Wed, 07 Feb 2007
Just a quick reminder, Tomorrow, Feb. 8th, is the slow jam at Music & More. We’ll be starting at 7:30 pm. I hope to see you there.
Why do people believe weird things?
Here’s a great video of a speech by Ted Shermer discussing skepticism and a general freethought point of view.
Why do people believe weird things? It sometimes seems odd to us that people believe such bizarre, delusionalthings with no proof at all. When we were at the Mandolin Symposium last year at UC Santa Cruz they were also hosting a symposium on dowsing. "Dowsing!? " Are you kidding me?
UC Santa Cruz didn’t think that maybe, just maybe, hosting a dowsing convention might reflect negativly on the university’s credibility? That’s amazing.
These people would tell us that they could use dowsing to tell them everything from how to fine underground water sources to which foods are most needed by their bodies.
What I found interesting is that there were probably 3 or 4 times as many signs around campus leading the dowsers to their seminars than there were leading the mandolin players to their seminars.
You’d think the dowsers could find the seminars without the signs wouldn’t you?
In any case, there are quite a few more videos at ted.com which discuss all sorts of interesting ideas and research. If you feel the need to hear some really bright people discuss thier work in a clear and consise way then go spend some time at Ted.com
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