Two related articles2. Comment #388136 by Kingasaurus on June 16, 2009 at 10:03 am
"This subject has always fascinated me, partly because my grandmother never believed that the moon-landing was real."3. Comment #388141 by hungarianelephant on June 16, 2009 at 10:13 am
4. Comment #388142 by mbannonb on June 16, 2009 at 10:15 am
"First, correcting a misperception doesn’t really work when the original misperception fits snugly with the subject’s ideology. Second, and worse still, attempting to correct errors often produces a backlash, with the error becoming more firmly believed."5. Comment #388151 by Cartomancer on June 16, 2009 at 10:48 am
6. Comment #388152 by bamafreethinker on June 16, 2009 at 11:01 am
7. Comment #388153 by bendigeidfran on June 16, 2009 at 11:05 am
8. Comment #388156 by bamafreethinker on June 16, 2009 at 11:10 am
9. Comment #388157 by severalspeciesof on June 16, 2009 at 11:11 am
10. Comment #388159 by severalspeciesof on June 16, 2009 at 11:32 am
But there is a wonderful little twist to the data. The academics found, however, that “The President is a Christian” worked in only one condition — if a non-white person was present in the room and the survey respondent was trying to please him.I feel like Marvin now...
11. Comment #388160 by TigerDunc on June 16, 2009 at 11:35 am
12. Comment #388161 by bendigeidfran on June 16, 2009 at 11:39 am
13. Comment #388162 by bamafreethinker on June 16, 2009 at 11:48 am
I can see through it but it's all over the place.
14. Comment #388166 by Sciros on June 16, 2009 at 12:06 pm
He did produce his birth certificate, as is required by anyone running for president.Certain Chinese gymnasts also produced their birth certificate for the Olympics, as did Jianlian Yi when he joined the NBA. Just sayin'.
15. Comment #388191 by bamafreethinker on June 16, 2009 at 1:08 pm
16. Comment #388193 by stephensmith on June 16, 2009 at 1:10 pm
17. Comment #388199 by PERSON on June 16, 2009 at 1:35 pm
17. Comment #388193 by stephensmith18. Comment #388203 by huzonfurst on June 16, 2009 at 2:11 pm
I've always found it interesting that the people who scoff at the moon landings are also the ones who believe we're constantly being visited by aliens.19. Comment #388210 by jpgj on June 16, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Taliban don't believe in moon landings either!20. Comment #388230 by RightWingAtheist on June 16, 2009 at 5:02 pm
21. Comment #388244 by Daniella on June 16, 2009 at 6:17 pm
22. Comment #388253 by pipsy on June 16, 2009 at 6:47 pm
23. Comment #388261 by pipsy on June 16, 2009 at 7:10 pm
24. Comment #388305 by huzonfurst on June 16, 2009 at 11:04 pm
Wow, thanks for that video of Aldrin doing what should be done to every jackass in the world, RWA. I heard the story but hadn't seen it until now - it made my day!25. Comment #388307 by windweaver on June 16, 2009 at 11:19 pm
26. Comment #388309 by Rodger T on June 16, 2009 at 11:51 pm
27. Comment #388317 by Layla Nasreddin on June 17, 2009 at 12:49 am
28. Comment #388329 by fretmeister on June 17, 2009 at 1:53 am
During the week I am a lawyer (boo hiss) - but on the weekends I am a magician and childrens entertainer.
29. Comment #388423 by debaser71 on June 17, 2009 at 6:12 am
Maybe I'm just rambling but these studies never come up with 100% of anything. It's SOME people do suchandsuch. Or SOME people fall for soandso. etc. But the implication in a lot of these articles is EVERYONE is like this. Why can't there really be solid, logical, reasnable, and thoughtful thinkers out there? That not everyone is riddled with blind spots in their thinking abilities. I'd like a study done on smart people who are fully capable of not being duped by the experiments in these studies.30. Comment #388433 by bamafreethinker on June 17, 2009 at 6:50 am
31. Comment #388446 by Sheol99 on June 17, 2009 at 7:21 am
32. Comment #388459 by reason-first on June 17, 2009 at 7:50 am
@stephensmithhere might be public pressure to do so in some circumstances, and if there are questions about eligibility or health it might be in the campaign's best interest to have the candidate to do, but there is no legal requirement that I know of.
33. Comment #388521 by bamafreethinker on June 17, 2009 at 9:49 am
34. Comment #388553 by Lucas on June 17, 2009 at 11:31 am
35. Comment #388554 by Mr DArcy on June 17, 2009 at 11:32 am
James Randi has offered the sum to “any person who can demonstrate any psychic, supernatural or paranormal ability under satisfactory observing conditions”. He has the money in a bank. It's just sitting there. What are you waiting for?
Randi, an escapologist, has taken up Harry Houdini's mantle as the scourge of those who claim special powers. He first laid down the challenge in 1964 (though only for $1,000 - the amount has increased because other donors became enthusiastic and chipped in). Since then there have been more than 1,000 applications, but not a single person has succeeded in demonstrating their power sufficiently for it to be worth proceeding with a formal test. Perhaps you will do better, though.
36. Comment #388562 by Stonyground on June 17, 2009 at 12:10 pm
I was very interested in the first article as I actually used a simple magic trick to teach critical thinking to my daughter. The trick involves an upturned glass placed beside a £1 coin on an A4 piece of coloured paper. A cardboard tube is placed over the glass and then the glass and tube are placed over the coin. The tube is then removed leaving the glass behind and the coin has disappeared. The tube is then lowered over the glass and the tube and glass are lifted to the side and the coin has re-appeared. Even as a five year old she could perform the trick well enough to leave all four of her grandparents baffled. The secret is that there is a disc of coloured paper glued over the mouth of the glass that covers the coin while itself remaining invisible.37. Comment #388571 by TIKI AL on June 17, 2009 at 12:29 pm
This black helicopter stuff is amusing.38. Comment #388592 by Lucas on June 17, 2009 at 1:30 pm
39. Comment #388622 by macdhai on June 17, 2009 at 2:30 pm
@ Lucas40. Comment #388624 by macdhai on June 17, 2009 at 2:31 pm
'or' point you to...darn it!41. Comment #388684 by TigerDunc on June 17, 2009 at 6:23 pm
42. Comment #388690 by Sheol99 on June 17, 2009 at 7:40 pm
... but instead he concludes that the apple is a direct encouragement from the fertility god – so he proceeds with task at hand with more zeal than before.
Humans are curious creatures. How quickly and easily we are willing to settle our curiosities (cognitive dissonances) separates the thinkers, inventors, and scientists from the superstitious.
Thank goodness that science eventually leads to the technology that benefits everyone (even the lazy ones) or we’d be in trouble.
This is also why the lazy ones often resist science that they see as having no immediate pay-offs – especially if it happens (even by accident) to expose their beliefs as bogus.
43. Comment #388728 by weemanafghan on June 18, 2009 at 2:20 am
What if one were to unicycle backwards across France in order to raise funds for Richard Dawkins.net. Would that be pointless.Whats wrong with unicycling or is it France?44. Comment #388793 by Johnny O on June 18, 2009 at 6:03 am
45. Comment #388805 by alan baylis on June 18, 2009 at 6:46 am
45. Comment #388793 by Johnny OIn, 'Tricks of the Mind', Derren Brown gives a brilliant description of what goes through the mind of someone watching a 'magic' trick. He explains brilliantly how half the illusion is done after the event in the person's retelling of what they 'saw' happen...
46. Comment #388812 by debaser71 on June 18, 2009 at 7:09 am
Just going back to my first post on this topic. Derren Brown can't fool everyone. If you watch some of his TV clips on youtube you'll see when he 'fails'. I'll point to the clip where he tries to buy a hotdog from a street vendor in NYC with fake (blank sheets of paper) money. And when he's doing the 'trains of thought' where he's on the subway trying to get people to forget where they are going. ... "...stop. Thinking about it now..."47. Comment #388889 by Lucas on June 18, 2009 at 10:41 am
48. Comment #389270 by Jack Rawlinson on June 19, 2009 at 9:19 am
49. Comment #389277 by Evolving Lawyer on June 19, 2009 at 9:36 am
Comment 31 by bamafreethinker:
1. Comment #388128 by bamafreethinker on June 16, 2009 at 9:44 am
This subject has always fascinated me, partly because my grandmother never believed that the moon-landing was real.
Other Comments by bamafreethinker