.FLYINGHEAD GETTING STARTED WITH DTV
.TITLE DTV will destroy your mind (and other wild theories)
.AUTHOR Jorge Sosa
.SUMMARY Did you know that the digital TV switchover is one of the signs of the Apocalypse? Oh yeah, it’s right there in the Book of Revelation between all that business with the locusts and the star called Wormwood. If there’s one thing we love at Computing Unplugged, it’s a good mock.
.OTHER
Did you know that the digital TV switchover is one of the signs of the Apocalypse? Oh yeah, it’s right there in the Book of Revelation between all that business with the locusts and the star called Wormwood.
Yeahhh … I’m not a very convincing liar. But, if I actually had you fooled for a second there, this article is for you. It seems there’s a fair number of people out there who fear the digital TV transition is part of some evil fascist/socialist/Klingon conspiracy.
.CALLOUT Obviously, the government can’t control your mind with digital signals. Everyone knows you need analog signals to do that.
I actually know one of these people (don’t worry, Lars, I won’t divulge your name) and he’s otherwise fairly rational and level-headed. But, we’re living in uncertain times. Chaos abounds and one can’t turn on the aforementioned digital TV without hearing some crazy bad news about the economy, [[http://www.fugly.com/pictures/12528/cookie_monster_dead.html|a suspicious celebrity death]], or more saber-rattling by some nuclear-armed lunatics.
Uncertainty and fear often accompanies change, so it’s perfectly natural for some people to subscribe to the following DTV conspiracy theories. And, it’s equally natural for me to point and laugh at them. If there’s one thing we love at Computing Unplugged, it’s a good mock.
If you’re up for a little jaunt through a tangled jungle of paranoia, I’ll happily be your tour guide.
.H1 Do not adjust your DTV
When I was a kid, I used to get freaked out by reruns of "The Outer Limits." A narrator at the beginning would say, "For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear."
Nobody can really do that, right? Well, [[http://www.nowpublic.com/world/digital-tv-switch-opens-electronic-door-censors-and-spies|this guy]] claims DTV allows the government to do exactly that. Vic Livingston writes "DTV technology provides an electronic means for third parties to selectively control the programming available to each set or converter box."
On this point, Livingston might not be entirely off his rocker. An East Coast company company called [[http://www.invidi.com/|INVIDI]] claims to have proprietary technology allowing it to individually target broadcast advertising. You can check out the company’s patent application for the technology [[http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=kj6aAAAAEBAJ&dq=INVIDI|here]].
But, to make the leap that the One World Government — or whatever — is going to use the same technology to control what you see and hear is … well … kind of paranoid. Or TiVo.
I have to take Livingston’s argument with a grain of salt. After all, he claims he’s been "tortured by means of silent, potentially deadly radiation weaponry for nearly five years."
[[http://www.nowpublic.com/world/was-jacko-victim-high-tech-perfect-crime|He also ponders aloud]] (or in ALL CAPS, at least) that the late pop star Michael Jackson could have been "ASSASSINATED BY A SILENT, PULSED BLAST FROM A MICROWAVE RADIATION ‘DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPON’ CAPABLE OF INDUCING CARDIAC ARREST?"
Riiiight … I’ll … just … ever so slowly back away now.
.H1 The all-seeing eye
Have you seen the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ4iIM8Eljc&feature=player_embedded|viral video]] where a software developer named Adam Chronister disassembles a Magnavox digital video converter box and reveals a tiny hidden camera inside?
Although Chronister [[http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/02/dtv-converters|confessed]] to Wired that his video was a hoax, [[http://www.privacydigest.com/2009/02/24/hidden+cameras+dtv+converters+youtube+hoax+fans+conspiracy+fears#comment-118|some folks]] just won’t let it die. They claim the debunked hoax was just disinformation intended to lull us into a false sense of security about DTV’s *cough* "surveillance capabilites."
OK. Let’s assume the government truly wanted to spy on you by embedding miniature surveillance gear in your TV. That makes no sense at all. The view from the average American TV would primarily consist of people just sitting there, staring blankly into the screen, perhaps breaking the monotony by munching on Fritos or occasionally scratching their nether regions. (Naturally, I’m basing this assumption on my own TV viewing behavior). What highly-paid civil servant in their right mind would want to sit through hours of that?
.H1 DTV rots your brain
There are a couple variations on the theme that DTV is somehow related to mass mind control.
A fellow named Ken Adachi [[http://www.wariscrime.com/2008/12/15/news/digital-tv-mind-control-by-the-sound-of-silence|claims]] the government plans to beam psychotronic messages into our heads using a system that includes "microwave cell phone towers, and … High Definition digital TV that will enter your home via: a) cable, b) satellite, c) HD TVs, or d) those oh-so-easy-to-obtain ‘digital converter boxes’ that the government is so anxious to help you obtain and underwrite most of the cost on your behalf."
Meanwhile, [[http://www.cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=md03rr5fdsrp6t4okindbu6e47&topic=11755.msg84042#msg84042|this guy claims Adachi]] has it all wrong. Obviously, the government can’t control your mind with digital signals. Everyone knows you need analog signals to do that, and the DTV switchover is meant to free up all that analog bandwidth so the brainwashing can begin. Duh.
Either line of reasoning overlooks the fact that people can often be easily manipulated without the use of any high-tech, Rube Goldberg-ian schemes. Politicians and advertisers alike — since time immemorial — have known the secret to bending masses of people to your will. You either [[http://hellomynameisscott.blogspot.com/search?q=appeal+to+their+self-interest|appeal to their self-interest]] or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_fear|prey on their fear.]]
You don’t need an advanced degree in physics to exert "mind control." A solid understanding of Machiavelli’s philosophy will suffice.
.H1 What, me worry?
I love a good conspiracy theory as much as the next person, I guess. But all this phobia over digital TV strikes me as so much nonsense. Or … at least it did until I started researching this article.
You see, on June 24, I started researching this piece by scoping out [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_conspiracy_theories|Wikipedia’s "List of Conspiracy Theories."]] On that day, there was paragraph listed under the heading "DTV Transition." It read as follows:
.QUOTE The DTV transition, a global event in which analog television broadcasts are ceased and replaced completely with digital broadcasts, has drawn much attention worldwide and has also become the subject of criticism, controversy, conspiracy, and debate. There are multiple conspiracies, but one of the more common theories is that the United States government is using the transition to manipulate the media and practice surveillance on citizens.
Less than a week later, someone edited the article to remove that paragraph. I’m sure it was just a practical joke, right? Or maybe it’s time to get fitted for one of those special hats. I’ve always looked great in tin foil.
.BIO
