More Thoughts on Faraday Cages

Today we observe the birthday in 1791 of English physicist Michael Faraday, pictured below. 

Mr Faraday was responsible for a number of discoveries and inventions, one of which was what we know today as the “Faraday Cage,” a security enclosure used to block electromagnetic fields, as illustrated in this visually spectacular demonstration ... 

Among other things, Faraday Cages are used as an electronic security measure to block the transmission and reception of unwanted signals ... much like red MAGA hats block the reception of information contrary to the deeply-held social, political, and religious beliefs of the wearer.

I've written twice about Faraday Cages in this blog - first in August of 2007, and then again in September of 2012. In the 2007 post, I wrote 

"... why are so many members of Congress so reluctant to accept new ideas and make compromises to move the nation forward on crucial issues? Obviously, the Capitol is a giant Faraday Cage which protects them from the influence of dangerous and politically incorrect ideas."

I returned to the subject in the 2012 post, when I wrote

"We're seeing a campaign of lies, distortions, and half-truths ... of hot air and slime and vast amounts of money that could be spent on better things. And it's all protected by the mental Faraday Cages of the True Believers."

I don't think this was what Mr Faraday had in mind when he developed his eponymous cage, but it seems to have worked out that way. The Capitol remains a gigantic mental Faraday Cage that prevents the concerns of everyday Americans - like food safety, housing availability, and the price of gas - from troubling the tender brains of GOP members of Congress who (when they're actually at work) are laser-focused on more important issues like pretending that Der Furor is not crazy, that Secretary of Defense (not War) Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., are competent, and that the economy is not in the toilet.

For those not in Congress, personal Faraday Cages include things like the newly-launched "TrumpTV" channel, the new White House app that sends regime propaganda directly to your phone, red MAGA hats, Fox "News," OANN, and Newsmax to protect from the intrusion of the real world.

So ...

If you are one of those who resolutely resist the incursion of actual information that conflicts with your political, social, and religious beliefs, ask your psychiatrist if a mental Faraday Cage is right for you. Your insurance won't cover it, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

P.S. - After I drafted this post (early last week), and published my post on AI threats last Wednesday, this article appeared in the New York Times: "The Liftoff Scenario That Terrifies A.I. Doomsayers." It describes a AI system known as Faraday that uses "recursive self-improvement" to continuously build better versions of itself as it grows and learns. What would Faraday think (WWFT) ... and what could possibly go wrong?

B.