Paradigm Shift

My brain has been eaten by a swarm of algorithms. It was a slow painless process for those unaware of the feasting. For the woke, it was like being descended upon by blood thirsty no see ums, 24 hours a day for months−years even.

The dreaded and elusive insects are described by many as teeth with wings. You cannot see them, they just come to the vulnerable at dusk, drinking an insignificant amount of blood. They systematically change your immune system until you are no longer aware that you are really nothing but a host on the food chain.

You eventually become blissfully unaware.

That is what it feels like to have your brain eaten by a algorithms. The incessant itching for free thought or a purchase decision, and what to watch, unobstructed and without influence from the media, Hollywood or endless marketing campaigns consumed the remainder of my brain.

Algorithm, the newest hip vocab used by the tech savvy and the self-proclaimed woke crowd. But what are these algorithms? Those unseen things which surround the planet like an invisible fishing net, ensnaring our mind, and behavior? Do they really direct every purchase we ultimately decide on? Every link we click, movie or TV show that we watch?

Google the algorithm masters, defines them as this:

al·go·rithm

/ˈalɡəˌriT͟Həm/

noun

a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer.

"a basic algorithm for division"

“Ok, got it. I think.” Its math. Math is good. It has been the foundation of my world for decades. It is a universal language. It is constant and reliable.

I fired up the internet and allowed the algorithms to feed. Across my screen was a headline that read:

“YES, THERE REALLY IS A WAR ON MATH. 2+2 CAN NOW EQUAL 5

Wait, What?

Am I amid a Paradigm Shift? For months, the world seemed to be spinning in reverse. Everything I thought I knew, was questioned. All the constants in my life were up for a ridiculous debate. It was like trying to run through quicksand while being ensnared in the algorithm net.

The headline captured my attention. I was now spending endless amounts of time searching the net, for articles and movies to learn more about the alternative universe where 2+2=5. It was complete madness. I turned off my cell. My cell was a self appointed torture device.

Moving on, I yelled across the room to Alexa and asked, “Alexa are we living in an alternative universe?”

Alexa confidently replied, “Here is something in found on the web.” “According to The Odyssey Online, Physicists confirmed Friday that the Chicago Cubs' 2016 World Series win is the solidest piece of evidence that we are living in an alternate universe since last year's notorious Barenstain Bears scandal.

Humored, I asked Alexa, “Alexa, what is a good movie to watch?”

“Umm, the Godfather is a good one, but I like Private Ryan the best,” she weighed in.

“That’s just creepy,” I thought to myself. Those are my two favorite movies.

Eager to feed my brain, and not for it to be fed upon. I grabbed the remote and turned on the idiot box.

My father always called the TV the idiot box. He called it the “idiot box” because he believed the information coming through the TV would make people stupid or because the newscasters or politicians were feeding the American people a line of crap.

I went to the apps and was greeted with a myriad of choices. YouTube, HBO, Peacock, Netflix, Starz, and Amazon Prime just to name a few. I clicked on Netflix. Instantly there were over 200 choices of movies and TV shows to watch.

I spent a half an hour scrolling through the noise, only to decide nothing looked interesting.

“Are you kidding me?” I thought to myself. "Collectively there are thousands of programs and channels to watch and nothing looks good?" I spent more time reading titles and summaries then I watched programs.

I ultimately decided to watch The Mandela Effect (2019). Maybe there was something to this alternate universe theory, or the paradigm shifts the woke crowd was always talking about. The plot was solid, and the movie was gripping. I wanted to learn more. I did a quick Google search and entered “Movies like The Mandela Effect.”

What showed up in the search were nothing like the Mandela Effect. They seemed to be critics choices. Moreover, the first movie suggestion in my search was The Godfather Trilogy. “The Godfather Trilogy seriously?” I thought to myself.

Alexa and Google are clearly spying on me.

As my mind wandered further, I started to speculate that I was part of some sinister social experiment. “Did the Czars managing and analyzing the algorithms want me to join a crime family?”

Perhaps my choice of vocabulary for online searches was always the same and predictable.

I tried a new search changing only one word, “like” to “relate.” I typed in “Movies related to the Mandela Effect.” Walla! An entire list of movies I had never seen or heard of before. They included Yesterday, The Quiet Earth, The Langoliers and The Giver.

I am still not clear if the algorithms are eating my brain, or if I am part of the woke crowd. But I feel liberated knowing I regained a little control of the input being fed into my brain.