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An email forward I got:
"July 22nd 2009 another Tsumani...
Prevention is always better than cure ..Please be more cautious as the warnings has been given.
Attached a photo for u.
I just received this message from a colleague. I don’t know the source of the message; I also don’t know the credibility of the content, but just beware.
Below is the content on the message:
“Hello there. I just wanted 2 let you know that please stay away from the beaches all around in the month of July. There is a prediction that there will be another tsunami hitting on July 22nd. It is also when there will be sun eclipse. Predicted that it is going 2 be really bad and countries like Malaysia (Sabah & Sarawak), Singapore, Maldives, Australia, Mauritius, Si Lanka, India, Indonesia, Philippines are going 2 be badly hit. Please try and stay away from the beaches in July. Better 2 be safe than sorry. Please pass the word around. Please also pray for all beings.”"
I Reply All-ed and said if there was really a Tsunami on that day, I would buy all of them lunch (even the people I didn't know).
I was surprised to find out that there really will be a solar eclipse on that day. And not too surprised to discover that the official-looking picture illustrating the email is modified from NASA's eclipse path diagram.
I was just surprised a mystical spin wasn't explicitly put on this (with the path of the eclipse opening the door to the Astral Plane and causing negative energy to radiate forth) but then, even in our gullible age, talking about all the planets being in alignment will lose you credibility among many (while, contrawise, mentioning other superstitions will gain you more).
More digging reveals the source of this misinformation. Ironically, it's a blog post mocking the pseudo-scientific thinking responsible for the above (irony, thou art dead!).
Disappointingly, all 238 of the people who resposted this online (or at least the first 10 who popped up on the first page of Google search results) either credulously believed it, took the "better safe than sorry" approach and urged caution or asked readers to make up their minds themselves. And the Malaysians are even better, holding "a Silent prayer... to calm down the sea's anger".
Now, while it's good for people to make up their own minds, there's no harm in calling out bullshit or nonsense when you see it. Respecting people's rights to hold beliefs is not the same as respecting all beliefs - the latter proposition opens the door to more balderdash than you can shake a finger at.
It's so easy to trick people. No wonder people keep crafting new chain mails to mislead and misinform.
Maybe I should write one about how white rice has been found to be carcinogenic, and in so doing foment the collapse of the Thai economy as naive Southeast Asians stop eating Thai rice.
I can even reuse this picture and claim it's what Thai rice looks like before they polish it:
Then Thaksin can fly back, depose the Prime Minister and install me as the new King of Thailand so I can use lèse majesté laws to screw anyone I don't like.
Meanwhile Vietnam will pay me handsomely for promoting their rice exports.