Why the Insane Clown Posse will be the downfall of civilisation (or: Ask Me How Magnets Work)
The Insane Clown Posse are at it again.
They’ve released a new track called ‘Miracles’. In this soggy puddle of musical dysentery, they expound about how many miracles come together to make the world as it is today. And who can argue? There are a lot of things that have happened through a slight weighting in some very long odds, many of which are essential for our ecosystem to have sustained itself for this long.
The key words here are ‘this long’. An ape turning into a human overnight? Extremely long odds. I would probably let someone call it a miracle without arguing until it was explained. An ape turning into a human through gradual adaptation to a changing environment, on an incomprehensibly large timescale? I think the word is ‘inevitable’.
Anyway, enough creationism vs. evolution. Here’s the video for the ICP track [source: YouTube].
You might also be interested in LoadingReadyRun’s response [source: The Escapist], which I found so unapologetically nerdy that it was irresistible.
So why do I have a problem with this? Well, the lyrics that are doing the rounds as a big deal at the moment are the following -
F*ckin’ magnets, how do they work?
And I don’t wanna talk to a scientist
Y’all motherf*ckers lying, and getting me pissed
What we have here, and what really gives me the rage, is not just ignorance. Ignorance is okay - in fact, shaming ignorance is counterproductive. I’m certainly not ashamed to admit that listening to this track caused me to realise that I don’t actually know the mechanics behind magnetism. The answer isn’t particularly easy to comprehend (I never really got on with electron shells in chemistry) but with a bit of effort and reading, you can start to visualise and understand the reasons behind magnetic moment. And if you can’t, I bet you can find someone online who’s willing to explain it to you in a way that suits you.
And I don’t wanna talk to a scientist
Y’all motherf*ckers lying, and getting me pissed
DING.
As I said, ignorance is okay as long as it’s seen as undesirable and a state to be remedied if possible. This is the legitimisation of wilful ignorance. “X is a miracle. I take this on faith based on my emotional reaction of awe. If someone contradicts this, they are liars, because I am so impressed by it that it must be inexplicable.”
Do me a favour. Find one thing that baffles and amazes you, right now, and find out how it works. Wikipedia is almost always a good starting point. Once you understand it, revel in the fact that it’s still absolutely incredible, and you know what else is incredible? Now, you know why. Tell others if it comes up in conversation and they want to know. Spread knowledge - that’s the only remuneration that people who publish such information freely want.
