Saturday, September 18, 2010
A Telepathy Experiment
Dean Radin wrote a post on his blog about a telepathy experiment he conducted that had someone looking at a randomly chosen picture and attempting to 'send' that information telepathically to someone else in another room. Dean transcribed what the 'receiver' described and posted the four pictures from which the randomly chosen picture was picked from. If you're interested, read the post and see the pictures here. See if you can guess which picture was the randomly chosen picture based on what the 'receiver' described. The answer is revealed in the comments.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Ye Olde Debunker
Debunkers didn't just appear during the advent of modern science. They've been around for a long time. And although some debunkers can be quite annoying when they are cynical skeptics with a zealous belief in materialism, debunking isn't always bad. Sometimes its good to have a debunking attitude, as long as you don't take it to a zealous extreme.
One well known Renaissance debunking is that of geocentrism. The heliocentric model is taken for granted today, but for a long time, many people adhered to a geocentric model of the universe. The idea that the Earth revolves around the Sun was actually proposed by Aristarchus of Samos in the third century BC, but Nicholas Copernicus further developed the heliocentric model in the 16th century. Johannes Kepler supported the heliocentric model and Galileo contributed to it with astronomical observations he made using his telescope. Isaac Newton also supported the heliocentric model. Eventually, it was accepted that the Earth was not the center of the universe, and not long after that, astronomers began to realize that the Sun wasn't the center of the universe either. I suppose if the universe is infinite though, then maybe it doesn't really have a center. With that in mind, I guess it's really a matter of opinion where the center of the universe is.
It took a long time to debunk geocentrism and debunking it cannot be attributed to any one person. But there is a debunking from the 16th century that didn't take quite as long. The Rood of Grace, also known as the 'Holy Cross of Grace', was a wooden image of Jesus on the cross that was supposed to be miraculously gifted with movement and speech and was housed in Boxley Abbey in England (a rood is a large crucifix on a beam or screen at the entrance to the chancel of a church). It was during the 16th century that the Protestant Reformation began and King Henry VIII of England broke ties with the Catholic Church in Rome. It was during this atmosphere of anti-Catholic sentiments that the supposed miracle of the Rood of Grace was debunked. Thomas Cromwell sent Geoffrey Chambers to close down the abbey and investigate the rood for him. Chambers reported back that he found “certain engines and old wire, with old rotten sticks in the back of the same that did cause the eyes to move and stare; and also the nether lip to move as though to speak.” The abbot and monks claimed to be ignorant of it, but Chambers exposed the hoax and the Rood of Grace was burned in London. I suppose it might be possible that the monks at Boxley were not intentionally deceiving pilgrims visiting their abbey, but I doubt it. I think it's most likely that the monks (or at least one or some of them) knew what they were doing and were intentionally deceiving pilgrims so they could influence them and get money from them.
Another example of a historical debunking comes from ancient times. The story of Bel and the Dragon, an apocryphal addition to the book of Daniel, describes a debunking. Daniel is employed as a chief advisor to the King of Persia. Daniel, who was an exiled Jew, refused to worship Bel. The King questioned him as to why he refused to worship Bel and pointed out to him that the idol of Bel would eat all the food and drink all the wine that was left out for him at night. Daniel claimed that the idol was not really eating the food and drinking the wine at night, but the priests of Bel continued to say that Bel was eating the food and drinking the wine. The King declared that Daniel would be put to death unless he could prove that the priests were lying. So to prove he was right, Daniel spread ashes out on the temple floor that night before the King sealed the doors to the temple. The next morning when the King opened the door and saw all the food had been eaten, Daniel pointed out footprints on the floor. The King saw the footprints of men, women, and children on the floor, and he demanded the priests show him where the footprints came from. The priests showed him a trapdoor hidden under a table. The priests had been coming in at night with their families to eat the food and drink the wine. It was not the idol of Bel eating the food afterall. Daniel's life was spared.
Even if this addition to the book of Daniel isn't true, I think it's at least clear that some ancient author understood the concept of debunking.
Archaeological evidence suggests that some clever pagan priests from ancient times were able to deceive worshipers by hiding behind an idol and speaking through a hole, giving the worshipers the impression that the idol was talking. Hero of Alexandria, an ancient Greek inventor, built a primitive steam engine that could pull the doors of an ancient temple open using pulleys. To worshipers, it may have appeared as though the god of temple was miraculously opening the doors.
So although debunkers and skeptics can sometimes be annoying, I think these examples show that debunking can be a good thing. The key to a good debunking is to keep an open mind and not take the debunking to a zealous, materialistic extreme.
One well known Renaissance debunking is that of geocentrism. The heliocentric model is taken for granted today, but for a long time, many people adhered to a geocentric model of the universe. The idea that the Earth revolves around the Sun was actually proposed by Aristarchus of Samos in the third century BC, but Nicholas Copernicus further developed the heliocentric model in the 16th century. Johannes Kepler supported the heliocentric model and Galileo contributed to it with astronomical observations he made using his telescope. Isaac Newton also supported the heliocentric model. Eventually, it was accepted that the Earth was not the center of the universe, and not long after that, astronomers began to realize that the Sun wasn't the center of the universe either. I suppose if the universe is infinite though, then maybe it doesn't really have a center. With that in mind, I guess it's really a matter of opinion where the center of the universe is.
It took a long time to debunk geocentrism and debunking it cannot be attributed to any one person. But there is a debunking from the 16th century that didn't take quite as long. The Rood of Grace, also known as the 'Holy Cross of Grace', was a wooden image of Jesus on the cross that was supposed to be miraculously gifted with movement and speech and was housed in Boxley Abbey in England (a rood is a large crucifix on a beam or screen at the entrance to the chancel of a church). It was during the 16th century that the Protestant Reformation began and King Henry VIII of England broke ties with the Catholic Church in Rome. It was during this atmosphere of anti-Catholic sentiments that the supposed miracle of the Rood of Grace was debunked. Thomas Cromwell sent Geoffrey Chambers to close down the abbey and investigate the rood for him. Chambers reported back that he found “certain engines and old wire, with old rotten sticks in the back of the same that did cause the eyes to move and stare; and also the nether lip to move as though to speak.” The abbot and monks claimed to be ignorant of it, but Chambers exposed the hoax and the Rood of Grace was burned in London. I suppose it might be possible that the monks at Boxley were not intentionally deceiving pilgrims visiting their abbey, but I doubt it. I think it's most likely that the monks (or at least one or some of them) knew what they were doing and were intentionally deceiving pilgrims so they could influence them and get money from them.
Another example of a historical debunking comes from ancient times. The story of Bel and the Dragon, an apocryphal addition to the book of Daniel, describes a debunking. Daniel is employed as a chief advisor to the King of Persia. Daniel, who was an exiled Jew, refused to worship Bel. The King questioned him as to why he refused to worship Bel and pointed out to him that the idol of Bel would eat all the food and drink all the wine that was left out for him at night. Daniel claimed that the idol was not really eating the food and drinking the wine at night, but the priests of Bel continued to say that Bel was eating the food and drinking the wine. The King declared that Daniel would be put to death unless he could prove that the priests were lying. So to prove he was right, Daniel spread ashes out on the temple floor that night before the King sealed the doors to the temple. The next morning when the King opened the door and saw all the food had been eaten, Daniel pointed out footprints on the floor. The King saw the footprints of men, women, and children on the floor, and he demanded the priests show him where the footprints came from. The priests showed him a trapdoor hidden under a table. The priests had been coming in at night with their families to eat the food and drink the wine. It was not the idol of Bel eating the food afterall. Daniel's life was spared.
Even if this addition to the book of Daniel isn't true, I think it's at least clear that some ancient author understood the concept of debunking.
Archaeological evidence suggests that some clever pagan priests from ancient times were able to deceive worshipers by hiding behind an idol and speaking through a hole, giving the worshipers the impression that the idol was talking. Hero of Alexandria, an ancient Greek inventor, built a primitive steam engine that could pull the doors of an ancient temple open using pulleys. To worshipers, it may have appeared as though the god of temple was miraculously opening the doors.
So although debunkers and skeptics can sometimes be annoying, I think these examples show that debunking can be a good thing. The key to a good debunking is to keep an open mind and not take the debunking to a zealous, materialistic extreme.
A Florida Pastor, the News Media, and the journey of two Muslims
You've probably seen the headlines recently about Terry Jones, the Florida pastor who threatened to burn Korans on Saturday September 11th, 2010. Protests have been reported in Afganistan. I think the news media probably deserves more blame for the protests than the pastor though. The pastor only has a congregation of around 50 people. Whether you're offended by the pastor's threat, support it, or are just angered by the potential threat to American soldiers in Afganistan that could result from it, if the news media had ignored his threats, most people wouldn't even know about what he intended to do. People wouldn't be protesting it if they didn't know about it. The news media, as well as Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, and Robert Gates are responsible for turning the proposed event into an international news sensation.
However, in contrast to those headlines, CNN reported on the story of two Muslims who went on a journey across America. Here is the headline:
2 Muslims travel 13,000 miles across America, find an embracing nation
The story reports that the two Muslims were "embraced nearly everywhere they went, from a Confederate souvenir shop in Georgia to the streets of Las Vegas, Nevada, to the hills of North Dakota where the nation's first mosque was built in 1929."
I think that article is a more accurate representation of most of the population of America. That's the article that should be the international media sensation, not the articles about a Florida pastor for a 50 member congregation.
However, in contrast to those headlines, CNN reported on the story of two Muslims who went on a journey across America. Here is the headline:
2 Muslims travel 13,000 miles across America, find an embracing nation
The story reports that the two Muslims were "embraced nearly everywhere they went, from a Confederate souvenir shop in Georgia to the streets of Las Vegas, Nevada, to the hills of North Dakota where the nation's first mosque was built in 1929."
I think that article is a more accurate representation of most of the population of America. That's the article that should be the international media sensation, not the articles about a Florida pastor for a 50 member congregation.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Caprica Returns in October!
Blastr.com reports that SyFy has announced that one of my favorite shows, Caprica, will be returning on October 5th at 10 PM. It will be airing after one of my other favorite shows, Stargate Universe. I think both shows are excellent dramas and am excited they are both returning in October! Now that Lost isn't going to be coming on anymore, these are the two shows I look most forward to.
Read the press release here.
Read the press release here.
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