My post about the Denver airport murals just hit 666 comments

I made a thread here six months ago trying to have a normal talk about the weird art in that airport. It was just a simple question about the artist's intent. The comment count sat at 665 for a week, and then someone posted a rant about blue mustangs. That pushed it to 666. Now the whole thread is full of people arguing if the number is a joke or a real sign. It's kind of funny how a random number can make people see a pattern that wasn't there before. Has a small detail ever completely taken over one of your debates?

2 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

2 Comments

johnb954mo ago

Patterns are real things we can measure, not just random noise. That number has a known meaning to a lot of people, so seeing it pop up in a thread about creepy art is a valid signal. It's way too big a coincidence to ignore. The whole point of that art is to make people talk and question things, and the comment count just proves it's working. You can't just write off every weird detail as a joke.

2

kelly.parker4mo ago

I mean, I get what you're saying about patterns, but calling a comment count a "valid signal" feels like a stretch. That number could mean anything or nothing at all, it's just a number on a screen. Our brains are built to find connections, even when they aren't really there. Maybe it's just me, but I see it as a coincidence that got people talking, which was the point of the art anyway. Writing it off as a joke might be too simple, but so is treating it like a hidden message.

8