of Mount Fuji.

The original email said that the fireworks had been intended for the 2020 Olympics opening

ceremony that had been canceled due to the pandemic and so Japan decided to share them

anyway.

It's such a great story, and they really are impressive fireworks.

And that might have been the end of it… except, something felt off to me.

Actually, a number of things felt off to me, and that's what gave me pause.

Which is the point of this whole video: Pause.

Verb.

“To stop temporarily… for the purpose of deliberation, or on account of doubt or

uncertainty.”

And I think that in our super-connected, internet-fueled world, the art of the pause is of utmost importance.

So what gave me pause with that fireworks video?

Well, first, it was forwarded to me in an email that had clearly already been forwarded

multiple times and had no clear original source, no record of who or when it came from.

And then I remembered that the olympics and most live stuff on TV usually has those little

watermarks showing it's the olympics or saying what network you're watching - and

this video didn't and again there was no record of who or where it came from, when

there SHOULD have been.

And then I noticed the music in the video is the well-known and very European William

Tell Overture… which would be an unusual choice for Japan, as olympic host countries

typically like to feature their own cultural heritage.

And then I realized that this fireworks display wouldn't actually work very well from a

stadium, where olympics opening ceremonies (and their fireworks) tend to be held.

And then I realized there are firework designs and colors in there that I've never ever

seen in real life.

And there doesn't seem to be any smoke?

And finally, this is exactly the kind of feel-good story that pulls at your heartstrings (and

that marketers and influencers know pulls at your heartstrings).

I don't know which of these things first gave me pause (though I suspect it was because

it was a multiple-times-forwarded email of unknown origin), but once I paused, the observations

all came spilling out.

There are four pieces to a good pause: First, noticing the impulse to pause - it will be

weak, and faint, just a niggling doubt or a tentative question at the back of your mind.

Notice it!

Second, heeding that urge, and actually pausing.

Before you react, whether in delight, or anger, or simply passing by and going on with your

life (which is itself a reaction) - pause.

to give yourself a moment to think.

Third is the pause itself - the “deliberation on account of doubt or uncertainty”.

This part can be short, or long - that's up to you, and to the reason for your pause,

though you probably don't want it to be too long.

In the case of the fireworks, it took me a single google search of “Japan Mt Fuji Fireworks”

to bring up an associated press article about how the fireworks were confirmed to be a computer

simulation by a representative of the company that made the simulation software, and how

the video was originally posted to youtube as early as 2015.

Your pause, your deliberation, might take less time, or more What evidence is needed

to assess the claim?, or you might decide you don't care enough to deliberate and

you just want to get on with your life.

Which brings us to Fourth: What happens after the pause.

What you do with the results of your deliberation (whatever they are).

Maybe instead of speaking out in anger you remain quiet.

Maybe instead of going quietly on with your life you get righteously angry.

Maybe you remain just as delighted as before.

Here are two recent lighthearted moments where I paused:

First: an article mentioned in passing that soap operas are called that because they were

originally sponsored by soap manufacturers.

Which sounds too good to be true, so I paused.

But quick searches of a number of reliable sources confirm it IS true and intimately

connected with the origins of modern American-style marketing.

So I'll pass along the factoid to you!

The “Soap” in “soap opera” does, in fact, refer to soap.

My second pause: a tweet about how the ingredient “eye of newt” (famously used as a witchcraft

ingredient in Shakespeare's Macbeth) was actually just a code name for a common kitchen

spice which I'm not going to share here because… you'll see why.

I thought “wow, that's so cool, I never knew that” and then immediately… “it

sounds too perfect…” and “wait, this website looks a bit weird…”

I paused.

And then spent five hours trying to find original sources to confirm or deny the quoted fact.

And I couldn't find any - I mean, I did find some awesome sixteenth century herbalist

books that tell you about all the ailments you can cure with cabbage good for they that

see not well, and for the trembling of the members, and lots of plants are named for

resemblances to animals, but the articles and blog posts I found that claim that '“eye

of newt” is a code word' are mostly personal blogs (rather than established, reputable

institutions), and none of them cited any sources for their claims except (if anything)

other internet blogs.

In fact, they all seem to share a similar list of “secret witchcraft code words”

copied over and over.

It's possible their lists are similar because they're based in truth, or maybe parts are

correct and parts aren't.

Or maybe it's all made up.

I couldn't figure it out.

So if you have a primary source that confirms “eye of newt” was (or wasn't) a code

word for mustard seed, please let me know.

This is all a bit carefree, but I'm sure you can think of plenty of more serious and

consequential claims being made online.

And because they pull at our heartstrings or stoke our anger, it's easy to believe

them and act based on them, because we WANT to.

I mean, the examples in this video were all shared with me by very smart, thoughtful people.

The person who sent me the fireworks email, I know, was sending it to brighten my day.

And the point of the pause is not to be a buzzkill or a “well actually”, but rather,

to allow ourselves not to get caught up in manufactured or manipulative buzz and spread

it.

To give ourselves a moment before we jump into action - to make sure it's the action

we actually want to take.

The pause is a superpower of modern life - it's the second chance, the extra life, the opportunity

to act not reflexively on first impressions, but thoughtfully upon something closer to

the truth.

It gives you a moment when you get to decide which alternate history of the universe you'd

like to be in: the one where you react like you'd been about to before you paused, or

where you react differently.

Oh yeah - and you don't want to be pausing all the time, and questioning EVERYTHING you

hear in the world around you.

That would be exhausting and impossible.

But your pause-detector can be quietly on in the background a lot of the time without

affecting your daily life.

Here are some tips for things that set off my pause-detector:

Is it a forwarded email with the original senders removed, or a screenshot with the

source removed, or a social media post with no original source, or really anything that

has an unclear source?

Or: is it too good to be true?

Does it pull at my heartstrings?

Does it make me super angry?

Does it try to convince me to NOT be angry, and to be complacent?

Is it something that supports my worldview but comes from an unknown or unvetted source?

Is it a really cool super awesome incredible unbelievable story?

Pause.

In particular I pause - even just briefly - if something is emotionally powerful.

Marketers and propagandists know that inciting emotions is a powerful tool.

And so do good storytellers, and good leaders!

Inspiring an emotional response isn't intrinsically good or bad, but if I notice someone or something

is getting me to react emotionally, I take a moment to pause - and decide if I want to

continue allowing that emotional inspiration into my life, or not.

Ok, so we've got a sponsor that's a REALLY good match for this video: GiveWell, the non-profit

that researches & vets other charities for you.

In particular, GiveWell searches out the non-profits that immediately and directly benefit or save

the most peoples' lives for the least money, like health & economic programs in developing

countries.

You can look at GiveWell's full charity recommendation list on their website, and

you can also give directly to those charities (or to a fund directed to the current top

choices) through GiveWell; 100% of your donation goes to the charities.

On top of that, Givewell is matching donations from first time donors dollar for dollar up

to 250 dollars.

Click on the link in the description to donate and be sure to use fundraiser code minutephysics

at checkout to make sure your donation gets matched.

Again, that's fundraiser code minutephysics and your donation to GiveWell recommended

charities will get matched up to 250 dollars.