Telematics
L. Ponomarev, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences
"Science and Life" No. 11-2008
In the morning I drink tea and watch the news on channel one television. After the usual mixture of official visits, fires, floods and other natural disasters, I once heard an unexpected message: it turns out that water pipes sometimes hum because brownies settle in them. I didn't attach much importance to this, deciding that it was a random phrase taken out of some context. But a few days later, I was confidentially advised from the TV screen to close the pots tightly with lids, because demons like to hide there... Here I was already surprised and decided to follow the nature of the morning messages more closely. As a result of such (however, unsystematic) observations, an amazing picture opened up to me, fragments of which I offer to the attention of readers.
So, the first TV channel:
10.01.07 (7.45). The question is being discussed: "How to protect yourself from energy vampires?" Elementary, Watson: cross your arms over your chest.
14.01.08 (8.07). Parapsychologists warn: natives of the other world can move into living people. Help from such a scourge should be sought from mediums.
06.03.08 (8.10). Time travel in parallel worlds: Tsar Ivan the Terrible could instantly transfer from the Yusupov Palace to the Kremlin. For ordinary people, there is an easier way: to stand between two parallel mirrors. There, in a parallel world, there is also dark matter, which scientists have been searching for in vain for many years.
12.03.08 (6.30, again at 8.05). Pyramids are a device for generating energy. Tunnels for cables are laid inside them, in which energy is generated and time slows down. This phenomenon, in particular, caused the death of life on Mars.
20.03.08 (8.10). Clouds are thinking beings who transmit messages from aliens. They warn of earthquakes and the end of the world. And bridges connect not only the shores, but also the past with the future. It is impossible to say goodbye on the bridge, a soul burdened with sins cannot cross the bridge.
03/21/08 (8.10). The recipe for meditation with a full Moon: pour grains on a saucer, fill them with money, put a mirror on the windowsill and at 23.55 lie down with your head to the north.
31.03.08 (8.10). Recipe for heartburn: throw cumin into the water, mix 9 times counterclockwise and drink.
01.04.08 (8.10). Distinctive features of a witch: she is able to squirt milk, ruin a washing machine, cause a short circuit in the electrical wiring.
(8.20). An orange studded with pins strengthens the immune system and helps to avoid the flu.
03.04.08 (8.05). Aliens are associated with devils. Ivan the Terrible came into contact with them.
06.04.08 (8.07). The Maya Indians were able to predict the future, in particular, they predicted the hour of the death of their civilization. According to the hypothesis of scientists (!), they received their calendar from aliens.
09.04.08 (8.07). When a person gets into an energy funnel, time goes differently for him. And to explain this phenomenon, "we will have to change the laws of physics."
28.04.08 (6.20). Aliens, it turns out, visit the Earth constantly, but they have no intention of capturing it, and the only reason for their persistence is nostalgia.
30.04.08 (6.20). For black magicians, it costs nothing to cause a fire or flood. However (the presenter reassured the viewers), their forces only work on the inhabitants of Africa.
04.05.08 (8.10). True alchemists in the XVI century received tons of gold. And also the Philosopher's stone, which gives people immortality.
05.05.08 (8.10). Lecture on palmistry.
08.05.08 (8.10). A self-portrait of an alien was found in the Nazca Desert.
12.05.08 (8.07). The full moon is the best time to communicate with magicians. In the last phase of the Moon, you can not cut your hair: this can lead to mental disorders.
(8.15). To treat burns, you need to wrap the pumpkin pulp in gauze, tie it with a red thread for 9 knots and attach it to the wound.
13.05.08 (8.05). According to some reports, mummies are to blame for the tragedy of the Titanic.
14.05.08 (8.05). There are about 50 anomalous zones in Russia. One of them is located in a remote village of the Kaluga region. It is difficult to get there, there is not even a shop there, but there is a ufologist. He said that aliens regularly come into contact with his relatives.
23.05.08 (8.15). Recipe for abdominal pain: rinse a cup with hot water to wash away negative energy…
28.05.08 (8.05). In the Baltic States, energy is released from the fractures of the Earth's crust at the bottom of the sea, with which aliens refuel their ships.
07.06.08 (8.10). A disconsolate woman complains from the screen that her husband, who went fishing, was abducted by aliens.
09.06.08 (6.35, again at 8.10). In the village of Okunevo, Omsk region, meeting with aliens is a common thing. There is the center of the universe, and in a nearby lake there is a magic crystal that can change the course of history.
24.06.08 (8.10). How to avoid traffic jams? It is necessary to arrange the corks from the bottles in rows and repeat several times: "Track-track, take me a little." Then hit the drum several times. You can also sprinkle the corks with salt, and best of all – take a clean sheet of paper and cut it with scissors.
27.06.08 (8.07). It turns out that aliens from parallel worlds penetrate to us through rainbow spheres found in the Penza region.
30.06.08 (6.15, again at 8.05). Every thing has a soul. In front of the astonished audience, a psychic transforms the negative aura of a fountain pen into a positive one…
There are no words, only interjections: all this is not even the Middle Ages, but the times of primitive tribes.
Aliens are a particularly favorite character on television, there is even a portrait of their typical representative: a triangular face with big eyes. And, as one of the presenters thoughtfully said, gradually they will become as familiar to us as cats or dogs. In fairness, it should be noted that the widespread damage to minds is worldwide: a couple of years ago, the Vatican recognized aliens as "our brothers and God's creations." But this is not yet a reason for the propaganda of utter nonsense and dense superstitions on domestic television.
The existence of all this monstrous devilry raises the question: what is it – thoughtlessness or intent? This question applies equally to the reform of education and to the current policy of education. Otherwise, how to explain the actual disappearance of the best popular science magazines, educational programs and the destruction of the system of state specialized schools for gifted children? A routine reference to the requirements of the market economy is inappropriate here and resembles an anecdotal explanation of the disappearance of caviar in the store by the lack of demand for it. The market value of the issue of the journal "Nature" – one of the most authoritative educational journals of the Russian Academy of Sciences – is 500 rubles today, and it seems that none of the statesmen cares that knowledge is not in demand at such a price.
A penchant for mysticism and belief in miracles seem to be inherent in human nature, and in ancient times their symbiosis with religion was the basis of his worldview. But over four centuries of enlightenment and science, a new picture of the world has been created, without references to miracles and divine revelation. Now it is under massive attack. At the same time, they do not discuss the obvious achievements of civilization, but persistently repeat about phenomena that either do not belong to the competence of science, or cannot be explained by its methods. The first can include the problem of the beginning of the world and the emergence of life, the second – a variety of phenomena of human consciousness. These problems do exist, but the attempt to solve them by medieval methods is completely inadequate. In practice, it leads to the discrediting of the scientific method and, as a result, to the rampant pseudoscience and a monstrous mixture of ignorance and unbridled fantasy.
At any attempt to calm the sabbath, a cry is raised about the need for pluralism of opinions, about the violation of freedom of speech and human rights, etc., etc. According to this logic, obscene language cannot be banned on television (however, it has already penetrated there). And for professional scientists, showing the film "Water" or broadcasting a dispute with the "resurrectionist" of the dead Grabovoi is the same as hearing swearing from the screen.
On the basis of such permissiveness and lack of control, pseudoscience feels at ease. As before, Fomenko's books on the new chronology of history and the writings of Muldashev are published in numerous editions (and how: they are in demand!), daily astrological forecasts have become as mandatory as the weather forecast, some individuals calling themselves scientists create a commission to explain the miracle of the descent of the holy fire on Easter night. It does not even occur to them that a miracle cannot be explained in principle, one can only believe in it. Or expose.
And yet: who is planning such "educational" programs on television? Who is responsible for their content? And to whom should these questions be addressed? Education and enlightenment, along with medicine and social security, are the prerogative of the State. If it is eliminated from managing these processes, referring to the laws (and the elements) of the market, then the result will be the same – ruin. These areas of activity do not bring immediate profit, they are akin to regular cleaning of an apartment, which also does not bring wealth, but without it, a civilized dwelling very quickly turns into a neglected barn.
Today, our state has actually relieved itself of responsibility for educating its citizens, and the fruits of irresponsibility will not be long in coming. It is unclear, however, whether it will be better if the government remembers its responsibilities, but entrusts the leadership of education to even more irresponsible officials than those who manage the current television.
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru22.12.2008