In 1983 there was a commercial that asked, “Is it live or Memorex?” It was an advancement in audio. It was difficult to make the distinction. The evolution of sound and special effects are unbelievable and imagination infinite. If you watch old movies or programs in high definition the evolution is remarkable.
Years
ago my youngest son and I were doing a Star Wars marathon during the Christmas
Holidays. He made the comment that Episodes IV, V, and VI needed updating. I
took a few minutes to explain that when these movies previewed they were “cutting
edge” technology. Most people thought that Stars Wars would flop, but
millions of dollars and people followed.
Television
and movies rely on deception. In high school remember watching game tapes of
our Friday night football games. Coach would ask, “Hopper why didn’t you tackle
that player?” I would say, Coach the film is lying, the opposing player was not
that close.” The camera angle made the opposing player appear closer or just
the opposite just like the passenger mirror on most vehicles do: Objects are
closer than they appear. That is why football games today film with multiple cameras.
In
preparation for this article, I thought about spam emails, the deception, and
dangers they pose. Being global in my thinking I thought about SPAM the meat
which uses pork shoulder and ham. As a young man starting a family and all that
is involved, I remember that a can of SPAM was enough to last me a week.
Guaranteed I had to slice it very thin. Times were hard and sacrifice was just
part of “getting by.”
While
researching, I found an interesting fact about SPAM. “Spam has long had a somewhat
dubious reputation in the United States and, to a lesser degree, the United
Kingdom, as a poverty food. Spam as a low-cost meat product gave rise to the
Scottish colloquial term "Spam valley" to describe certain affluent
housing areas where residents have an outward appearance of wealth but, in
private, may be living at poverty levels.”
Growing
up we thought SPAM was rich folks' food. My wife Lisa keeps SPAM in the food
pantry. Fried SPAM and eggs for supper is a staple for us. Now I can cut thick
side slices and make a SPAMburger. I deceive myself pretending it is a big
juicy hamburger.
That
brings me back to Spam emails which are unwanted or unsolicited messages sent
to large numbers of recipients. Ranging from harmless marketing promotions to
dangerous phishing attempts or malware delivery one has to use wisdom. SPAM is
the inspiration for Spam.
It
is rooted in a Monty Python cafe sketch using SPAM in every food item. This
gave birth to Spam being digital clutter. It reminds me of my ninth grade Communism
class where I learned that if you tell a lie big enough and long enough, people
will believe it. Mama and daddy taught me, “Don’t believe anything you hear and
half of what you see.” Repeated bombardment of stuff changes society and
culture.
With
AI (Artificial Intelligence) it is getting to where one cannot believe what one
sees. There are spam and scams that seem real, but when held under scrutiny they
are fake. I fear that with continual advancement that AI, or something more sophisticated,
will be more deceptive.
Spam and other malicious malware play on human emotion to deceive. SPAM may fill the needs of people in times of hardship; technological spam offers that which leads to hardships. Let us use wisdom when tempted. Knowing the Word of God is key to discerning with faith what is Live or what is Memorex so to speak.
And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.1 Timothy 2:14 KJV
Now
the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from
the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils. 1 Timothy
4:1 KJV
