Lightning in February
Yesterday, I saw lightning.
It’s not that incredible to see lightning but yesterday was strange as it was winter and the ground was still covered in snow. This was a first for me and likely a first for many people around me.
Two decades ago, there would be no way to corroborate this sighting except by meticulously sorting through recordings of radio broadcasts, calling weather stations, or going through TiVo recordings of live TV to see if something was mentioned.
Now, one can go on X, look at Google News or YouTube, and very quickly surmise that one was not crazy. It’s only after realizing that one can actually search this information and get results that answer questions about things that happened just down the street that one can appreciate how much better it is now for not being in the dark.
On the other side, having so much information flowing in can help us decipher folklore from reality. There are still many phenomena to uncover in the natural world but most people in the world have a smart phone. So some non-generated ball lightning videos? Big foot? Nessie? There is image stabilization, megapixels, and instant upload. Just a clear photo please. Something that can’t be debunked by Corridor Crew.
Soon, we’ll be at the next tipping point where because we have access to so much information, we won’t be able to believe anything. In the meantime, most video captured isn’t fake and if there’s a weird natural phenomenon to be captured, now’s the time to do it — or forever be doubted.
