Because it’s Monday, folks. It’s so very Monday.
***
Ben Mezrich, an author famous for the books that were turned into the movies 21 (about MIT students counting cards) and The Social Network (about the founding of Facebook), believes in UFOs. Which, being technical, is an odd thing to believe. Technically what he believes in is the extra-terrestrial origin of UFOs, but either way, not exactly mainstream. In a recent TEDx talk (like TED talks, but with even higher levels of truthiness) he explained why. Or, he tried to.
What you’re about to watch is a peculiar string of non-sequiturs: from cattle mutilations to Bigelow Aerospace to Roswell, New Mexico, he spins an entertaining yarn with (perhaps unsurprisingly) few actual facts. It’s all in the name of promoting his latest book (one I look forward to reading, actually, because again: entertainment), called “The 37th Parallel: The Secret Truth Behind America’s UFO Highway” (now available on Amazon!). Anyway, it’s charming, if filled with common misconceptions, unverified rumors, and logical leaps that would make an avid viewer of Ancient Aliens shout “drink!”
Happy Monday, everyone.
***
Thanks for reading! Except for the very *very* occasional tip (we take Venmo now!), I only get paid in my own (and your) enthusiasm, so please like This Week In Tomorrow on Facebook, follow me on Twitter @TWITomorrow, and tell your friends about the site!
***
Richard Ford Burley is a human, writer, and doctoral candidate at Boston College, as well as Deputy Managing Editor at Ledger, the first academic journal devoted to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In his spare time he writes about science, skepticism, feminism, and futurism here at This Week In Tomorrow.