The one that most annoys me is the stuff you see on TV every day. “Kinoki” pads.  Dr. Frank’s holistic medicine for dogs. And so on. All designed to relieve suckers of their money without actually breaking any laws.

Ooh, Oooh!  :raises hand: Me! Me!

Ahem.  The hijacking of quantum theory/mechanics by occultist’s/newagers. 

During my initial stages of rebellion against christianity during my early teenage years I latched onto newage type belief-sets.  I pretty much ran the full gamut of pagan god-belief etc. (Go Loki!  You sexy nordic giant-devil.)  Eventually I stepped away from that and entered the world of the pure occult - of which many adherents claim to be atheist/agnostic, as I claimed to be at that time (as opposed to being the genuine real deal atheist/sceptic/realist that types this now).  You see, it was a way for me to pull away from god-belief yet still keep my ignorant mind placated by keeping the supernatural. 

And this was done by many occultist’ by hijacking quantum physics/ chaos theory and such. 

Heck, just check this out.  http://books.google.com/books?id=5VewAkDw8h0C&pg=PA268&dq=occult+and+quantum+theory#PPA268,M1  (Philosophy of Science and the Occult by Patrick Grim)

And if you haven’t read Quantum Gods by Victor Stenger then you should.  He tackles precisely the things that I am talking about.

Ah, the thinly veiled “What the Bleep do we know” meme. Stupid compounded by ignorant cloaked in woo.

Indeed!  That was just terrible.

Sonny Dee the Notorious - 18 May 2009 12:09 PM

Indeed!  That was just terrible.

“The woo is strong in this one.” [/darth hawking]

Well, you all know theology, where people with the appropriate training interpret the meaning of the bible.  That is a branch of the science of hermeneutics Well my favorite pseudoscience is Daystarology.  That’s when Daystar thinks all the scholars are wrong and he is right and interprets the bible by scribing what his mentally challenged mynah bird whispers in his ear.

john76 - 18 May 2009 12:43 PM

Well, you all know theology, where people with the appropriate training interpret the meaning of the bible.  That is a branch of the science of hermeneutics Well my favorite pseudoscience is Daystarology.  That’s when Daystar thinks all the scholars are wrong and he is right and interprets the bible by scribing what his mentally challenged mynah bird whispers in his ear.

I think you need to check out abovetopsecret.com if you want to see some REALLY special interpretations of The Bronze Age Goat-herders’ Anthology of Campfire Tales.

Hey now, don’t be dissing those Nordic gods. They can get some pretty good results. Although I never care for any ‘cept Thor really. He smites really well. Also, it’s very handy to surprise any monotheistic friends by saying you’re newly agnostic. “Really, then you think God could really exist?” Oh no, not God. Thor. And also, those old time gods have a great thing going for them, in that they’re less unlikely than those monotheistic gods. The pantheistic gods don’t suffer from those “Infinite” things, such as omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent. “Why didn’t Thor help you then?” He was busy! What, you think he’s everywhere at all times? Pff, he was probably out smiting someone he didn’t like. Plus, when they’re looking down their “Believers to give Blessings to” list, it’s pretty short. Especially if you cut out the near-crazy newagers.

Seriously though, most of that newage stuff is snake oil. Here’s my handy little guide:

1. Has it been in clinical trials? Yes/no >>> Actually viable
No
2. Is it something that involves forces that science has never measured? Yes >> Out
No
3. Does it involve using magnets or other sorts of forces on non-ferrous or any substance said force won’t act upon appreciably? Yes >> out
No
4. Is it something simple and might actually work? (e.g. Netti Pot) Yes >> Look into it more
No (e.g. this supplement takes out anti oxidants which then makes your skin younger!)>> Out

Note: Netti Pot is actually a great holistic response for allergies. It involves: Getting a tea-pot like thing. Add in warm water and salt (to balance it with the salt content in your nasal tissue). Wash sinuses with said water. The end!

What I hate most about psuedo-science are those instances when people seek to profit off of a single study. For example, there was a study that some Japanese men who drink large amounts (like a litre a day) of Green Tea had less instances of a type of cancer. So then you suddenly see every green-tea product saying it’s anti-cancer. Now, I love Green Tea, but seriously, you take one study and extrapolate it to be some miracle drink? Same thing with anti-oxidants (except in a huge way). I do like berries, but it gets overwhelming when every single package starts stating it has anti-oxidants.

Also, time for a rant, I HATE THOSE ACUI BERRY PEOPLE. First off, I saw them at a Green Festival, a convention with the purpose of reducing waste. They came prepared to hand out their Acui juice… in single serve juice boxes. These unholy amalgams of paper/plastic/metal are unrecyclable and contributed 50% or more of the landfill waste at that convention’s food court trash can. Also, Acui tastes horrible. They just followed the get rich quick recipe of “Find random berry no one has heard of before and has anti-oxidants,” then juice it, then profit!

Ehem. Anyway, what’s this “What the Bleep do we know” meme? Never heard of that one. Most internet memes are stupid (if often hilarious) but this one doesn’t sound like it was meant to be funny.

Edit: Man, Daystarology is awesome! Makes me wish I had a Mynah bird, then I could get a cult going if I wanted. Hilarious!

What the Bleep do we know?  Hehehehehehehehehe.  Oh, man.  It was a documentary saying about us people in general (sceptics ahem) that, well, we don’t know anything.  It pretty much ties in with my “favorite” of hijacking science in the name of quackery.  Look it up, dude.  I would now for you but I is at work and I blocked youtube for the greater good and I am too fair to let my self in.  (I’m system admin at a police department :D)

Bwah hah hah, sure, I’ll have to look it up. And I’m glad you have the moral fortitude to not abuse your system admin position, especially in a Police department. You are an example to us all, good sir!

Edit: AHHHHGGG It burns nearly! hah hah, man. I just love this line here: Quirky animation introduces us to the smallest form of consciousness in the body – the cell. The cell, a conscious being? Fwah. They obviously didn’t talk to any cellular biologists. We usually view a cell as a living chemical reaction. Which is to say, they’re not very smart. Or conscious.

Do 9/11 Twoofas count? I just looooooove them.

If not, I’m definitely going with “The Secret.” Shame on Oprah for pushing that bullshit.

I was just going to ask the same question Rob.  They are rather amusing, although I’m curious to know where their claims come from.  Two that people have raised with me recently are;

1.  The world trade centre buildings 1 and 2 collapsed at free fall speed.

To see that this is false all you need to do is watch a video of them falling.  You can see bits falling off and falling much faster than the collapsing speed.

2.  The only personal items found from passengers from the flights was a passport from one of the terrorists.

Actually there are countless items that have been recovered - letters, wallets, cards, photos, etc.

So it makes me wonder, especially in the case of the first claim, where does it come from.  Did somebody watch the video and think it fell at free fall speed?  Did they deliberately make that claim up?  Either way the next question is why do so many people believe that claim without doing any research to check if it’s true or not.  All the need to do is watch a video to see that it’s wrong.  It’s like me claiming that the sky and been replaced by a picture of Ben Stein.  Most people could immediately check to see if this is true, rather than believing me immediately.  So why do so many people believe such easily testable claims?

I think they get most of their info from youtube videos, oddly enough. You’ll never find a more wretched hive of woo and gullibility.

Rob P - 19 May 2009 10:12 PM

I think they get most of their info from youtube videos, oddly enough. You’ll never find a more wretched hive of woo and gullibility.

I beg to differ. abovetopsecret.com is the pit of sh*t. The inmates have the keys there. (You can be permanently banned for saying UFO are NOT alien spacecraft.)

It’s hardly surprising they are protective of their loonies, however, they provide the funds to keep people like Jim Marrs in Escalades.

Wow, you can be banned for disagreeing with UFO claims at that abovetopsecret.com site? That’s quite, um… stifling to open debate!

But eh, these UFO things are just the latest *thing* to come around. In the Earlier centuries there were things such as demons and whatnot. Interesting note, people in the past used to claim that they couldn’t breath easily and that there was a demon on their chest (In bed, of course) and prayer usually stopped these evil beings.

I actually heard from a friend or relative (I forget which) who was a missionary to Jamaica a few years back describe a case exactly like this. In that country where evil (satanic, of course) Voodoo occult is common, demons abound all over the place! Prayer did cure the other missionary’s ailment and banished the demon, of course.

Taris - 20 May 2009 12:14 PM

Wow, you can be banned for disagreeing with UFO claims at that abovetopsecret.com site? That’s quite, um… stifling to open debate!

But eh, these UFO things are just the latest *thing* to come around. In the Earlier centuries there were things such as demons and whatnot. Interesting note, people in the past used to claim that they couldn’t breath easily and that there was a demon on their chest (In bed, of course) and prayer usually stopped these evil beings.

I actually heard from a friend or relative (I forget which) who was a missionary to Jamaica a few years back describe a case exactly like this. In that country where evil (satanic, of course) Voodoo occult is common, demons abound all over the place! Prayer did cure the other missionary’s ailment and banished the demon, of course.

There are places now where you can be killed for being a “witch”. (Arkansas, for example.)