Credophilia

LIBENTER HOMINES ID QVOD VOLVNT CREDVNT.
Men gladly believe that which they wish for.
(Julius Caesar, Comentarii De Bello Gallico, III.18)
There is a nagging problem in all societies of the world. In fact, the problem is older than societies. Religion is one symptom of the disease, but my hope is that examining the other symptoms will open some minds.

The problem? Lack of rationality. Superstition. Credulity to silly/false theories and urban legends. I don't know how to define it, exactly. It is all of these things and something more.

In a nutshell, without vigilance and a constant commitment to the search for knowledge and truth, people are susceptible to all sorts of quackery, kooky deities, scientific hogwash and feel-good garbage. Teachers and preachers (of the charlatan variety) play on fears, provide false hope, and lull victims with gushy ideas.

We could desperately use a little rationality. Consider the following things:

All psychics are fakes. (Legal note: This is the personal opinion of the author, who does not wish to be sued by Israeli "psychic"/crybaby Uri Geller.) They play a guessing game, which can be impressive on the spot ("cold reading") and downright scary in a prepared session--to the average moron. I don't know... I often wonder if some of these "mediums" really believe themselves to be psychic, but the sophistication and honing of the technique always leads me to conclude that they all know what they are doing. Not a single one has ever impressed me. As soon as one of them wins the JREF's Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge I will change my tune. Check for yourself--watch a psychic on TV and examine how much information they actually come up with. And examine how much information the subject provides to them. How many people in your life, past, present and future, can be construed to relate to the letter "M"?

Astrology is a bunch of garbage. If it has ever been right, ever, then it has been by pure chance. You won't see me telling anyone what my "sign" is. If someone wants to know, then I have no interest in continuing the conversation further. That's just me. But consider this: Astrology, for some inexplicable reason, is encroaching on legitimate science by being offered as a course of study at some universities. Not too many in the U.S. so far, but certainly in India, and in the U.K. I bet...

Homeopathic medicines do not work. Well, that must be qualified. They don't work any better than other placebos. Many homeopathic medicines, certainly the "30C" concentrations, contain less than one molecule of the "active ingredient" for every 100 gallons of water. You know what's in that little bottle? Water. Unless you are the lucky one out of 10,000 who got a molecule. The same thing can be said for most "herbal" medicines. They may work. But doesn't it stand to reason that their companies would have done tests, and therefore would tout their product if it actually does work? They put that "May help in the treatment of..." disclaimer on there for a reason. They would be shouting it from the rooftops if they had any evidence their plant stems did something.

Dowsers, magnet bracelets/rings/necklaces, free energy machines, and on and on. All without a shred of evidence. Even worse, the ridiculous "scientific" explanations for why their junk supposedly works hints that it is all a scam. Most of their technical phrases are nonsense. But, while I wish I could say that only the scientifically illiterate get pulled in by this, that is not always the case. Sadly.

One good rule of thumb for spotting the charlatans involves the terminology. If you see the word "energy", "power", or "force", then beware. If it is in the context of actual scientific usage, i.e. the units of Joules, Joules/Sec, Watts, Newtons, calories, lbs., foot-pounds, BTU's, etc., then there just might be something to it. If, however, it is a buzzword for some crazy mystical idea, then skepticism must be applied, and liberally. These things have no meaning outside of science. Even our everyday usage of "energy", "power", and "force" bears some reasonable relationship to the scientific concept or the older uses of the words.

Rational thought, please! These things have no evidence other than shaky anecdotal accounts. Plus, contradictory explanations for how they work/exist give credence to the assertion that they are false. Now where else do these two conditions apply? (Hint: My site is all about it.)

To end this little diatribe against all things pseudoscience, I would like to cause some cognitive dissonance. The following things are common knowledge. And they are all untrue. And, I must confess I believed many of them at one time (and as recently as six months ago, for one of them).



There are many others, of course. The point is, our "credophilia", our love and passion for belief, has a consistent pattern. We readily believe that which we wish for. President Washington's clumsy dental fixtures make him more of an every-man, and allow us to scoff at how unsophisticated our technology once was. The notion that we are in on some great secret, like access to the afterlife or the latent deadly properties of pennies, makes us feel more important. Common superstitions (far too numerous to list), paranormal beliefs and ubiquitous myths are all a reflection of us, and they are a very important part of human history and the human experience. But wouldn't it be nice if every once in a while we stepped back and applied a little rational thought?

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