, funnier, dance better, and naturally more attractive to the opposite sex. It is a rather amazing transformation at the right price. Some would say that it is an altered reality, and they would not be wrong.
It is just that altered reality that has inspired my invention. What if you could put on a pair of glasses, and they would filter out the altered reality, the lies, and innuendo? It would be like a reverse invention of beer-goggles. Since I have not officially named my invention, for lack of anything better, I will refer to them as truth-goggles. Imagine if you will that you put on a pair of truth-goggles, and then you peruse the New York Times or the Newsweek. The truth-goggles will filter out the lies and misrepresentations, and all you will see are the facts. Headlines such as “Melania Trump Orders Removal of 220-Year-Old Tree from White House,” as Newsweek reported recently will not be visible. Instead you will see a pleasant photograph of Switzerland. You would also see a pleasant photograph of Switzerland where TIME reported that a bust of Martin Luther King, Jr. was removed from the Oval Office by Trump. When watching the news on television, your screen would display beautiful photographs of Switzerland instead of the ABC News story claiming Trump ordered Michael Flynn to contact Russian officials while a candidate, or when CNN claimed Trump and Trump, Jr. were given access to Wiki Leaks documents when in fact, the documents were public information. I am sure you are thinking that the false stories have been retracted – and they have – but not in such a way that low-information voters are aware of it because the retractions were not bold headlines on the front page, and neither were they headlines on the 6:oo o’clock news. In fact, the retractions were published in such a way that they received very little attention; therefore, many voters walk around believing the original fake news.
I am sure most people believe that the elimination of fake news would be worthwhile, and moreover some would agree that an invention such as truth-goggles would be worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize like the one awarded President Obama for no apparent reason. It is certainly my belief, but I know there are some obstacles to overcome to actually get the truth. My first thought was the use of contemporary fact-checking databases, but many of them have proven to be flawed. I have discussed the problem with a trusted friend who suggested that I should contact Joe Friday of “Dragnet” fame, since he was interested in “just the facts.” That of course presents a real problem since “Dragnet” was an old 1950s TV series that aired in wonderful black and white. Many people will not remember the series and have the trust in Joe Friday that my friend has. Even if everyone had complete trust in Joe Friday, there is still the obstacle of time travel back to the 1950s. I thanked my friend for his input, but I have decided on another approach that does not involve time travel.
I have decided to use artificial intelligence since the technology is readily available and can be miniaturized to fit inside my truth-goggles. The intelligence chip will only be required to do two things very well. The intelligence chip will have to reason and absorb information instantly. My research indicates that the absorption and reasoning process must be accomplished a mere nano-second faster than the fastest human, and of course a pleasant photograph of Switzerland will have to be selected and displayed instead of false information. In my introductory model of truth-goggles, I anticipate using only pictures of Switzerland because all of the pictures of Switzerland are pleasant and most are downright beautiful, so it will speed up the selection process. As the speed of absorption and reasoning improve, I intend to offer an upgraded model of truth-goggles that will display any digital picture available. Naturally the upgraded model will have programmable intelligence filters to assure that all displayed content will be age appropriate.
I must admit that I can barely contain my excitement. To think that I am introducing a product that is world-changing actually boggles my mind. There has never been a product in the history of mankind that has such profound implications. Imagine a world without absurd advertising claims, a world without pseudo-science, a world devoid of false political claims, a world where truth prevails, and people are not continually bombarded with misinformation. Once truth-goggles are introduced, and people begin to see only the truth, the false claims and the fake news will disappear from recorded media. There will be no reason to publish false claims or fake news because the content will not be visible, so eventually the publisher will begin to produce the truth, and the entire system will become self-correcting.
For the first time in the history of mankind, people will begin to learn the lessons of history because all of the gnarly, twisted misinformation embedded in historical content will not be visible. Mankind will actually understand Greek and Roman history and will learn from their mistakes. The future of our nation and indeed the world will no longer be destined to failed systems and experiments. The world will truly be enlightened. The age of Aquarius will be within our reach.
Once the initial truth-goggles are introduced, I will begin working on Phase II truth-goggles. The Phase II model will have the ability to sort out the truth in personal conversation. The intelligence chip will have to go beyond rapid reasoning and will have to read the speaker’s mind. As everyone well knows, mind reading requires very keen observation of gestures and expressions along with a great deal of intuitive thought. The keen observation is the simple part and can be programmed to any artificial intelligence chip, but the intuition is a bit more complicated. However, after the initial adoption of the Phase I truth-goggles, the intuitive programming becomes much simpler because people become accustomed to dealing in truth. The truthful thought behind any verbal expression is very limited and can be categorized as either positive, negative or neutral. Then it just becomes a matter of degree, and the truth can be discerned with relative certainty. It really becomes a matter of studying the history of comments and their outcome. It is important to keep in mind, that in any discourse, the other party is interested in one thing above all others. The other party always wants to know, “What is in it for me?” Answer that question, and you can predict the thoughts.
Perhaps an example would simplify the understanding required to read someone’s mind. Suppose you go to a car dealership to buy a car. You find the car you want, take a test drive, and are pleased with the car. Naturally you are thinking about the cost of the car, when the salesman asks you what you would like your monthly payment to be. In that moment, your Phase II truth-goggles go to work, and you realize what he is really asking is “How much money can I make off of this chump?” Realizing his thoughts, you do not take the bait, and you respond with “I will give you $28,000 for the car.” This is not the response the salesman wanted, and he flinches noticeably. You detect the flinch and think “I’ve got this sleazy car salesman in the corner.” As it turns out, the car salesman has on his Phase II truth-goggles and sensing the satisfaction on your face he realizes that you think he is sleazy. The salesman does not want to appear sleazy, so he puts on his best smile and says that he will have to talk to his sales manager. After a brief visit with the sales manager, the salesman returns and says that he can accept your offer. He begins immediately to complete the sales contract. He quietly offers you the usual add-ons but is not pushy. He accepts whatever response you give, and he completes the contract. At this juncture you begin to think the salesman was not so much of a sleaze as you initially thought. The salesman sensing your thoughts naturally puts on a pleasant smile and wonders if his next sale will be as easy as this one.
As you can see from the example, Phase II truth-goggles simplified a complex transaction and left all parties satisfied. As Phase II truth-goggles are adopted and people begin to experience discourse with the new mind reading chip set, it will become second nature for people to eliminate the negative thoughts and approach every exchange with honesty and integrity. With the elimination of negative thoughts, the Phase II truth-goggles will begin to process faster because they will only have to deal with positive or neutral thoughts. When processing time has sufficiently decreased, I will introduce the upgraded Phase III truth-goggles that display three dimensional and holographic art. It will truly be a beautiful world.
While researching and discussing my project, many people have expressed an interest in investing in truth-goggles. For that reason, I have decided to crowd-source funding for the project. This approach will allow anyone to participate and share in the eventual rewards. It will be as though everyone has inside information and can get in on the ground-floor. There are still a few details to work out, such as naming the product and the company, but that is the easy part. Certainly truth will be incorporated in both the product and the company. After all, it was Buddha who said, “Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” It is with the Buddha’s thought in mind that I devised the mission statement for the company. It will be, “Truth – to integrity and beyond.”
Until next time…