Infowars host and noted conspiracy theorist Alex Jones had social media users scratching their heads after he claimed the invention of the calculator was designed to "enslave" humans.
A calculator is typically a small electronic device with a keyboard and a visual display used for making mathematical calculations. They've no doubt made lives easier for billions but according to Jones, they were designed to implement "pure centralization and control."
This is a ludicrous statement for anyone with common sense because while over-reliance on calculators can potentially foster an unwillingness or inability to perform basic arithmetic, they are valuable tools that do faciliate learning and are far and away from the insidious bogeyman Jones made them out to be.
You can hear what he said in the video below.
\u201cAlex Jones explains that the globalists began their enslavement of the human race by inventing the calculator.\u201dโ Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1673459516
Jones said:
"By high school, they let us use calculators and I loved it because I got my homework done in 30 minutes in the math subject area instead of two hours."
"And now today when I try to remember math or do math, and I was never that good at it, I was bad at it, I know less than when I was 11 years old, 10 years old, and I know all of you are pretty much the same, aren't you?"
"It's all automated, it's all so simple but it's enslaving us, it is destroying us and the whole future is going to be getting away from this. It's not that technology's bad but the way it's designed and implemented is for pure centralization and control."
Why Jones decided to condemn calculators is unclear but one wonders if he is similarly angered by the modern calculator's precursor, the abacus, a calculating tool which has been used since ancient times and continues to be used by merchants, traders and clerks in different parts of the world.
Jones was swiftly mocked for his statements.
\u201cWhy start there? Why not start with the globalist beginning the enslavement of the human race with the written word or the wheel. It's like the Amish. Tech was fine until about the late 18th century.\u201dโ Paul Lambert (@Paul Lambert) 1673579370
\u201cYou know less about EVERYTHING.\u201dโ Judybluetoo (@Judybluetoo) 1673501602
\u201cSooooo, the users of the abacus weren't up to anything hinky before then ??? Not EVER?\u201dโ (((theo williams))) (@(((theo williams)))) 1673535782
\u201cFirst truthful thing Alex Jones has said - he knew more at 11 years old than he knows now.\u201dโ 5G Reptilian Surfing on Chemtrails (@5G Reptilian Surfing on Chemtrails) 1673513803
\u201cPublic transportation is evil because it\u2019s enslaving us into getting somewhere faster.\n\nSearch engines are evil because they enslave us into finding something faster.\n\nUsually right-wing agitprop starts with something that almost makes sense but this? Wyd bro?\u201dโ Jakey (@Jakey) 1673536093
\u201cHe doubtless believes the abacus was a Chinese plot to dominate the earth. When someone invented addition and subtraction, it was all over. \ud83d\ude02\u201dโ Laurence Tribe (@Laurence Tribe) 1673540554
\u201cAlright, so now I presume we need to ban calculators at school? Because they contradict the Bible or something?\u201dโ Mahi (@Mahi) 1673552564
\u201cI knew we should have stuck with the Abacus\u201dโ John Bakator \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7\u2708\ufe0f (@John Bakator \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7\u2708\ufe0f) 1673484527
\u201cOh Gawd it was da calculators dat dun it!\u201dโ SilenceBeDamned\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc99 (@SilenceBeDamned\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc99) 1673476811
Jones' weird claim is only the latest to come out of one of the GOP's most influential mouthpieces.
No word yet on what Jones wants done about the global threat of calculators.