Poe's law
From Conservapedia
Poe's Law is an internet law stating that "Without a winking smiley or other blatant display of humor, it is impossible to create a parody of Fundamentalism that SOMEONE won't mistake for the real thing." It was originally proposed by Christian Forums user Nathan Poe.
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Significance of Poe's law
Poe's Law has two meanings. The first meaning mocks fundamentalist opinions, stating that some fundamentalist views are so extreme or absurd that they are indistinguishable from parody. The second meaning concerns those who read such views on the internet, stating that, no matter what absurd statement is made, "SOMEONE", somewhere, will fall for it.
Analysis
Poe's law is often used to mock conservatives and fundamentalists, based on its implicit assertion that fundamentalists and conservatives are so absurd as to be indistinguishable from parody. However, there is a fundamental flaw in this assertion. One might as well argue that genuine works of art are indistinguishable from cheap knockoffs, because some people are unable to distinguish between the two. Clearly, the cause of the mistake is not that the genuine article is no better than a mockery; rather, the cause of the mistake is that some people lack the critical thinking skills and/or experience to differentiate the two -- particularly in cases when an artist (or a parodist) goes to special efforts to emulate the genuine article.
Poe's law and evolutionary fundamentalism
Liberal reaction to the YouTube promotion of the film Expelled[1] supports the conclusion that Poe's Law applies to fundamentalist evolutionists as well.[2][3]. A marketing video was commissioned for the movie and released on YouTube. The video's creators, Matt Chandler and Michael Edmondson, claimed to have made the video and accompanying rap song deliberately ambiguous, to generate discussion and publicity for the film. In a subsequent video, revealing the video's origins, the Ben Stein character is seen wearing a t-shirt which reads "Poe's Law".
References
- ↑ Beware the believers!
- ↑ "C'mon HH, that video is pure Terry Gilliam Python style. Its intended to be absurd, so absurd that the mockery of the academics that makes up most of the content actually ends up making fun of their adversaries (creationists). It is a parody of the creationist criticisms of those academics! The second funniest thing about it, however, is the people on PZs blog (and now you HH, sorry), who are convinced it is some creationist propaganda piece. http://www.skepticfriends.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9780
- ↑ If I'm hearing the lyrics right, this is a strong pro-science message ... This is simply not how a creationist would parody the pro-science side. Where are the farting noises?" Pharyngula
