Student number: 100788512

The meaning of the watchlist item "Use of Scientific-Sounding Language That Has no Meaning" is when a group or individual uses large or complex sounding words to add complexity to there explanation of the desired topic.

Connection: Sokal Affair (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokal_affair)

Alan Sokal was a physics professor at New York University, in 1996 Sokal wrote a scientific paper titled "Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity. This paper said that "quantum gravity has progressive political implications, and that the 'morphogenetic field' could be a valid theory of quantum gravity". Soon after the article was published Sokal admitted that the article was a hoax and that he aimed to demonstrate that some postmodernist academics would endorse vague and meaningless language if it sounded sophisticated and was aligned with their ideals.

The meaning of the Watchlist item " Deliberately Creates Mystery" is when a group or individual crafts content in such a way that it provokes the sense of mystery.

Connection: Quantum Physics

(Quantum physics is the study of matter and energy at the most fundamental level.)

Quantum physics in and of it self has a lot of mysteries within it. Currently humanity has only scratched the surface of the science. One of my favorite "mysteries" in quantum physics is the double slit experiment. the double slit experiment states that if you were to observe a single photon of light repeatedly travel through a plate with 2 slits and record their position on a wall behind the plate you would see 2 "bars" appear, but if instead you decided to not observe you would see an interference pattern on the wall. Merely by observing the photons travel the observer has changed the reality of the photon from particle to wave.

The meaning of the Watchlist item " Money is Involved" is when a group or individual is payed an amount of money to continue to practice there profession or continue to give supporting information on a desired topic.

Connection:

Any kind of fortune teller or mystic charges X amount of dollars per session, this means that there "powers" are only available to the general public at a cost. The more you pay the more they will "read" whether that means they ask more question to try to find something that clicks or they try to tell you something about your future.

The meaning of the Watchlist item "Appeals to Emotion" is when a group, individual, or event has emotional connections to a person and can exploit them.

Connection: Mediums

In this Video series the driver of this Uber Thomas claims he is a Medium. In this episode Thomas is talking to a pastor of a church who is very skeptical about the situation due to faulty readings in the past. Thomas does get some information right though which plays into the pastors emotions.

Since this is a YouTube series I am skeptical that Thomas just knows these things when a person gets into a car, it would not surprise me if there was a team that collects information on the passenger before Thomas says he's a medium. Although I believe that Mediums are not a real thing I believe that what Thomas is doing is a good thing as he is allowing people to get closure.

The meaning of the Red Flag item "Mystical Energy" is when an event cant be explained without the use of a magical or mystical force intervening. Examples of this "Energy" are: "Chi", "Positive Energy", and "Negative Energy".

Connection:

A good example when talking about Mystical Energy would be people who claim to be Empaths, empaths are people who feels more empathy than the average person and can more easily connect with other peoples energy.

Another Example would be people in intense martial art. It is believed that by changing poster and focusing on the energy in your body, you can manipulate the flow of energy to make your hits or kicks more powerful.

The meaning of the Red Flag item "Ideological Support" is when a group or individual has a belief or idea that they deem above modern science.

Connection:

The Flat Earth Society rejects mainstream science and governmental agencies like NASA by selectively choosing there evidence and rejecting anything that says otherwise. There have been countless videos online talking about what Flat Earthers get wrong and why they are wrong but they believe the world is not the way it is.

The meaning of the Red Flag item "Confirmation Bias" is when a group or individual Selectively gathers evidence that supports their beliefs while disregarding information that challenges their belief. these people may also interpret information in an ambiguous fashion to conform it to their belief structure.

Connection:

Conspiracy Theory about the Illuminati,

The Illuminati historically refers to the secret society founded in 1776 the Bavarian Illuminati, over time this group has become the center of various conspiracy theories that allege it controls world events and governments to establish a New World Order. This topic relates to confirmation bias because conspiracy theorists selectively gather evidence to support their claims, and interpret information ambiguously.

The meaning of the Red Flag item "Ancient Wisdom" is when a Product, Group, or Individual claim that their "Belief", "Product", "Idea", etc, come from a type of lost information from the ancient times.

Connection:

Many holistic items are marketed with the claim that they are based on ancient practices or derived from traditional healing systems from around the globe. By associating holistic items with ancient cultures reputed for their wisdom sellers can make these items seem more superior to conventional or modern medicine.

The meaning of the Red Flag item "Appeal to Authority" is when a group, company, product, or individual show them selves in a authoritative way such as wearing lab coats, fancy suits, talking with important people, etc, to gain something from a user.

Connection:

Trumps signature Vodka, in 2005 Trump created a vodka brand that ultimately failed in 2011. Trump was able to sign a deal to sell 50,000 cases annually to Russia. I believe this applies to appealing to authority because Trump is a business man in a fancy suit that some people respect so they purchase his products.

The meaning of the Reason for Belief item "Emotional Connection" is when an individual Believes in something for the sole fact that they have an emotional connection to the event, eg seeing ghosts of dead family members.

The meaning of the Reason for Belief item "Ideology" is when a person has a set of opinions or beliefs that they live by.

The meaning of the Reason for Belief item "Unexplained" applies when there is no reasonable answer for an event that happened.