Dan Galazka

Retired District Principal, Volunteer, Father of 2 very active boys. techno weenie wanna be.

[Dr. Sean Mullen @drseanmullen]

Shock Doctrine, the OODA Loop, and the Cognitive Paralysis of a Nation

There’s a reason everything feels like chaos right now. It’s not an accident—it’s a strategy.

What Trump and his enablers are doing is straight out of the Shock Doctrine playbook: create relentless crises, overload people’s capacity to process events, and then exploit the confusion to consolidate power. The goal? Keep the public in a reactive, disoriented state—so exhausted that they stop resisting.

In military and police strategy, we talk about the OODA Loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act). It’s how people process and respond to fast-moving situations. If you can disrupt an opponent’s OODA Loop—by overwhelming them with uncertainty, false information, or sheer unpredictability—you gain control. They hesitate, freeze, and become incapable of effective action.

As a cognitive scientist, I see the exact same thing happening at a societal level. This kind of sustained chaos hijacks our mental bandwidth, creating a state similar to learned helplessness—except instead of giving up after repeated failure, people stop resisting because they don’t even know where to begin. Every day brings a new scandal, a new outrage, a new existential crisis. The brain’s natural response? Shut down.

Here’s the key: once people stop believing their actions matter, the game is lost. That’s the whole point.

So what do we do?
- Recognize the strategy. Naming the tactic strips it of its power.
- Refuse to be reactionary. If we let them control our attention, they control the battlefield.
- Prioritize, focus, and act with intent. We can’t fight everything at once, but we can choose our battles wisely.
- Support real accountability. Don’t just follow the outrage cycle—demand consequences where they matter.

This is not about politics. It’s about psychological warfare. And the moment we see it for what it is, we stop playing their game.

Let’s break the loop.

#ShockDoctrine #CognitiveWarfare #OODA #ResistDisorientation

@DALupton @ChrisCuomo

[CALL TO ACTIVISM @CalltoActivism]

Years ago, anthropologist Margaret Mead was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture.

The student expected Mead to talk about fishhooks or clay pots or grinding stones.

But no.

Mead said that the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture was a femur (thighbone) that had been broken and then healed. Mead explained that in the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die.

You cannot run from danger, get to the river for a drink or hunt for food. You are meat for prowling beasts. No animal survives a broken leg long enough for the bone to heal.

A broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone has taken time to stay with the one who fell, has bound up the wound, has carried the person to safety and has tended the person through recovery.

Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts, Mead said."
We are at our best when we serve others.

Be civilized.

Credit: Ira Byock.

[BC 1A Boys Basketball @BC1ABoysBBall]

Matchups are ready to go! See everyone shortly for a great tournament

[BC School Sports @BCSchoolSports]

Last BCSS Boys Basketball rankings of the 2022-23 season as we anticipate the Provincial Championships next week!

*Note that these are not the Provincial Championship rankings. They are to be announced this Sunday on our YouTube at 3:30pm on the official Seeding Show!

[Steve Ewen @SteveEwen]

B.C. School Sports calls foul on Kitsilano hoops' eligibility issue being administrative error https://t.co/31q6vVRg71

[Mark Lloyd @HeadteacherTips]

This is our school’s ‘Quality Teaching and Learning Framework’ which I created to support coaches to give feedback to colleagues.

[B.C. Council for Exceptional Children @BCCouncilforEx1]

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved colleague, Jennifer Tong, on Aug. 24. Jen is the founding member of the BCCEC and had been involved with the CEC at the national & international level. She will be greatly missed.

[Dan Galazka @dangalazka]

@ryan_borucki Merry Christmas to all your family and welcome back to the hinterland

[Ryan Borucki @ryan_borucki]

under construction ⚠️ see you in ‘22…

[Vancouver Fire Rescue Services @VanFireRescue]

Vancouver Fire Rescue Services has been a proud supporter of @campignitebc since 2010! We are excited to sponsor Maddy seen here with ATO Dawkins and ATO Potter! We are looking forward to meeting everyone August 14th for day one of this year’s program.

#campignite2021

[Ryan Borucki @ryan_borucki]

See y’all soon 🙏🏻🙏🏻🇨🇦

[George Takei @GeorgeTakei]

Overheard: “The irony of antivaxers saying they don’t want to be part of an experiment without realizing they are now the control group."

[Tamara Taggart @tamarataggart]

Currently at 4th and Quebec.
911 has been called.

[Debbie K Mah @debbiemah]

Our daughter’s books arrived! So cool to see the finished product & the detailed rep of our family. Beautiful story, scenes, & illustrations! Kids & adults will love the simple text, vivid colours, & diversity! #familyliteracy #diversity #ChildrensBooks #kidlit #yxj #edchat #bced

[Fast Company @FastCompany]

"Our brains like the complexity bias so much, it gives us an 'out,' so to speak, to avoid doing something." https://t.co/CdUdDBCNJl

[Vancouver Canadians @vancanadians]

🔁 RT if you think we should bring back these uniforms 👀🔥

1951 Vancouver Capilanos Team photo — 70 years of baseball #AtTheNat

📷 David Eskenazi Collection

[Ryan Borucki @ryan_borucki]

fired up for this weekend 🚂

[CityNews Vancouver @CityNewsVAN]

Dr. Bonnie Henry says restrictions around youth sports could be loosened by the end of April — but that’s only “if things go well” https://t.co/KJSLZ5Ynie

[University of British Columbia @UBC]

Dr. Adam Lund is working with Netflix to keep the cameras rolling in B.C.’s film and TV industry. https://t.co/ONHM7yKAVY

[University of British Columbia @UBC]

COVID-19 safety plans are critical to film and TV sets — Dr. Adam Lund helps to create them. https://t.co/ONHM7yKAVY