Tagging Ben

It started when I recently posted a picture on Facebook  of my folks and brother Scott when he was a child. I was startled to see that Facebook tagged my father, who died almost ten years ago and was never a Facebook user, as my nephew, Ben. Granted, Dad in the picture and Ben currently are within several years of the same age but to my way of thinking, look nothing alike. I was curious as several times Facebook has misidentified me as Scott so I scrolled through some of my pictures. What I found was hysterical at times. Facebook friends of mine in Vietnam who are brother and sister are often confused. Sometimes, Facebook identifies only one person in a picture although there are seven or eight of my Facebook friends in the picture with clear views of their faces. My high school cousin from Arkansas was mistaken for a twenty-five year old in  my Vietnamese church. My favorite though remains a twelve year old Vietnamese girl who was tagged as the mid sixties lady whose daughter in law is the sister of someone I used to date.... and the lady is not a FB friend of mine. I had to find her on the search bar and while both are lovely ladies, the fifty plus year age gap and different races calls into question the process. (That's the twelve year old, one of the favorites of all my trips. I'm edited out of the shot but it's the one I spoke of above.)

Look, I'm not knocking Facebook. You can't get a clear answer on google of the algorithm they use for facial recognition. I find they're usually correct and often it helps me realize who someone is who I have not seen since childhood or as teenagers. Back a few years, I had identical twins in class, the lovely Annie and Emily. I could not tell them apart except for the desks they occupied. And yet, when I looked at their Facebook posts tonight- I am friends with both of them- they are tagged in each picture in which they both appear. I would be fascinated to ask Emily and Annie if Facebook is accurate when it comes to their tags. If they miss by fifty plus years, different ethnicities, and opposite genders, I have my doubts!

On some things, I'm not very discerning. I can't tell Hellman's from Miracle Whip. I can't differentiate between Starbucks and the Walmart off the shelf brand. ( I got some Keurig Cups for Christmas and I love the convenience! But the description of one of the flavors is  A snappy, crisp, and citrusy Central American coffee matched with the sweetness, body, and depth of an Indonesian bean and I say 'huh?' Thank goodness the Lord can tell one of us from another! Look at what David wrote in Psalm 139!
For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
You created me... you knit me together... I am fearfully and wonderfully made...I was made in the secret place.... I was woven together ... your eyes saw my informed body...
God knows me! And you! And your identical twin sister! And all six billion of us! We won't get lost in the human shuffle. He know us and loves us, and most importantly, He died for us no matter what we look like now or as infants. That's His mark on all of us.

Applicable quote of the day:
"Stop Tagging Me to Your Posts, I Have Enough Posts in My Life to Care for … Tagging is a Ridiculous Feature.” 
― Sami Abouzid

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail mail me at steve at hawleybooks.com