Solar eclipse becomes a magnet for financial conspiracy theories
A fake eclipse expert fields conspiracy questions on an economics forum, from black holes to George Soros. Science versus nonsense.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The solar eclipse and the business of nonsense
Rarely does a perfectly predictable phenomenon generate so much irrationality. A call for an eclipse specialist — the trade of "eclipsologist," a label as academic as it is unusual — ended up receiving a barrage of questions mixing astrophysics with supposed financial plots and references to George Soros.
From black holes to beacons: the catalogue of impossible questions
The questions ranged from the behaviour of two aligned black holes to the need to wear a device on one's head during the event. Some also speculated about the influence of hidden forces, even though science has been explaining for decades that an eclipse is simply an alignment of celestial bodies. What is striking is that it all peine in an economic context, where superstition seemed to compete with rational analysis.
Conspiracy as a shortcut around science
An eclipse triggering laughter or hoaxes is nothing new. But when, in a financial debate setting, questions point to the supernatural origin of the phenomenon, something smells wrong in the information ecosystem. Scepticism, reduced to irony, is the only immediate antidote. The total eclipse of reason, however, does not appear to have a date.
Rarely does a perfectly predictable phenomenon generate so much irrationality. A call for an eclipse specialist — the trade of "eclipsologist," a label as academic as it is unusual — ended up receiving a barrage of questions mixing astrophysics with supposed financial plots and references to George Soros.
From black holes to beacons: the catalogue of impossible questions
The questions ranged from the behaviour of two aligned black holes to the need to wear a device on one's head during the event. Some also speculated about the influence of hidden forces, even though science has been explaining for decades that an eclipse is simply an alignment of celestial bodies. What is striking is that it all peine in an economic context, where superstition seemed to compete with rational analysis.
Conspiracy as a shortcut around science
An eclipse triggering laughter or hoaxes is nothing new. But when, in a financial debate setting, questions point to the supernatural origin of the phenomenon, something smells wrong in the information ecosystem. Scepticism, reduced to irony, is the only immediate antidote. The total eclipse of reason, however, does not appear to have a date.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (18 replies).
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