All is fair in Love and Treasure Hunts

All is fair in love and war.

One of the greatest tricks ever played on the world occurred in war, during the Desert Storm War of 1991. General “Stormin Norman” Schwarzkopf was out numbered and needed an advantage to ensure success. He staged a huge naval exercise in the Gulf waters off of Kuwait in what was anticipated as a World War II style naval landing. The Iraqis fell for it and moved their forces to defend against a sea assault, as the general used a “left hook” manoeuvre to out flank them and won the battle with ease. In the aftermath the media felt used and most people had bruised egos for their called General Schwarzkopf a poor tactician for leaking his plan to the media. However, Stormin Norman was one step ahead of everyone and purposely set up the media to fool the Iraqis and ultimately the world.

So why is it that the world, but more importantly the Iraqis fell for this trick? I mean from a military strategy, the D-day style attack was an antiquated strategy and a very high-risk manoeuvre especially if the enemy anticipates it. It should only be used under secrecy as a surprise element, yet General Schwarzkopf was telling the world what his strategy was, seemingly appearing as a star truck media hound. The battlefield tactics had modernized to the point that this kind of strategy seemed almost like suicide. Yet the world bit hard into it.

The media can be a powerful tool, the power of suggestion and momentum are psychological ploys that worked in this instance. The media had never been given such access to a battlefield before and some thought this would endanger soldier’s lives, but the strategy all along was to psych-out the Iraqi army and by doing so Stormin Norman had to fool the world.

At the same time frame "The greatest trick ever played" occurred, Forrest Fenn was deciding how create a masterful treasure hunt. I wonder how Stormin Norman influenced the development of his chase?

Certainly after 65,000 searchers ranging from the brilliant to master outdoorsmen combined with five years of cooperative effort to solve the poem should have produced the ultimate prize. However two clues and maybe So is there some kind of trick that is so fundamental to the chase that it prevents our psyche from penetrating the mental barrier?

When Mr. Fenn said, “Not all is what it seems,” certainly should give pause in our rationale, but can it really be done? The fact is, searcher’s minds are so invested into their own methodology. To abandon "rational" thinking to entertain the possibility of such a trick is virtually impossible. Any suggestion to question Mr. Fenn’s words will automatically trigger Goofy’s “nuke button” and get you booted off Dal’s blog for suggesting such blasphemy.

Perhaps Fenn counted on that. Maybe he set the chase up in such a manner that searchers were meant to fail first try. Maybe the stories of Yellowstone, fishing and Vietnam were all just advertisements for the “D-day landing,” while he carefully planted a “left-hook” strategy to disguise the chest’s location.

Since this is a treasure hunt and declaring that he won’t purposely mislead searchers was the key ingredient to this whole chase. All the fact he has given was designed in such a manner that we naturally form a mental paradigm limiting our thought process inventory.

For example, Fenn says he walked "less than a few miles to hide the treasure chest” and that there is no human trail near by. This kind of “Fenn fact” has been bitten into hard by many a searcher’s mind to mean he ploughed deep through dense bush where no human has ever gone. But wait, what if we resist that mental picture he purposely planted and look at it factually. Less than a few miles can mean 30 feet and human trail can physically be only a footpath designed for humans only thus including cars as an option. He has said only an 85 year old man can go so why can’t he just literally walk out 30 feet?

Does he really want that bracelet back, or is that just part of the great illusion?

Will the masses feel misled or is this a case of all is fair in love and treasure hunts?

April is Cancer month in Canada, you can support cancer research by donating directly to The Wolf's Cancer Donation Fund

Or purchasing my book Finding Forrest Fenn and learn more about the Fenn illusion. All sales go directly to the Canadian Cancer Society as per the above