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Hidden messages
Subliminal messages Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... Fnord is a lightweight webserver built by Brian Morin, but currently maintained by Felix von Leitner External links Fnord Homepage Category: Web server software ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... A hidden message is information that is not immediately noticeable, and that must be discovered or uncovered and interpreted before it can be known. ... A subliminal message is a signal or message embedded in another object, designed to pass below the normal limits of perception. ... Audio Backmasking Reverse speech Numeric Numerology Theomatics Bible code Cryptography Visual Fnord Pareidolia Psychorama Sacred geometry Steganography See also Apophenia Easter egg (virtual) Clustering illusion Observer-expectancy effect Pattern recognition Unconscious mind
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Fnord is the typographic representation of disinformation or irrelevant information intending to misdirect, with the implication of a conspiracy. Backmasking (also known incorrectly as backward masking)[1] is a recording technique in which a sound or message is recorded backwards onto a track that is meant to be played forwards. ... This article is about the theory of reversed messages in normal speech. ... Numerology is any of many systems, traditions or beliefs in a mystical or esoteric relationship between numbers and physical objects or living things. ... Theomatics is a numerological study of the Greek and Hebrew text of the Christian Bible, based upon gematria and isopsephia, that its proponents assert demonstrates the direct intervention of God in the writing of Christian scripture. ... For the book that publicized the codes, see The Bible Code (book). ... The German Lorenz cipher machine, used in World War II for encryption of very high-level general staff messages Cryptography (or cryptology; derived from Greek κρυπτός kryptós hidden, and the verb γράφω gráfo write or λεγειν legein to speak) is the study of message secrecy. ... The term pareidolia (pronounced or ), referenced in 1994 by Steven Goldstein,[1] describes a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (often an image or sound) being perceived as significant. ... Psychorama (or The Precon Process) is the act of communicating subliminal information through film—flashing images on the screen so quickly that they cannot be perceived by the conscious mind, but nonetheless leaving an unconscious imprint on the viewer. ... The Parthenons facade showing an interpretation of golden rectangles in its proportions. ... This article is about hidden messages. ... Apophenia is the experience of seeing patterns or connections in random or meaningless data. ... A virtual Easter egg is a hidden message or feature in an object such as a movie, book, CD, DVD, computer program, or video game. ... The clustering illusion is the natural human tendency to see patterns where actually none exist. ... The observer-expectancy effect, in science, is a cognitive bias that occurs in science when a researcher expects a given result and therefore unconsciously manipulates an experiment or misinterprets data in order to find it. ... Pattern recognition is a field within the area of machine learning. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Disinformation (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Conspiracy theory (disambiguation). ...

Origin

The word was coined as a nonsensical term with religious undertones in the Principia Discordia by Kerry Thornley and Greg Hill, but was popularized by The Illuminatus! Trilogy of books by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. The Loompanics Yellow Cover combined 4th & 5th Edition Principia Discordia, (1979). ... Kerry Thornley Kerry Wendell Thornley (April 17, 1938 - November 28, 1998) is perhaps best-known as the co-founder (along with childhood friend Greg Hill) of Discordianism. ... Greg Hill (a. ... “Illuminatus” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Book (disambiguation). ... Robert Joseph Shea (1933 - March 10, 1994) was the co-author (with Robert Anton Wilson) of The Illuminatus! Trilogy. ... Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson or RAW (January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was a prolific American novelist, essayist, philosopher, psychologist, futurologist, anarchist, and conspiracy theory researcher. ...

Definition and usage

The Illuminatus! Trilogy

Main article: The Illuminatus! Trilogy

In these novels, the interjection "fnord" is given hypnotic power over the unenlightened. Under the Illuminati program, children, while still in grade school, are taught to be unable to consciously see the word "fnord". For the rest of their lives, every appearance of the word subconsciously generates a feeling of uneasiness and confusion, and prevents rational consideration of the subject. “Illuminatus” redirects here. ... Hypnosis, as defined by the American Psychological Association Division of Psychological Hypnosis, is a procedure during which a health professional or researcher suggests that a client, patient, or experimental participant experience changes in sensations, perceptions, thoughts, or behavior. ... For other uses, see Illuminati (disambiguation). ...

In the Shea/Wilson construct, fnords are scattered liberally in the text of newspapers and magazines, causing fear and anxiety in those following current events. However, there are no fnords in the advertisements, encouraging a consumerist society. It is implied in the books that fnord is not the actual word used for this task, but merely a substitute, since most readers would be unable to see the actual word. Consumerist redirects here. ...

To see the fnords means to be unaffected by the supposed hypnotic power of the word or, more loosely, of other fighting words. The phrase "I have seen the fnords" was famously graffitied on a railway bridge (known locally as Anarchy Bridge) between Earlsdon and Coventry (U.K.) city centre throughout the 1980s and 1990s, until the bridge was upgraded. The bridge and the phrase were mentioned in the novel A Touch of Love by Jonathan Coe. Fnord was also graffitied all over the state of Maine and New England; an interview with one of the writers can be found here [1] The fighting words doctrine, in United States constitutional law, is a limitation to freedom of speech as granted in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution In its 9-0 decision, Chaplinsky v. ... For other uses, see Graffiti (disambiguation). ... Earlsdon library on the High Street Canley Ford, Earlsdon Earlsdon is a suburb of Coventry, England. ... For other uses, see Coventry (disambiguation). ... “UK” redirects here. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

In the John Carpenter movie They Live, the main character discovers a similar conspiracy when hidden conformity messages appearing on billboards, magazines, television, and currency are revealed to those wearing special sunglasses. For other persons named John Carpenter, see John Carpenter (disambiguation). ... They Live is a 1988 film directed by John Carpenter, who also wrote the screenplay under the pseudonym “Frank Armitage”. The movie is based on Ray Nelsons 1963 short story Eight O’Clock in the Morning. ...

Discordianism

"Fnord" is a popular word with followers of Discordianism. It is often used in Usenet and other computer circles to indicate a random or surreal sentence; coercive subtext, or anything jarringly out of context (intentionally or not), can be labelled "fnord". Discordianism is a modern, chaos-centered religion founded circa 1958–1959 by Malaclypse the Younger with the publication of its principal text, the Principia Discordia. ... Usenet (USEr NETwork) is a global, decentralized, distributed Internet discussion system that evolved from a general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name. ...

Other subcultures

The term is also commonly used by hackers and programmers as a metasyntactic variable. It appears in the SubGenius Recruitment film Arise! and has been in use in the SubGenius newsgroup alt.slack.[2] This article is about computer hacking. ... A programmer or software developer is someone who programs computers, that is, one who writes computer software. ... A metasyntactic variable is a placeholder name, or an alias term, commonly used to denote the subject matter under discussion, or an arbitrary member of a class of things under discussion. ... J. R. Bob Dobbs The Church of the SubGenius is a satirical pseudo-religious organization, originally based in Dallas, Texas, which gained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s subculture, with a large presence on the Internet. ...

Popular Culture

In the online parody role playing game the Kingdom of Loathing, when one acquires 23 of one item at a time, the word FNORD appears in white text after the game message. As the browser background is also white, it is virtually invisible unless highlighted, adding to the joke of the "conspiracy". This article is about traditional role-playing games. ... Kingdom of Loathing (KoL) is a humorous, browser-based, multiplayer role playing game designed and operated by Asymmetric Publications, including creator Zack Jick Johnson and writer Josh Mr. ... The number 23 appears in the practice of numerology. ...

See also

• Culture of fear
• Fear, uncertainty and doubt

Culture of fear is a term proposed in a variety of sociological theses, which argue that feelings of fear and anxiety predominate in contemporary public discourse and relationships, changing how we relate to one another as individuals and as democratic agents. ... Fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) is a sales or marketing strategy of disseminating negative (and vague) information on a competitors product. ...

References and further reading

Books

• The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, ISBN 1-56731-237-3 (Hardback collected edition) & ISBN 1-85487-574-4 (Paperback collected edition)
• The Golden Apple by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, ISBN 0-440-53981-1
• Schrödinger's Cat by Robert Anton Wilson, ISBN 0-440-50070-2

“Illuminatus” redirects here. ... Robert Joseph Shea (1933 - March 10, 1994) was the co-author (with Robert Anton Wilson) of The Illuminatus! Trilogy. ... Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson or RAW (January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was a prolific American novelist, essayist, philosopher, psychologist, futurologist, anarchist, and conspiracy theory researcher. ... Robert Joseph Shea (1933 - March 10, 1994) was the co-author (with Robert Anton Wilson) of The Illuminatus! Trilogy. ... Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson or RAW (January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was a prolific American novelist, essayist, philosopher, psychologist, futurologist, anarchist, and conspiracy theory researcher. ... Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson or RAW (January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was a prolific American novelist, essayist, philosopher, psychologist, futurologist, anarchist, and conspiracy theory researcher. ...

External links

• Fnord-l Archives
• An excerpt from The Golden Apple, dealing with fnords
• Steve Jackson Games: Fnorder, a program for generating "fnord" sentences
• "A Short Discourse on the Ancient and Accepted Discordian Practice of Fnording Dollar Bills" Ol' Sam, U:M, PS!, A/B.