{"id":24943,"date":"2026-03-16T20:41:48","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T20:41:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/?p=24943"},"modified":"2026-04-12T20:56:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T20:56:07","slug":"afictrta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/2026\/03\/16\/afictrta\/","title":{"rendered":"Although focused, I chased the rabbit – thanks Alice!"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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A Facebook post - then a share<\/h3><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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I needed a distraction from some of the heavier things at work, so I\u2019ve been sitting with a theme that keeps resurfacing for me: discernment.<\/span><\/p>

We live in a moment where almost\u2011infinite information arrives in microseconds. Coherence and speed often get mistaken for understanding. But lived experience\u2014and too many observational signals\u2014keep providing discernable evidence that\u2019s not how truth works.<\/span><\/p>

So I\u2019ve been sketching an image (shared with the post) that captures the gap between:<\/span><\/p>

\u2022 source\u2011based reporting (what actually happened),<\/span>
\u2022 narrative\u2011based framing (what someone wants it to mean), and<\/span>
\u2022 the noisy middle layer we now call modern media (perception capture), full of attention\u2011grabbing cues,\u00a0 gamification loops, and \u201ctrust me bro\u201d systems that reward reaction over reflection.<\/span><\/p>

This isn\u2019t new. Edward Bernays began orchestrating these dynamics (https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Edward_Bernays<\/a>) as early as 1929. But the scale and speed today make discernment a survival skill.<\/span><\/p>

A recent example from the Utah legislative cycle brought this into focus for me:<\/span><\/p>

A legislator introduced a substitute bill replacing kratom restrictions with the LDS Church\u2019s Word of Wisdom. The floor video shows no humor cues\u2014no laughter, no satire\u2014just a procedural argument about consistency in health\u2011based regulation.<\/span><\/p>

Yet a reporter framed the move as \u201ccheeky\u201d and \u201ctongue\u2011in\u2011cheek.\u201d<\/span>
One interpretive word, and suddenly the public read the act as performative or mocking, even though the source material showed none of that.<\/span><\/p>

That\u2019s the power\u2014and danger\u2014of narrative insertion. It\u2019s not just tone; it\u2019s a form of engineered framing that can override what your own eyes and ears would tell you.<\/span><\/p>

And the further a story drifts from its source, the more this line from Orwell echoes in my mind:<\/span><\/p>

\u201cThe Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>

I\u2019d swap \u201cParty\u201d<\/strong> for \u201cSYSTEM\u201d<\/strong><\/span> because that\u2019s what it feels like now.<\/span><\/p>

So I stay skeptical. I try to preserve and guard and maintain my autonomy. I calibrate, interpret, discern, and distill\u2014because courage, temperance, wisdom, judgment, and lived experience still matter. Especially when the noise gets loud, chaotic, and overwhelming.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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After some interaction it lead to this thought and I am sharing here!<\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Since sharing the image and thoughts attached to this share of mine:<\/span><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A phrase has been echoing in my mind lately: \u201cubiquitous assimilation.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Not as a future threat, but as something we are living in real-time.<\/span><\/div>
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Ubiquitous<\/strong> \u2014 everywhere, ambient, woven into the background.<\/span><\/div>
Assimilation<\/strong> \u2014 the slow absorption of the individual into a larger system.<\/span><\/div>
Put together, it\u2019s the quiet standardization of human perception happening all around us.<\/span><\/div>
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Curated perception has become the catalyst, the enzyme, the invisible machinery shaping how too many people think long before they realize they\u2019re thinking it. And I keep wondering: when the masses finally wake up from their hijacks, how far from their own minds will they find themselves?<\/span><\/div>
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The next stage is already underway in the background, mostly unnoticed: the invalidation of human discernment in our loops, our feeds, our interactions. The message is subtle but constant \u2014 don\u2019t think, we\u2019ll think for you.<\/span><\/div>
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A line from Blaise Pascal keeps pacing the asylum between my ears:<\/span><\/div>
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\u201cAll of humanity\u2019s problems stem from man\u2019s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div><\/blockquote>
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If he only knew what modern media would become.<\/span><\/div>
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Because today\u2019s media ecosystem isn\u2019t just reporting. It\u2019s a blend of:<\/span><\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>