The Society of The Blind Eye

Gravity Falls Inspired Profiles in Analytics

This is our 13th and final strange profile from Gravity Falls… unless they bring the series back, then all bets are off. We end our tales with a profile of the most sinister organization the series had to offer. The Society of the Blind Eye is a cautionary tale in analytics.

There is, it seems, an overwhelming urge in analytics to build a unique model or tool and then go bat-sh!t crazy overusing and overestimating it. Enter the financial modelers of Enron and Long-term Capital Management or the climate modelers behind Global Climate Change (yes, I went there). Put too much faith in a model and band things WILL happen.

Gravity Falls gives us the Society of the Blind Eye. They are over invested in the Mind Eraser, an invention of Fiddleford McGucket. The Mind Eraser is a bit more tangible than our prior examples — but then some models are, Blackberry anyone? Didn’t think so…

It Always Starts With The Best of Intentions

We can beat the market, save the planet, make a lot of money, have a lot of fun, or forget all of our problems. All we need to do is embrace a revolutionary piece of analysis and modeling… and totally forget the discipline that created it. Or in the words of Blind Ivan:

“As you have no doubt discovered, Gravity Falls is a town plagued with supernatural strangeness. No one knew how to stop the things that went bump in the night, so our founder invented the next best thing: a way for us to forget. We took it upon ourselves to help the troubled townsfolk by erasing the memories of the strange things they’ve seen. Now the people of Gravity Falls go about their lives ignorant and happy, thanks to us. And as a perk, we help ourselves forget things that trouble us. Everyone has something they’d rather forget.“

It seems benign enough. Heck, a memory eraser is a fantastic concept that could have some truly wonderful uses in the treatment of trauma… emphasis on could. Gravity Falls shows us the dark side. Over use, unintended consequences, loss of history, loss of principle — it is a quick path to disaster.

Soon your organization goes from ‘Kings of the Universe’ to massive disaster. Best case is bankruptcy and irrelevance. Worst case is sinister cult like religion. Gravity Falls delivers the latter, requiring our small band of benefit deniers to finally right the ship.

Inevitable Transformation

The writers also deliver a final component to the story line — transformation. It isn’t always perfect, but these events are great learning experiences. Our intrepid heroes learn a lot about the history of their town. They get confirmation of many of their hypotheses. And although they can’t undo all the damage, they put things back on a solid path.

The Telecom lords of 2000 left plenty of King Bandwidth to fuel the new economy. Enron opened the eyes of investors and changed the energy industry. LTCM began a slower process, but then derivatives are a very obscure subject. New infatuations will surely bare some unintended fruit once we realize their folly.

A Note On Folly -

Aside from taking things too far, Gravity Falls delivers on the principle flaws in all of these models.

the myth — if a little is good, more is better

the myth — it is all different now (or under appreciating history)

failure to note that prioritization has been compromised

the myth — science means we can monkey with nature

the myth — slippery slopes and unintended consequences are nonsense (overused perhaps… but quite real)

Closing Thoughts

Never delete time series.

Never embrace ignorance over frustration.

Never tattoo labels on your face.

Never let Mabel name you.

Always cast Patrick Stewart in any comedy, if at all possible.

Revisit Gravity Falls whenever the opportunity presents

Thanks for reading!

…See you next summer?!?