PBS Idea Channel

If There Are No Pics, Did It Happen? (4x29)

Air date: Aug 12, 2015

Pics Or It Didn't Happen! Pictures are the gold standard by which we measure all evidence and happenings. With sites like Facebook, Imgur, and the king of all ‘pics’ - Instagram, having taken the place of disposable cameras of the past, the method remains the same: unveiling a photo of proof for all to see. But do we put too much stock in how ‘provable’ photos really are? On this weeks episode of Idea Channel, Mike looks to question the phenomenon that is “pics or it didn’t happen”. Are pics absolute proof? Or are we just convincing ourselves of everything we see?