Promoting Science and Critical Thinking
In Professor Richard Wiseman’s latest book, Paranormality, he suggests that it is very easy for so-called psychics to give highly accurate readings. Later, in the back of the same book, he gives an example that can be utilized to convince complete strangers that you can read their aura (or some other similar medium babble) and demonstrate that your apparent psychic powers are real, because you know all about them.
OK then, lets put that to the test here and now.
“Sara Palin is Nuts” – Many of us have know it for quite some time, so it is no surprise, but … now here comes the truly funny bit … she has been off on Tours of various sites, and for her latest boondoggle to some far-flung place she would probably not be able to identify on a map, she told Christina Lamb in the Sunday Times:
I am going to Sudan in July and hope to stop in England on the way. I am just hoping Mrs Thatcher is well enough to see me as I so admire her.
I guess I can understand her desire for such a meeting, as the keeper of the Ronald Regan flame, self appointed of course, it fits in quite well with her political agenda. However, when presented with the idea, Thatcher’s aids are quoted as saying:
Lady Thatcher will not be seeing Sarah Palin. That would be belittling for Margaret. Sarah Palin is nuts.
You can read the original report about this here, and then you can enjoy the frothing and foaming it generated within the right-wing kook camp here.
I’ve been up since 4am .. (don’t ask, no really don’t ask), and so like many in similar circumstances, I’ve had a cup of coffee which was then followed by breakfast that more or less consisted of another cup of coffee. Then later another and again another. Right now I’m about to have extra-strong brew. So, while I might indeed be tired, I’m also buzzing, and will no doubt crash later.
What is news, for me anyway, is that apparently, if I look out the window, I just might catch a glimpse of a few pink unicorns or a pig flying past. Why? well according to the news out from a study in Australia, coffee is apparently a hallucinogen and so when taking a coffee break, I am also setting myself up to take a break from reality … or at least so screams some headlines today. For example, the UK’s Daily Mail claims, “Drinking Coffee can make you hear voices“. Since its the Daily Mail, then it just must be true, right? … er perhaps not, so lets take a closer look, brush away the hype and see what this is actually all about.
There is a belief that the only means to truly help those faced with an addiction is through the intervention of a deity. An example of this would be Catholic priests such as Fr. Pete Watters (here). He has been sober for 50 years and claims that only through belief in a higher power has it been possible to overcome his addiction and remain sober.
One little flaw … the belief that only a deity can help is not true.
I’ve been having some online fun today by playing my usual game of “debate the believers”. Now, least you ponder the thought, “Whats the point?”, well I have a couple of reasons. First its entertaining, especially when they come out with some jaw-dropping insanity that leaves me rolling on the floor, but also because I find that it can be educational for myself. Often I need to look into something to get the facts, unlike the believers who can simply parrot the made-up facts they buy into, and so I learn new stuff and gain new insights. Sometimes I find that I might have been wrong about something, and so I learn something new and change my mind.
The earlier blog posting (here) regarding the faith healing cult that refuses all medical care for their children prompts me to now step back and think about the entire faith healing concept. Of all the possible spiritual gifts that religious folks claim, this one is perhaps the best hope for yielding solid proof that a spiritual realm really exists outside our current understanding of reality. Many of those who attend healing crusades have officially diagnosed illnesses, so all that is needed is a quick trip back to the doctor to verify that the illness has now vanished. If looking for solid proof, don’t just go for something vague such as back pain. Instead look for something dramatic and very easily verified such as a blind man who can now see, or somebody who turned up in a wheelchair and then walked out.