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DISTRACTATHON 2020! Let’s Fall Down a Rabbithole

So a couple of weeks ago I sort of touched on this, when discussing what websites you frequent for fun, but this is sort of a different subject because it’s not so much about what specific sites you visit as what subjects grab you.

I saw a meme the other day that made me laugh; it basically said the curse of being a writer is that everything in the world is so interesting. This is definitely an issue for me. I can spend hours hunting for info and reading about subjects that are not only not things I need to know, but are things almost no one really needs to know. In fairness, a lot of it is research for worldbuilding or story/character/plot points, but much of it springs from that, too, and leads me down avenues that make the Hubs either shake his head in amusement or worry that I’m going to kill him in his sleep and dispose of the body.

Of course, some of it is useful/helpful/not just me, too. I visit a lot of skeptic sites; I especially enjoy What’s the Harm, a site about the perils of turning to what’s known as “woo” instead of actual medical treatment. Sadly, the site isn’t updated often (or isn’t updated anymore), and some of the links are dead…but of course, me being me, I just Google the people mentioned o I can read the story anyway. (This often leads me back to true crime and missing persons, which, of course, is a whole ‘nother rabbit hole down which I can and do fall.)

I’ve mentioned here before my interest in mountain climbing, especially Everest (though I also like stories of K2, which is slightly shorter than Everest but much more dangerous and deadly, and there’s a documentary on the Eiger that I watched several times but I can’t find a good version of it on YouTube anymore).

My latest rabbit hole is deserted islands/islands in general; whenever I have the chance lately I’ve been sneaking over to spend half an hour or so on websites about Pitcairn Island (and the Pitcairns in general), where about 50 people live. If you want to become one of them, you just fill out an application and write a letter to the Island Council, and if you’re approved they give you a plot of land (upon which you then must pay to build a home and such, but still…free land! On a tropical island! It is such a lovely thing to dream about, isn’t it? Even though there are really no beaches on Pitcairn island–well, there’s one, apparently, but the rest of the coast is cliffs. Pretty much everyone who lives there is a descendant of the Bounty mutineers, and they apparently still celebrate the mutiny there annually (you can dive the Bounty, too; it’s still there, just off the shore). Their website mentions hoping to increase the island’s population to 80 through immigration.

This latest hole has also led me to the Galapagos Islands, especially Floreana, and the whole “Galapagos Affair.” of course, I had the documentary on my Netflix watchlist ever since it came out, and now that I finally want to actually watch it it’s no longer available there, sigh. He who will not when he may, and all. (I did find this interesting website, with a number of personal accounts and stories, of which this one seems truthful and amusing and this one, which appears to be from a type of cheesy sensationalist magazine is obviously total bullshit. I haven’t had time to look at most of them, because of course I am actually working and such.

Oh, and I mustn’t forget to mention the hoax of “Facilitated Communication,” which was touted for a while as a breakthrough in communicating with non-verbal autistic people or other non-verbal people in general. Initially everyone thought they’d change the way autism was viewed and studied–it seemed that rather than being neurological, autism was purely physical–because as soon as a “facilitator” started helping, autistic people were typing out full and complete sentences, deep thoughts, writing stories, etc. Unfortunately, many of the stories began to involve horrible accusations of abuse (sexual and otherwise) aimed at the parents and caregivers of the patients–and those accusations were at first believed. The result was that families were torn apart, parents lost everything fighting for their innocence, and lives were basically destroyed, all over something that the most basic blind studies showed was a total and complete hoax. (Several years ago I was able to read an essay called, “Facilitated Communication–What harm it can do: Confessions of a former facilitator,” by Janyce Boynton, the facilitator in a high-profile “facilitated communication” sex abuse-charges case, but I can’t find it available outside of a paywall now, which makes me sad because it was an excellent essay.) I’d say once a year or so I look for it or for any new info or stories about the practice, which some still champion, though every year it falls further out of favor. (The subject reminds me a bit of the 80s “Satanic Panic,” and the McMartin trial, which is another rabbit-hole down which I fell a few years ago.)

I have always found failed medical and/or psychological theories/devices/practices/etc. really, really interesting. Someone comes up with a new theory, everyone jumps on the bandwagon and insists that this is the way of the future, this is the truth and the way forward, and then boom–it’s discovered that no, in fact, this was totally wrong and people are being dreadfully, often permanently harmed. (Like, there was a doctor a hundred years or so ago who decided that the large intestine was the source of all ill health, and that if it was simply removed, everyone would be wonderfully healthy. He performed a number of colectomies before it was realized that no, actually, people do need those colons, oops!

So what are your rabbit-holes? What are the subjects that have basically nothing to do with your daily life but which for some reason you find really interesting, and can spend hours reading about or watching videos about? Or am I just a weirdo, and most people don’t find themselves stumbling across some obscure story or subject and end up devoting hours and hours to reading everything they can about it even though they know the information will pretty much never be useful to them in any way?

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I love you all. Stay safe, everyone! We’re almost through this, I think (I hope)!


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