Stupidity


Residents of Lenoir County, North Carolina, have got it into their heads that this kudzu vine covering a utility pole about a mile south of the town of Kinston ‘bears a striking resemblance to Jesus’ crucifixion’.

A local citizen, Kent Hardison, almost took to the weed with pesticide until (we can only presume) God stayed his hand.

‘You can’t spray Jesus with Roundup’, he is quoted as saying in the Kinston Free Press.

I’m not entirely sure about that. I couldn’t find anything in the Bible actually prohibiting such an action. There’s definitely no Commandment that says ‘Thou Shalt Not Spray the Son of God with an Herbicide’.

In any case, how can the good folk of Lenoir know that God intends this obvious manifestation of His awesome power to be Jesus anyway? Maybe He had something else in mind and they are completely failing to understand the significance of His message?


Suggestions as to what God is actually trying to say to the people of Kinston are very welcome.

Mild themes? What the fuck does that even mean? It’s so brainlessly stupid that I have to figure that the people on the censorship board just felt compelled to make something up to justify an already levied PG rating.

Here’s a conversation that formed in my head on viewing this:

Parent: Son, I’m afraid I can’t let you watch this DVD.

Junior: But Dad… it’s compulsory for my history class!

Parent: I’m sorry, it’s rated PG. See this label? It has Mild Themes.

Junior: But what kind of themes Dad?

Parent: Themes. They’re themes. Not strong themes, but themes all the same. I don’t want you seeing anything involving themes. It starts with themes, and before you know it you’ll be onto concepts and hypotheses. You’ll end up as some kind of philosopher. Or worse, a scientist. I know how these things go.

___________________________________________________________________________

*Meaningless Censorship

___________________________________________________________________________

You will remember that a few weeks back I wrote about the fabulous Trinfinity8, a-software-and-gadget combination that promises to fix just about everything that can possibly go wrong in your life by beaming the mighty power of fractals straight into your ears. You will also recall that, in the name of investigative reporting, I acquired, at vast personal expense, the Trinfinity8 iPhone app in order that I might give it a whirl. And, of course, so that I could get some customer service.

Here’s what I wrote to the Trinfinity8 Help Desk: ((Not using my real name, obviously…))

I purchased your app for my iPhone recently. I love the idea of math being at the heart of all nature and I am very interested in fractals also. I loaded it onto my phone, and listened to the music with earbuds as suggested. I think the fractals are nice, but none of the programs (Energy Balance/I Feel Good/Male Libido Boost) seem to have any effect on me. I tried them several times. Am I doing something wrong, or maybe I got a bad app?

Jake.

And this was the instant auto-reply:

Thank you for your interest, we will get back to you shortly. We wish you a wonderful day.

The Trinfinity8 Team

‘If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration.’ — Nikola Tesla, Inventor ((I’m pretty sure Tesla never said this – at least not within anyone’s earshot. I’ve read many books about Tesla and I never once came across this quote. Searching for it only returns hundreds of sites of dubious credibility (usually quoting it in the context of ‘frequencies’ doing some damn thing or another to your ‘life energy’). If anyone can find a reliable source for it I’d be grateful.))

Ah yes. If there’s one other thing (aside from the usual crystals, magnets and quantum blah) that you can be sure is at the bottom of these kinds of nutty ideas, it’s the ghost of Nikola Tesla. Poor old Tesla. A genius of enormous magnitude now relegated to the status of a woo magnet. I’m sure he must be turning in his grave (undoubtedly generating some current by doing so). ((Any Trinfinity8 representatives reading: that is a technical joke. A magnet rotating in a field generates electrical current… geddit? Tesla (a woo magnet) rotating in a field… No, I guess not. You probably need to have some understanding of science to figure that one out.))

Anyhoo, a week later I did get a reply from a Trinfinity8 representative.

Dear Jake,

Thank you for the inquiry.  Subtle energy is cumulative over time, our suggestion is to keep trying the programs.  Many people take some time to notice any effect.  Even when using the full Trinfinity8 system, not everyone notices effects right away.  Make sure to keep using it with the earbuds, and keep it running for at least 3 minutes for any program.   

There is no such thing as a bad app, if it doesn’t install properly, it won’t work at all.

Best Wishes,

Tracy Andersen
Office Manager
Trinfinity8

No such thing as a bad app? I think you’re in error there Tracy. This app is not merely bad, it’s a complete crock of shit. Now to see if they’ll give me my money back…

Hello Tracy,

I’ve been using my Trinfinity8 iPod app for several weeks since I last wrote. I have to say, I am very disappointed. I notice absolutely no results at all, no matter how much time I use it for. I think either the app is somehow faulty or its not working at all. People who write reviews on you’re site say this should work but Im not getting a result. my sister Veronica is using it also and says she doens’t think it does much. I would like to get my money back for this app, as I think it is not effective,

Yours sincerely
Jake

I made sure, of course, to adopt the appropriate language construction so as to pass among ‘them’ undetected. Here’s what Tracy had to say:

Dear Jake,

You are the only person we’ve heard from that says the app doesn’t work. It absolutely works for me. You will have to contact iTunes, where you purchased the app, if you want to return it.

Best Wishes,

Tracy Andersen
Office Manager
Trinfinity8

Wow, that’s an amazing track record. I’m the only person who’s ever complained about this product? It’s not hard to see why these people get into business – a billion suckers out there for the taking. Money for jam. But under the circumstances of their enormous success (and concomitant profit), you’d think that even basic customer relations would dictate that the better part of valor when encountering a sole displeased customer would be to simply pony up the $5 purchase price with an apology. Taking the high moral ground seems a little snarky to me.

OK Tracy, I will get in touch with iTunes. Let’s see… OK, User Account -> Recent Purchases -> Report a Problem -> Choose a Problem -> This Application Doesn’t Function as Expected (It really should say ‘This Application Does not Function as Claimed’, wouldn’t you say, Apple?)… Let me just type something in the useless scrolling-infinitely-off-the-screen text field… ((I wonder quite often when I’m on the Apple iTunes site why it is so crummy and un-Apple-like. It feels like it’s been designed by some third-rate Microsoft team. It’s clumsy, unintuitive and full of borked UI functionality. Why can’t you search in just ‘Apps’ for instance, rather than having to wade through the entire catalogue of the iTunes store? Why are there text fields like this escapee from a Windows spreadsheet?))

OK. So, while I’m at it, I notice something else unusual:

Hang on… what does it say on the Trinfinity8 site? Oh, that’s right!

Trinfinity8 users have many wonderful and amazing stories to share. In order to stay in compliance with U.S. FDA regulations, we have chosen not to publish them on this website. Trinfinity8 is best described as a “Crystal Meditation Machine”. It is not a medical device (my emphasis).

Oh dear! Someone’s accidentally put it in the wrong iTunes App category. Better let Apple know about that too… Hit return and..

Great. Right back to Tracy. Thanks Steve, I hope you’re enjoying your billions this morning.

Very well, let’s see what happens…

Hi again Tracy

I went to iTunes and wrote on the iTunes form that my Trinfinity8 iphone app does not work and asked for my money back but they just had this – “We have taken note of your problem for our records. however we are not able to provide support for the features and functionilty of applications. Please contact developer for resolution: Trinfinity8: Energy on the go support” That just takes me back to your help form.

I am dissappointed that you or Apple iTunes does not care if or not your program works. You sell something, it should work!! I am into math and fractals + nature and I thought this would be great but I am begginning to think this is a ripoff program. I will ask one more time that you refund me my money.

Yours sincerly
Jake.

Notice how my agitation is really affecting my sentence construction! I’m riled!

OK, let’s see what Tracy has to say…

Alrighty. Four days on and not a peep from Tracy. Like I said: with all those happy customers, you’d think they might just have the magnanimity to refund a lone unhappy punter with a meagre $5. It’s not like I’m asking for the $8000.00 of the ‘proper’ Trinfiniy8 system back. ((It is, in my experience, a universal truth that peddlers of pseudoscience, when criticized, turn into the most unpleasant of people. So much for their supposed touchy-feely ‘we are all brothers and sisters’ mantras.))

Well Tracy, I guess you’ve forced me to exercise my other iTunes customer prerogative. A user review on the iTunes app store site. Viz:

This app is nothing more than a piece of pseudoscientific nonsense. The four included ‘programs’ simply play ambient tones and very ordinary fractal animation movies (such as those that can be created by dozens of cheap or free fractal apps). They are in no way ‘uniquely generated’ as described. The ‘mathematical algorithms’ that supposedly get transmitted to your ears are ‘sub-audible’ (yeah, right, of COURSE they are…) and therefore completely undetectable. Since there is no science that would explain how such a mechanism could work, there is no reason to suppose that it does.

This app is listed under the Medical category. That’s interesting, considering that the Trinfinity8 website holds this disclaimer: ‘Trinfinity8 is best described as a “Crystal Meditation Machine”. It is not a medical device.’

My advice is that if you’re really looking for an energy boost or a mood enhancer and have five bucks to spend, you’d be better off buying a chocolate bar.

Let’s see how long that stays there before we see a whole swag of ‘This-is-the-best-thing-since-sliced-bread’ ‘unsolicited’ user reviews. I give it, oh, two days (This app has had exactly ZERO reviews in the Australian shop since it’s been available. Mine is the first. If we start seeing positive reviews here suddenly, we can be TOTALLY sure that they have been solicited by the Trinfinity8 people and we’ve caught them with their hands in the cookie jar.)

You can be sure we will be visiting Trinfinty8 again in the not-too-distant future.

According to Family Radio, the world begins to end today, May 21st at 6pm in each Earth time zone…

Blogging it live:

•6pm: Auckland, New Zealand. TCA Status report: Still standing. (Cloudy, light wind)

•6pm: Honiara, Solomon Islands. TCA Status report: Still standing. (Drizzle)

•6pm: Melbourne, Australia. TCA Status report: Still standing. (Mostly clear, prominent cricket chirping)

•6pm: Tokyo, Japan. TCA Status report: Still standing. (Fair, light breeze. Hmmm, I could do with some sake)

•6pm: Beijing, China. TCA Status report: Still standing. (Fair. Some air pollution)

•6pm: Hanoi, Vietnam. TCA Status report: Still standing. (Business as usual)

Yawn. I’m going to bed. I’ll continue in the morning. If we’re all here. I guess. See you then.

•6pm: Dubai, United Arab Emirates. TCA Status report: Still standing. (Not even a rumble)

•6pm: Moscow, Russia. TCA Status report: Still standing. (Happy-go-lucky)

•6pm: Jerusalem, Israel. TCA Status report: Still standing. (Quiet as a manger)

•6pm: Zurich, Switzerland. TCA Status report: Still standing. (Your money is safe)

•6pm: London, United Kindom. TCA Status report: Still standing. (Buses running)

•6pm: Reyjavik, Iceland. TCA Status report: Still standing. (Wow, this is a really empty time zone… hey what’s this… volcanic activity? That looks promising.)

•6pm: Fernando de Norhona, Brazil. TCA Status report: Still standing. (Even emptier!) ((This is the only major city in the world with this time zone, apparently.))

•6pm: Nuuk, Denmark. TCA Status report: Still standing. (Whistling wind)

•6pm: New York, USA. TCA Status report: Still standing. (Zzzzzzz.)

•6pm: Kansas City, USA. TCA Status report: Still standing. (Slight breeze. Well, OK, tornadoes… but it’s not like that’s unusual or anything for Kansas…)

•6pm: Salt Lake City, USA. TCA Status report: Still standing. (Looks like the Mormons are OK.)

•6pm: Las Vegas, USA. TCA Status report: Still standing. (If ever there was a city that God had his eye on…)

OK, Acowlytes. I think we can call it. The Rapture and the End of Civilization hasn’t happened. Family Radio and Harold Camping have proven themselves (once again) to be completely deluded by their irrational beliefs. Chalk up another one to rationalism.






Ah, you gotta love the combination of the internet and the tendency for people in large numbers to suddenly lose all capacity for coherent thought. The Guardian reports today that, probably due at least in part to a Facebook group called 11 Maggio Terremoto a Roma, thousands of people in Rome believe that the city is destined to be destroyed by an earthquake tomorrow, May 11.

And it is, supposedly, all because of the predictions of a self-styled ‘geophysicist’ by the name of Raffaele Bendandi.

It will not surprise you to learn that Bendandi, who died in 1979, was not any kind of proper scientist. Despite being awarded a knighthood by Mussolini, he had no formal scientific training and none of his research was ever supported by independent corroboration. The many ‘theories’ that he advanced in his lifetime were not inhibited by actual factual content. Among other things, Bendandi advanced an hypothesis for the flooding of Atlantis and believed that he had discovered a planet in an orbit between the sun and Mercury.

But here’s the best part – the rising panic in Rome appears to be the result of some idiot somewhere getting his wires crossed. Bendandi didn’t actually ever predict an earthquake for May 11, 2011. According to Paola Lagorio, the president of an organization who looks after Bendandi’s legacy, there is no such indication in any of the the writings attributed to him. Someone just pulled that right out of their ass (Paola Lagorio didn’t say that, you understand, but I bet she was thinking it).

But hey – Rome is the where the Pope lives, right? Why don’t the people who think there’s going to be an earthquake just pray to God that it won’t happen? ((I’m betting that the Venn diagram of People Who Are Very Religious in Rome and People Who are Very Gullible in Rome has a pretty big area of intersection…)) Oh, yeah, right. I guess they will, and that’s why it won’t happen. Silly me.

Be sure to tune in tomorrow Faithful Acowlytes, in order that we might comprehensively ridicule all those Romans who took their kids out of school and fled to the countryside. You know you want to.

___________________________________________________________________________

Thanks once more to Atlas for bringing this to the attention of the Cow.

Quantum physics is clearly at work in the new Trinfinity8: Energy-On-The-Go iPhone and Android phone app. This unique app streams natural mathematical algorithms to the user via earbuds to help balance energy, feel better, and even boost sexual libido. And all that for only $3.99.

How many of them did you count, Faithful Acowlytes? You know what I mean: woo buzzwords. Let me see, there was ‘quantum’, ‘natural’, ‘balance’ and ‘energy’. No mention of fractals or magnets, but I’m sure that if we visit the Trinfinity8 website we’ll get at least one of those…

This unique software program was developed as a direct result of information brought back from a near death experience by Dr. Kathy Forti. Trinfinity8 is the first system of its kind to use a personal computer to deliver non-invasive rejuvenation programs based on mathematical codes, vibrational energies, and fractal formulations that are in harmony with core energetics that encompass all of nature.

Haha. Well, look at that. Aside from fractals we got a bonus ‘vibrational’, as well as ‘harmony’ and ‘energetics’. It’s a veritable treasure trove of woo buzzword bingo.

I will save you the interminable chore of wading through the addled pseudoscience that makes up Trinfinity8 by telling you that it is software (clearly using quantum physics) that plays musical drones and movies of fractal patterns that pretend to have all kinds of magical powers. How does it work? I’m glad you asked:

Trinfinity8’s unique technology allows for streams of coded data to be transmitted through your computer’s USB port.

As opposed to what’s normally transmitted through your computers USB port which would, of course be… oh, that’s right – streams of coded data!

A digital translator device then sends information to the body via specially designed hand-held quartz crystal transmitter/receiver rods

Bingo! ‘Crystals’! I win.

Trinfinity understands that you may not always have a computer nearby and so have made their software available in a handy iPhone version: Trinfinity8; Energy On-The-Go. What better way to christen my new iPhone 4, dear Cowpokes, than with this app. You know my commitment to exposing all things ridiculous is profound when I am prepared to part with my hard-earned money to bring you personal demonstrations here on The Cow. So I downloaded Trinfinity8; Energy On-The-Go from the Apple Store and set it running:

Here you see me using the Male Libido Boost program. I can assure you I was not at all aroused when I was doing this. Of course, to be fair to the Trinfinity8 instructions I should have had my two thumbs on the screen, rather than a thumb and forefinger. It’s a little difficult to take a photo while doing that, however. Personally, I think that even if I’d had a thumb and my penis on the screen the effect would have been exactly the same. ((And no, I’m not going to take a photo of that, even if I could.)) What basically happens is that a little movie of an animated fractal cycles back and forth and a droning tone plays. The drone is supposedly made up of what the Trinfinity8 website calls ‘Solfeggio sound tones’.

These pure sacred tones have been used since ancient times to awaken a natural expansion of consciousness in order to bring about transformation. In Trinfinity8, the tones act as a carrier wave to further strengthen the transmission of digital data to the cellular system.

Of course they do. Let’s do a Search™ on solfeggio tones. Crikey. It’s a Google Jackpot of WooWoo sites. Looks like Solfeggio tones are the new Schumann Waves. But it’s not just ‘music’ that comes out of your iPhone earpiece, my friends. Oh no! The Trinfinity8 iPhone app mainlines PURE MATH straight into your ears!

The algorithms are delivered through earphones sub-audibly with the music.

Sub-audibly. As in ‘you can’t hear them’. As in ‘if they weren’t there, no-one could tell’. As in ‘total utter fucking bullshit on stilts’.

Oh, really, I can’t go on. The Trinfinity8 website is such an addled and meandering mess of stupid doublespeak and woo weasel language that it’s painful. It’s particularly offensive to me, since, as some of you know, I have a great love for mathematically based image generation (which includes fractal work) and mathematics in nature. Dr Forti, the ‘brains’ behind Trinfinity8 (who you can hear babbling on and on here, if you are so inclined) has had, in effect, a ‘vision’ that told her to bring this half-baked concept to the world. As is the manner of such visions, it makes little sense to anyone who is not taking the same drugs. ((Seriously, I remember having a conversation once with a guy who was off his face on mescaline, who promoted pretty much the same idea as Dr Forti. The main difference is that he finally came down and Dr Forti is still tripping.)) Dr Forti quite predictably claims that her system has efficacy in just about any field where a subjective outcome is available: stress reduction; ‘energy’ restoration; libido improvement; skin & hair rejuvenation; slowing down the ‘signs’ of aging (WTF?); weight loss.

The Trinfinity8 site is, in fact, one of the biggest agglomerations of utter crap that I’ve seen in a very long time. Here are some choice snips from around the Trinfinty8 universe:

Trinfinity8â„¢ Energy On-The-Go uses uniquely designed geometric fractal images to amplify the algorithms. Quantum physicists are discovering that enlightenment is the charge you attract when your thought patterns get fractal.

Is that what quantum physicists are discovering! And here was I thinking that they were after the Higgs boson!

A fractal is a geometric shape that can be split into billions of parts, each of which contains an exact copy of the whole.

No dear. That’s a hologram, not a fractal. Like most everything else in your ‘theory’, you have taken a half understood idea and mushed it into another half understood idea, ending up with a completely useless factoid. If you want a proper definition of a fractal you could try: A curve or geometric figure, each part of which has the same statistical character as the whole. ((Thank you Wikipedia for your staunch support in the face of woo.)) I don’t suppose you even have the remotest clue how that is different from what you wrote.

The Science of Fractal allows phase conjugation and a unified field for waves of people.

Now you don’t even know what that means, do you?

Trinfinity8 incorporates the most sophisticated technology that sends billions of bits of information to the body to help effect positive vibrational and consciousness change that is in alignment with nature.

Wha? Have you been gargling with Special One Drop Liquid, by any chance?

Energy On-The-Go does not contain any subliminal messages or binaural beats. This application contains pure information algorithms.

Well, that’s nice to know. I certainly wouldn’t want subliminal messages working on me, ‘cos that’s, y’know, BALONEY isn’t it! As for binaural beats, well, they’re some kind of hippie bullshit too! Not like the jen-yoo-wine, rooty-tooty, honest-to-goodness fractals and crystals of Trinfinity8! ((What is this tactic? Diss other idiot ideas in promotion of your own unhinged ravings? Do people really fall for that? “Oh, I don’t hold with binaural beats – fractal brain massage is MUCH safer!”))

Digital messages are sent to help dissolve unwanted fat and cellulite.

Yeah, right. I think maybe you should re-tune them to dissolve unwanted court cases, because with claims like that, you are really asking for them.

(The) fractal resonator amplifies the energetic and mathematical codes for the most powerful remedies, rejuvenators, and body elixirs that have been digitally imbedded into Trinfinity8 to maximize the desired treatment effect.

Jesus H. Christ. Is there anything Trinfinity8 doesn’t do? Or, perhaps, a more pertinent question: is there any ridiculous pseudoscientific buzzword that isn’t used on the Trinfinity8 site? Oh. Magnets. I couldn’t find magnets. Maybe they should fix that.

Well, that’s all for now my friends. I see, though, that now I have purchased my Trinfinty8 On-The-Go for my iPhone I am entitled to Customer Support. I think I just might take advantage of that offer. That should be… enlightening…

[Travel into the FUTURE and see how I fared with my customer support!]

___________________________________________________________________________

A big thanks to Universal Head for bringing the Trinfinty8 madness to The Cow’s attention.

« Previous PageNext Page »