What else do you not believe in?

Technarch
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What else do you not believe in?

There's a number of subjects which have plenty of testimonials but no hard evidence.  How do you view these topics? 

 

-Alien abductions, UFOs

-ESP, precognition

-Out of body experiences, astral projection

-Human energy fields, chi

-Hypnosis, hypnotherapy 


American Atheist
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I want to add to the list.

I want to add to the list.

-Psychics

-Ghosts

-Faith healing

-Goblins

-Frank Walton's brain

-Magicians

-Voodoo

-Witch doctors

-MySpace chain letters

 

That's about it.

 


econgineer
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All of the above,

All of the above, plus

-Most conspiracy theories

-Curses

-Lucky charms

-Astrology

-Numerology

-Phrenology

-Palm reading

-Tarot cards

-Biorhythms

-Faith healing

-Ouija boards

Probably others I can't think of right now

Responsibility: A detachable burden easily shifted to the shoulders of God, Fate, Fortune, Luck or one's neighbor. In the days of astrology it was customary to unload it upon a star. ~Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary, 1911


Iruka Naminori
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All of the above,

All of the above, including:

  • Reincarnation
  • The Law of Attraction (The Secret...oh boy!)
  • The Loch Ness Monster (I'm a little on the fence about bigfoot, but until proof positive I'm an a-bigfootist)
  • anything George W. Bush says. Eye-wink

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MrRage
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People do have out of body

People do have out of body experiences. That doesn't mean their "self" has somehow actually left their body though. That I don't believe.

I think this goes for most things on your list, Technarch.

I think we should not dismiss the experiences people have. But we need to find out what really caused these experiences.


MrRage
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Iruka Naminori

Iruka Naminori wrote:
>anything George W. Bush says. Eye-wink

Why stop with Bush? I think there are much more despicable people in his administration. But I don't even stop there. I don't believe most politicians.

But I understand the sentiment about Bush. I'm ashamed to admit I voted for Bush in 2000, and I had high hopes for Bush. I've learned a thing or two.


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MrRage wrote: People do

MrRage wrote:
People do have out of body experiences. That doesn't mean their "self" has somehow actually left their body though. That I don't believe. I think this goes for most things on your list, Technarch. I think we should not dismiss the experiences people have. But we need to find out what really caused these experiences.

 

I concur with you on this point, Mr. Rage. 

"The idea of a personal God is an anthropological concept which I am unable to take seriously." [Albert Einstein, letter to Hoffman and Dukas, 1946]


GreyhoundMama
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MrRage wrote: Iruka

MrRage wrote:
Iruka Naminori wrote:
>anything George W. Bush says. Eye-wink
Why stop with Bush? I think there are much more despicable people in his administration. But I don't even stop there. I don't believe most politicians. But I understand the sentiment about Bush. I'm ashamed to admit I voted for Bush in 2000, and I had high hopes for Bush. I've learned a thing or two.

 I've always thought that by the time a politician reaches high office they are no longer qualified for the job. Wink

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Iruka Naminori
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MrRage wrote: Iruka

MrRage wrote:
Iruka Naminori wrote:
>anything George W. Bush says. Eye-wink
Why stop with Bush? I think there are much more despicable people in his administration. But I don't even stop there. I don't believe most politicians. But I understand the sentiment about Bush. I'm ashamed to admit I voted for Bush in 2000, and I had high hopes for Bush. I've learned a thing or two.

MrRage, so did I.  And I've learned more than a thing or two.   I've gone through a lot of changes since 2000. Bush is just a handy symbol of the ultimate crappola that happens minute by minute.  Pththththt 

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V1per41
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How about -Homeopathy -Free

How about

-Homeopathy

-Free Energy/Perpetual motion machines

-Recycling

-Just about anything associated with cryptozoology (Big Foot, Lochness monstor, el chupacabra)

 

Realistically this list can go on forever, I think it's safe to say that just about everyone here doesn't believe in anything that doesn't have any evidence for its existence/evidence that it works. 

 

"It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan


BGH
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One in the news lately: So

One in the news lately:

  • So called "curing" of gayness 


MattShizzle
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All of the above and that

All of the above and that fucking "the Secret" thing Oprah was pimping a few weeks ago.


Yiab
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Don't forget about

Don't forget about retrophrenology (a beautiful term coined by Terry Pratchett referring to the process of changing a person's personality through careful reshaping of the shape of the person's skull by application of small mallets).


MattShizzle
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I also don't believe getting

I also don't believe getting kicked in the balls is a pleasant experience or that shit tastes good.

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Technarch
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Is hypnosis in the same

Is hypnosis in the same category? I'm not fully convinced it doesn't work. 

If someone has a mental out of body experience isn't that just a hallucination?  Same with visitations by ghosts/aliens


FundamentallyFlawed
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The whole cryptozoology

The whole cryptozoology thing is a bit tricky.  There are probably still thousands of species yet to be discovered and classified.

Something like bigfoot? Unlikely, but plausible.

A giant prehistoric sea creature somehow surviving in a land-locked lake? Utterly ridiculous.

Interesting side note... I remember seeing an archeolgist proposing that mastadon skulls (which can be found in Greece) may have been the inspiration for the cyclops.  The ancient Greeks, having never seen anything like an elephant, may have mistaken the giant trunk cavity for an eye socket.

 


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econgineer wrote: -Lucky

econgineer wrote:

-Lucky charms

I'm a believer in Lucky Charms. They're magically delicious!!Tongue out

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Vastet
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Technarch wrote: There's a

Technarch wrote:

There's a number of subjects which have plenty of testimonials but no hard evidence.  How do you view these topics? 

 

-Alien abductions, UFOs

Possible. Unlikely.

Technarch wrote:

-ESP, precognition

Possible. Unlikely.

Technarch wrote:

-Out of body experiences, astral projection

That's just imagination.

Technarch wrote:

-Human energy fields, chi

Depends how you define it. All life has energy. But to be able to utilize that energy to throw fireballs or punch through cement is a heck of a stretch.

Technarch wrote:

-Hypnosis, hypnotherapy 

Hypnosis obviously works on some people. I don't believe it would work on me however.

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JeremiahSmith
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Pants. I don't believe in

Pants. I don't believe in pants.


American Atheist
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I don't believe in sleeping

I don't believe in sleeping in the nude.


ShaunPhilly
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American Atheist wrote: I

American Atheist wrote:
I don't believe in sleeping in the nude.

Hmm, I don't believe in not sleeping in the nude...except when it's cold.  

Eye-wink

Shaun 

I'll fight for a person's right to speak so long as that person will, in return, fight to allow me to challenge their opinions and ridicule them as the content of their ideas merit.


Susan
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ShaunPhilly

ShaunPhilly wrote:

American Atheist wrote:
I don't believe in sleeping in the nude.

Hmm, I don't believe in not sleeping in the nude...except when it's cold.

Eye-wink

Shaun

Shaun, just get another blanket.  There's something wonderfully cozy about wrapping up in several big fluffy blankets when it's cold. 

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Technarch wrote:   -Alien

Technarch wrote:
 

-Alien abductions, UFOs

 I'm quite skeptical about alien abductions, though not the existance of ET life itself.

Calling UFOs "supernatural", or refering to them in similar fassion to gods, demons, unicorsns, etc is a pet peve of mine, though.  Any Oject you see Flying in the sky, if you don't know what it is (ie: it is Unidentified) is a UFO.


Hambydammit
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feng shui chupacabra time

feng shui

chupacabra

time travel

past life regression

back masking

reverse speech  (if you've never heard of this, it's awesome!  It's where people are supposed to tell what they're really thinking if you play their speech backwards at the right speed.)

demons

demon possession

and finally, terror threat level magenta.

 

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BGH
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I've got another one: The

I've got another one:

  • The "Moral" Majority

 

From what I have seen from the members of the group they are certainly not "moral". 


Ophios
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Hambydammit wrote: reverse

Hambydammit wrote:

reverse speech (if you've never heard of this, it's awesome! It's where people are supposed to tell what they're really thinking if you play their speech backwards at the right speed.)

I think it's totally bunk too, but it's so facinating!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB-EnbakGdA 

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American Atheist
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Ophios wrote: Hambydammit

Ophios wrote:
Hambydammit wrote:

reverse speech (if you've never heard of this, it's awesome! It's where people are supposed to tell what they're really thinking if you play their speech backwards at the right speed.)

I think it's totally bunk too, but it's so facinating!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB-EnbakGdA

Hmm, the link doesn't work. 


FundamentallyFlawed
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Hambydammit wrote: feng

Hambydammit wrote:

feng shui

chupacabra

time travel

past life regression

I'm deeply offended by this.  I clearly remember that in a previous life I traveled back in time, arranged some furniture, and traveled the Mexican countryside devouring goats.