Plant Bombs...Rumor Bombs

"I love rumors! Facts can be so misleading, where rumors, true or false, are often revealing." 
- Col. Hans Landa [to Perrier LaPardite], Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards

Many skeptics do everything they can to understand human nature and the world and to find the truth. They eliminate the improbable concepts through a series of steps associated with reasoning techniques and critical thinking skills, then cast those unlikely concepts aside unless convincing evidence suggests it to be even slightly probable. We weed out the bullshit claims that come to us in troves: ion bracelets can increase your stamina and strength, chiropractic therapy can cure your allergies, the Earth is only 10,000 years old, you can be healed through "therapeutic touch" therapy where no touching is involved, or that your future could be read by someone who studies the creases in your palms (for a flat fee of $55 per session).

We have made it a healthy habit to be skeptical of improbable claims and to report to others only what we have researched in the hopes of inciting another intriguing perspective on the issue at hand, maybe learn something, and get closer to the truth.

But I want you skeptics to break your pattern, if only for a day. Experience the discomfort just for a little while. I want you to spread a rumor. It could be about anything, anyone, anyplace. It could be a little white lie or a major fabrication. Test other people's ability to discern a rumor from the truth. Will they believe you because it's something that you're saying? Or will they throw a ton of questions at you, have a giant question mark pop up over their heads, and then take off for the nearest computer/library to research and see if your claim is true (or even falsifiable).

This isn't just a test to find if others are gullible. It's a valuable lesson in human nature. As social animals who attempt to make sense of the universe, when we are let in on a little secret, even if it's just a rumor, we feel a bonding with the rumor-starter and a little more at ease about the phenomenon being discussed.
Observe the people that you tell this rumor to and take note how they respond to your fib.

Finally, this isn't just a test on others. This is an experiment to understand how memes are started, how they evolve, and how they take on a life of their own. Watch this meme, the rumor, as it expands. Notice if it has changed at all since you created it and sent it out into the world. Observe the rumor as though it were an organism as it grows and adapts.



There are three basic characteristics that are applied to a rumor, as defined by author Robert Knapp:
1. It is transmitted by word of mouth
2. It provides information about a person, something that has happened, or a condition
3. It expresses and gratifies the emotional needs of a community (i.e. - not comprehended in individual terms, but social or community terms)


Tips for creating a successful rumor:

• A good rumor provokes our anxiety and our emotions. During scary, uncertain situations, the act of communication, even if it entails distortions of the truth, can help relieve tension.
• The rumor will be successful if the details are somewhat surprising, but still somewhat fit in with our existing biases or what we know about people/places/events/the world.
• Telling people who are more easily swayed/gullible than those who are more influential will ensure that the rumor is spread efficiently (though if someone holds a more credible position, they may be believed over some random individual)
• Tell the rumor often, even to the same people you've already told it to. "Tell a lie often enough, loud enough, and long enough, and people will believe you." (Adolph Hitler)
• Tell a rumor about something that people are already focusing on at the time. 
• Have a concise, simple message. Anything too long or detailed will end up either dumbed down later or ignored altogether.
• Rumors that are difficult to disprove tend to last a lot longer.
• Rumors about people that are envied by others tend to last longer. 

If you don't want to do something that you think could be potentially destructive with your rumor, then tell one that will help someone out. For instance, let everyone know how much of a badass your friend is (it'll get him laid). If you feel really bad about perpetuating false claims in the world (aren't there enough already??), then explain after a while, once the dust the rumor has kicked up settles a bit, that it is false, you made it up, let it go. Or just revel in the destruction of society as we know it.

Either way, have fun!!!