Ask A Genius 1250: Nonsense Amplification and Prof. Gibbs
Author(s): Rick Rosner and Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Ask A Genius
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/02/02
Rick Rosner: I know some decision-makers have been forced to choose a more patient approach—the “Biden option”—and one individual even allowed more time than Biden did. That was significant, though it seems that in democracies, we often see the same people in power repeatedly, and such decisions rarely lead to meaningful policy changes.
Regarding Indigenous issues, I once mentioned that the main street closest to where I grew up in Albuquerque was called Indian School Road—a peculiar name, considering what we now know about the history of Indian schools. In retrospect, that name almost sounds like calling a street “Concentration Camp Road.” In contrast, the street where I grew up was more neutral; it intersected a major road before curving into a cul-de-sac that met School Avenue.
I’m curious if they’ll ever have to change the name of the street that’s held that name for nearly 100 years.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: The first change might come with the football team. What else can we talk about?
Jacobsen: Well, there’s already a ton of people spreading that nonsense on X. Nonsense will only be amplified.
Jacobsen: Did you hear about Facebook dropping fact-checking?
Rosner: Yes. I learned about it through a fake ad featuring Emperor Palpatine’s second-in-command. It suggested they should revert to an earlier system—basically, it was all fake news. Apparently, either Musk or Zuckerberg approved this move. Also, I believe Zuckerberg is relocating his remaining fact-checking staff (who will now serve as Community Notes staff) from California to Texas because that apparently resonates better with Trump.
I’ve got a guy you might want to interview.
Jacobsen: Who?
Rosner: His name is David N. Gibbs, author of The War by the Rich. He’s a historian at the University of Arizona. He really knows his stuff. His discussion covered how Carter—reviled by conservatives—played a significant role in conservatism by being anti-union and all sorts of things I hadn’t known. He’s incredibly well-versed. I even learned that the U.S. clandestinely baited the Soviet Union into invading Afghanistan. Zbigniew Brzezinski orchestrated a plot to goad the Soviet Union into that invasion, which ended disastrously for him. So, anyway, the guy knows a tremendous amount.
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