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CNN Xes Cheney — Design or Accident?

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CNN Xes Cheney

Let me humbly suggest that CNN puchase a copy of my book The Design Inference (Cambridge University Press, 1998) to determine whether its explanation for the “X” that flashed over the VPs face during his speech holds up. In particular, what are the odds that this program glitch just happened to kick in right as the VP spoke, no sooner or later, with the “X” marking his face having the appropriate size and thickness and occupying just the right position? See http://www.drudgereport.com/flash5cnc.htm.

Comments
If it was on purpose, which I doubt, who cares?jmcd
November 22, 2005
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As someone else pointed out. It's centered on the screen. Cheney is centered on the screen. Seems like an accident. But let's explore further. What possible motive could there be to do this purposely? Was it to shame the VP? I guess it could be, but how hurtful could an "X" really be? And the simple fact that this would not go unnoticed would kinda kill the "joke." Obviously someone working in the CNN control room could have planned this, but why? And why should we suspect it was true except for maybe some paranoid belief that the liberal-bias in the media would permit this. Again. Would you suspect this was purposeful if it happened to Clinton? Or would you excuse it as an accident?dodgingcars
November 22, 2005
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Awwww....arent you cute PaV everything is a conspiracy...you really, really, really think people are smart...you give them too much credit. When are we going to hear about you being abducted by aliens, but that the government covers it up. Wait, that was a decade or two ago, now we are onto political and scientific fields of paranoiapuckSR
November 22, 2005
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puckSR: That's your quote after Giff's. I wish we had a preview function.PaV
November 22, 2005
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Giff: after the quote, it' supposed to say "naive", just in case you couldn't figure it out.PaV
November 22, 2005
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Giff: You're 25. That's young. And apparently (...and it looks like an accident to me.Unfortunately, i have yet to see a study that indicates a strong liberal bias in media over the long term. Drudge reported it on his website almost immediately. Have you heard anything about it anywhere else? If anyone will carry it, it will be Fox News. But what about ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, LA Times, NYTimes? So, if there was a study indicating a "strong liberal bias", what makes you think you'd see it? Who would report it? Why don't you read Bernard Goldberg's book, "Bias". Believe me, he wasn't invited on any of the major networks to talk about his book even though it was a best-seller. puckSR, open your eyes (and ears). BTW, i have been drinking alcohol for awhile..LOL How many months? JeffK: Were your rhetorical skills honed during your vast years of experience? No, I learned them over at Pandas Thumb! No ad hominems there! jesguessin: Hey. I never thought of that. ID as a kind of paranoia…. I wonder if you'll be able to say that after it's investigated. (Although, in all likelihood, it will all be washed over. Do we know where those forged Rathergate documents came from?) Hope you remember you said this?PaV
November 22, 2005
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"You don’t understand how liberalism works–political correctness and hubris–and consequently you don’t see these same ideological behaviors at work in Darwinism. I bet you’re not 21." Hmmm..i guess i dont understand how liberalism works. Apparently there is a massive liberal bias in the media...ive heard that a lot. Unfortunately, i have yet to see a study that indicates a strong liberal bias in media over the long term. You could easily claim that a current bias exists, but only because conservatives are in powerful positions. You dont sell newspapers telling people how nice the president is, and how much you agree with him. BTW, i have been drinking alcohol for awhile..LOL :::Rathergate:::: Yeah...it happened...and then every news organization in the world came down on their heads with vengence. You act like FOX News reported the scandal....and then all of the "liberal" outlets ignored it. ::;How low will they go:::: Seriously...lets say that a tech did this on purpose...ouch...he really made an insult by accidentally placing an X over Dick Cheney. It isnt like he used a digital pen to draw devil horns....i have seen the blurbs below the speakers(liberal and conservative) that accidentally said much more heinous things that an X over Dick Cheney's face.puckSR
November 22, 2005
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Hey PaV. That may be a record. 0-ad hominem in under 20 minutes. Were your rhetorical skills honed during your vast years of experience?JeffK
November 22, 2005
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This isn't the first time CNN has done something like this: http://michellemalkin.com/archives/000794.htmjohnnyb
November 22, 2005
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"CNN is a reputable news outlet….do you really think that anyone would sink to the level of doing this on purpose? First…if it is discovered that it was done on purpose…that person loses his/her job. Second, it probably gets them blackballed from media." How about CBS and raTHergate? We can analyze this in a conditional manner. Given that another news organization has already stooped low, what is the probability that an even more liberal organization will stoop even lower? :)anteater
November 22, 2005
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Hey. I never thought of that. ID as a kind of paranoia....jesguessin
November 22, 2005
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I suspect that it was in fact an accident. The atheist liberals meant for it to go for a fraction of a second as a subliminal message. But by accident, it stayed up for longer and was thus noticed. The atheists can't even do their dirty tricks right.wheadgib
November 22, 2005
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Well, I'm 25, and not so liberal, and I like ID, and it looks like an accident to me.Giff
November 22, 2005
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I see both elements of design and accident here. puckSR, what you've just said are inferences to design: the X is centered in the middle of the screen ... that makes sense to the programmer Cheney is centered in the middle of the screen ... that makes sense to the cameramen Your saying "that makes sense" is essentially a design argument. These don't happen by accident. The fact that these got superimposed could be explained by an accident: for that to happen only pressing a wrong button would do. Live video is complicated, and mistakes are made sometimes. Of course, the possibility that it is some prankster's doing cannot be ruled out, but the information we have so far is too little to make that inference. As for your claim that "CNN is a reputable news outlet," just remember that even their head had admitted that they were in bed with Saddam Hussein. I'm certain Dr. Dembski put this post up as a funny. This particular accident is not one that is highly improbable. On the other hand, as I read your writing, I am inferring that you are an intelligent agent who can compose reasonably well in English except for a few misspellings. And I don't think misspellings (suboptimality) disqualify you from being intelligent.formlessandvoid
November 22, 2005
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"CNN is a reputable news outlet…." cBS' 60 Minutes was reputable before Rathergate where 60 Minutes tried to influence a federal presidential election in the twelfth in 2004 by disseminating a poorly forged document linking George W. Bush to a crime during his National Guard service. So much for reputable... "do you really think that anyone would sink to the level of doing this on purpose?" In a heartbeat. "if it is discovered that it was done on purpose…that person loses his/her job" The person would lose their job if it was due to negligence too. The question is whether it's reasonably possible for the person to get caught, whether the person cared if they were fired (what if it was someone who had already found another job and was going to quit anyway?), and whether CNN would even publically admit an employee did it. Could a computer glitch do it? Sure. But it's a little odd that this particular glitch has never been known to happen before and isn't repeatable. If I was to bet on it I'd bet it was intentional.DaveScot
November 22, 2005
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puckSR: "CNN is a reputable news outlet….do you really think that anyone would sink to the level of doing this on purpose? First…if it is discovered that it was done on purpose…that person loses his/her job. Second, it probably gets them blackballed from media." Your comments make you seem young and naive: naive that someone working at CNN wouldn't do this, and more naive, that they would get fired. You don't understand how liberalism works--political correctness and hubris--and consequently you don't see these same ideological behaviors at work in Darwinism. I bet you're not 21.PaV
November 22, 2005
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It appears to be perfectly centered in the frame as one would expect for a semaphore. If it was deliberate it pales in comparison to the infamous bureaucRATS ad of 2000 and DEMONstrates just how inept the democRATS are. :-) http://www.netspace.org/users/seiden/rats.htmDaveScot
November 22, 2005
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Hmmm....lets look at something the X is centered in the middle of the screen...that makes sense to the programmer Cheney is centered in the middle of the screen...that makes sense to the cameraman CNN is a reputable news outlet....do you really think that anyone would sink to the level of doing this on purpose? First...if it is discovered that it was done on purpose...that person loses his/her job. Second, it probably gets them blackballed from media. So do i think it is an accident? Yes But hey...as Dembski said himself, highly improbable accidents dont happen...they are all purposefull...a la...the DesignerpuckSR
November 22, 2005
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If it was done on purpose. Do you think it was a corporate decision? If it had occured over Clinton's face, would be so certain it wasn't an accident?dodgingcars
November 22, 2005
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