But an informed populace might get all "uppity" and decide that they needed better leaders if they had an understanding of what was going on in the world.Yeah, but really, what is going on is ratings. CNN, suddenly got ratings, so they're going with it 24/7. People want to hear what they want to hear. For instance, a 24/7 channel with breaking news on Global Warming, or one on worldwide human rights abuse would, each, have plenty of material, but would have low ratings.Sometimes it's good to be reminded how nice it is not to have a connected TV - we control ours - it's DVDs or YouTube or nothing - no 24hour news cycle repeating the same 3 minutes worth of news 24/7 ;-P
What would the news media be covering if it wasn't this missing plane. I feel sorry for the families of the passengers, but its time for the media to move on unless there is actually some significant development. There is more going on in the world than this.If we had to wait for significant developments there would be no news media. News media thrives on speculation, not news. We should call it the speculation media. And we should call "breaking news" "breaking speculation." Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Lois
Sometimes it's good to be reminded how nice it is not to have a connected TV - we control ours - it's DVDs or YouTube or nothing - no 24hour news cycle repeating the same 3 minutes worth of news 24/7 ;-Pwow I'm impressed. Not even Netflix? Not to ruin your day but in case you weren't aware you can get CNN live on their website, just in case you ever needed live news in an emergency situation ;-)
Yeah, but really, what is going on is ratings. CNN, suddenly got ratings, so they're going with it 24/7. People want to hear what they want to hear. For instance, a 24/7 channel with breaking news on Global Warming, or one on worldwide human rights abuse would, each, have plenty of material, but would have low ratings.Nevertheless, notwithstanding the ratings and criticisms of CNN's intensive coverage of the circumstances and the mystery wrt the disappearance of flight MH370, it is quite appropriate for CNN to do that. People are naturally concerned and curious to know how a modern plane like the Boeing 777 can disappear just like that and whether it can happen again as they and/or their loved ones are/will be possible passengers.
Yeah, but really, what is going on is ratings. CNN, suddenly got ratings, so they're going with it 24/7. People want to hear what they want to hear. For instance, a 24/7 channel with breaking news on Global Warming, or one on worldwide human rights abuse would, each, have plenty of material, but would have low ratings.Nevertheless, notwithstanding the ratings and criticisms of CNN's intensive coverage of the circumstances and the mystery wrt the disappearance of flight MH370, it is quite appropriate for CNN to do that. People are naturally concerned and curious to know how a modern plane like the Boeing 777 can disappear just like that and whether it can happen again as they and/or their loved ones are/will be possible passengers. Sure, it is natural for everyone to act on self-interest. CNN and its viewers. What we see here, however, I think, is disproportionate. (Probably because it is mysterious. I, for instance, have no concern that I, or a loved one, will die in an airline crash, but I am drawn to the "mystery". But I only check into CNN for a minute or two, once or twice a day, just to see that they really don't have any "breaking news", although they continually claim to.)
You can suspend judgement if you like. Although it depends on the situation, I don't believe its necessary to be 100% certain of something to pass judgement. Since neither you nor I have anything invested in this we don't need to form an opinion yet but during the small amount of time that I think about this problem during the day I am not entertaining "non-crash" scenariosWe cannot be 100% certain that the sun will rise tomorrow, but from past experience, it does. OTOH, there is no such precedence wrt MH370. Hence, we should suspend judgment wrt what happened to it, pending finding definite physical evidence that it has crashed.
OTOH the governments and agencies involved in the search should not suspend judgement since they need to decide where to put resources and clearly it would be foolish based on what we know already to spend any of those limited resources looking for this plane anywhere other than the ocean. For them it makes a great deal of sense to pass judgement and discard very unlikely ideas.They have vested interests and limited resources to do that and it is understandably so. From the BBC here]
But mounting a search operation on this scale, and for this length of time, does not come cheap. The bill so far probably runs to £20-25m ($33-42m), estimates Peter Roberts, senior research fellow in sea power and maritime studies at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi).And
Once the search is completed, attention is likely to turn to improving the tracking technology. "It is hard for anyone to imagine that we can't continuously track aircraft anywhere in the world," says Mr Roberts. There, the most expensive part of the process will not be the development or fitting of any technology, but the cost of getting it accepted and standardised by aviation regulators around the world.
Sure, it is natural for everyone to act on self-interest. CNN and its viewers. What we see here, however, I think, is disproportionate. (Probably because it is mysterious. I, for instance, have no concern that I, or a loved one, will die in an airline crash, but I am drawn to the "mystery". But I only check into CNN for a minute or two, once or twice a day, just to see that they really don't have any "breaking news", although they continually claim to.)You "have no concern that I, or a loved one, will die in an airline crash"? However, you are drawn to the "mystery". Curiosity killed the cat? From the wiki here]
"Curiosity killed the cat" is a metaphor used to warn of the dangers of unnecessary investigation or experimentation. A less frequently-seen rejoinder to "curiosity killed the cat" is "but, satisfaction brought it back".We want the satisfaction of solving a mystery. :cheese: OTOH, is it a black swan event? From the wiki here]
According to Taleb, thinkers who came before him who dealt with the notion of the improbable, such as Hume, Mill, and Popper focused on the problem of induction in logic, specifically, that of drawing general conclusions from specific observations. The central and unique attribute of Taleb's black swan event is high profile. His claim is that almost all consequential events in history come from the unexpected — yet humans later convince themselves that these events are explainable in hindsight.Bold added by me. "Breaking news" can be interpreted as new developments, information etc. It does not necessarily have to be the solution to the "mystery". As such, CNN cannot be criticized for that.
The plot thickens.
From this article in the Guardian
here]
It seems hardly believable that, in an age when a satellite can read a car number plate, we cannot locate an entire airliner. Indeed, according to one highly placed oceanic scientist to whom I spoke recently, it is truly unbelievable: he believes, as do other independent scientists, that the Americans have known exactly where the flight crashed ever since it fell out of the skies; to reveal that they do so would be to endanger covert military information and the operation of underwater sonic arrays whose primary purpose is to detect such large objects in the oceans – in the shape of enemy submarines.However,
Now, as the Australians and Chinese (but interestingly not the Americans) race to locate MH370 in similar profounds, their sonic searches echo the new Asian century, and a new arena of exploitation and power. At the same time, their efforts remind us that the ocean is a noisy place; scientists have warned that many of those bleeps and whistles picked up by their hydrophones could belong to marine mammals instead. Sound travels five times faster in the water than in the air – it's why a fin whale on one side of the Atlantic can be heard by another whale on the far side of the same ocean.
Curious cats and black swans, being what they may, I still think that CNN deserves criticism for 1) presenting redundant news as “breaking” news 2) presenting outlandish ideas such as black holes and zombie planes 3) having panels of so-called experts present outlandish scenarios and made up probabilities based on assumptions presented as facts.
Granted, they seem to have moderated some of this over the course of 30 something days of their continuous coverage. Now they are just mostly redundant.
The plot thickens. From this article in the Guardian here]If you want to get all "black swan" conspiratorial, why must it be the US that has the technology but is not telling anyone. Take a look at this scientific article from 5 years ago, about the development of new underwater sensory technology. And pay particular attention to the acknowledgement at the end of the article, re: the funding source. (for those not interested in looking at the link, it was the Malaysian Government). Oops the spam detector won't let me provide the link. It was the Indian Journal for Marine Sciences, Vol 38 (3), Sept. 2009, pp 267-273. Title: Recent advancement in sensor technology for underwater applicationsIt seems hardly believable that, in an age when a satellite can read a car number plate, we cannot locate an entire airliner. Indeed, according to one highly placed oceanic scientist to whom I spoke recently, it is truly unbelievable: he believes, as do other independent scientists, that the Americans have known exactly where the flight crashed ever since it fell out of the skies; to reveal that they do so would be to endanger covert military information and the operation of underwater sonic arrays whose primary purpose is to detect such large objects in the oceans – in the shape of enemy submarines.However,Now, as the Australians and Chinese (but interestingly not the Americans) race to locate MH370 in similar profounds, their sonic searches echo the new Asian century, and a new arena of exploitation and power. At the same time, their efforts remind us that the ocean is a noisy place; scientists have warned that many of those bleeps and whistles picked up by their hydrophones could belong to marine mammals instead. Sound travels five times faster in the water than in the air – it's why a fin whale on one side of the Atlantic can be heard by another whale on the far side of the same ocean.
...However, you are drawn to the "mystery". Curiosity killed the cat? From the wiki here]"Curiosity". This is the name of the NASA Mars Rover that just took a picture of something glinting in the distance. This coincides with the mysterious disappearance of MH370. No doubt a black swan escorted MH370 through a wormhole to Mars, hence the picture of it glinting in the distance. (This would be no small feat, as a black swan would be very difficult to see at night, but it, otherwise, all adds up... NOT!)"Curiosity killed the cat" is a metaphor used to warn of the dangers of unnecessary investigation or experimentation. A less frequently-seen rejoinder to "curiosity killed the cat" is "but, satisfaction brought it back".We want the satisfaction of solving a mystery. :cheese: ...
Curious cats and black swans, being what they may, I still think that CNN deserves criticism for 1) presenting redundant news as "breaking" news 2) presenting outlandish ideas such as black holes and zombie planes 3) having panels of so-called experts present outlandish scenarios and made up probabilities based on assumptions presented as facts. Granted, they seem to have moderated some of this over the course of 30 something days of their continuous coverage. Now they are just mostly redundant.CNN, like other news agencies, is not perfect. However, some of their panel of "experts" are not as bad as you say they are. The disappearance of MH370 is an ongoing mystery with no precedence in aviation history.
If you want to get all "black swan" conspiratorial, why must it be the US that has the technology but is not telling anyone. Take a look at this scientific article from 5 years ago, about the development of new underwater sensory technology. And pay particular attention to the acknowledgement at the end of the article, re: the funding source. (for those not interested in looking at the link, it was the Malaysian Government). Oops the spam detector won't let me provide the link. It was the Indian Journal for Marine Sciences, Vol 38 (3), Sept. 2009, pp 267-273. Title: Recent advancement in sensor technology for underwater applicationsBecause the US, with it's vast resources (monetary, scientific and military) has the ability to develop the technologies and the political incentives to do that. The article that you mentioned is here] Do note that it was mentioned in Future Works that the developed sensors lacked necessary investments to turn them into robust and reliable Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) sensors, notwithstanding funding from the Malaysian government for the basic research. Also, the list of references is multinational.
"Curiosity". This is the name of the NASA Mars Rover that just took a picture of something glinting in the distance. This coincides with the mysterious disappearance of MH370. No doubt a black swan escorted MH370 through a wormhole to Mars, hence the picture of it glinting in the distance. (This would be no small feat, as a black swan would be very difficult to see at night, but it, otherwise, all adds up... NOT!):lol:
Thats a bit ridiculous. The author is claiming that the plane crashed and the crash was witnessed and everyone is ignoring the evidence because its better for ratings if the mystery continues? I don't think the multinational force of ships and planes and people give a damn about CNN's ratings. If they had evidence the plane crashed somewhere they would be all over it. This is about the dumbest conspiracy theory I have heard so far.Besides that, if there were evidence of a crash on land, all of the news media would be all over it and the'yd have their lead stories for weeks or months. Their ratings would soar. Lois
FWIW, from this article at the BBC here]
"I believe we are searching in the right area," said Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, who heads the joint agency co-ordinating the search. "But we need to visually identify aircraft wreckage before we can confirm with certainty that this is the final resting place of MH370."And
"Now hopefully with lots of transmissions we'll have a tight, small area and hopefully in a matter of days we will be able to find something on the bottom," he said.But
Investigators still do not know why MH370 strayed so far off course, after disappearing over the South China Sea between Malaysia and Vietnam.That is apparently still a mystery and could remain so for a long time.
FWIW, from this article at the BBC here]Possibly forever, giving free reign to conspiracy theories for decades. Lois"I believe we are searching in the right area," said Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, who heads the joint agency co-ordinating the search. "But we need to visually identify aircraft wreckage before we can confirm with certainty that this is the final resting place of MH370."And"Now hopefully with lots of transmissions we'll have a tight, small area and hopefully in a matter of days we will be able to find something on the bottom," he said.ButInvestigators still do not know why MH370 strayed so far off course, after disappearing over the South China Sea between Malaysia and Vietnam.That is apparently still a mystery and could remain so for a long time.
Possibly forever, giving free reign to conspiracy theories for decades.Like the disappearance of Amelia Earhart in 1937? From the wiki here]
Many theories emerged after the disappearance of Earhart and Noonan. Two possibilities concerning the flyers' fate have prevailed among researchers and historians.
Possibly forever, giving free reign to conspiracy theories for decades.Like the disappearance of Amelia Earhart in 1937? From the wiki here]
Many theories emerged after the disappearance of Earhart and Noonan. Two possibilities concerning the flyers' fate have prevailed among researchers and historians.But researchers and historians refuse to consider aliens. %-P Lois
... Because the US, with it's vast resources (monetary, scientific and military) has the ability to develop the technologies and the political incentives to do that...Thanks for your thoughtful reply, but I tend not to believe that the US actually has developed such a powerful and extensive tracking capability across all of the oceans of the world, and, at the same time, has kept it completely secret.