Rational Crank

I want to talk a little bit about a logical fallacy called “Cherry Picking,” but first I should bring you up to date on the dowsing test that my friend and I are working on. I was really pleased with what my dowsing friend Tom (not his real name) said at the last party. He suggested for the dowsing test I hide rebar in one of several PVC pipes. I went to Home Depot and purchased some 2 ½“ PVC and 4 pieces of rebar. I plan to cluster the 4 pieces of rebar together and place the cluster in one of five PVC pipes for him to pick. I was thinking that the day of the test Tom could designate 5 spots in the backyard that he feels are clear of any interference. We could put towels down to mark those spots. I would then place the PVC pipes on those spots. He would use his dowsing ability to pick which PVC pipe contained the cluster of rebar. We would do this a number of times. Each time I would switch out which piece of PVC contained the rebar. Tom thought each round should have 10 choices (10 p...

Here is the next installment of the dowsing test. (DOWSER- TOM – not his real name) Let’s make the Dowsing experiment into a kind of performance piece/party! I'll bring plenty of dowsing rods - I know that after I prove that dowsing is true, everyone will want to learn how. Maybe even you! (ME) A test at a party would be great but not at the one coming up. We have not yet come up with the protocol for the experiment. And as the Wicked Witch of the West has said, "These things have to be done delicately." I would love to learn how to dowse. You may not know this but there are a number of science organizations around the world which will award you large sums of money (we are talking a million dollars) if you can demonstrate to them that you can do what you claim. But we are getting a little ahead of ourselves. Why don't we see if you can dowse first? Then we can have a dowsing rave because you are going to be rich. From what I have read these science groups usually star...

First off, I would like to say Happy New Year. I can’t seem to shake this nagging feeling that 2009 will be a really good year. Recently our local, progressively minded, free newspaper, The Orlando Weekly, printed an article in which they asked local newsmakers what they thought 2009 will be like. They chose some county commissioners, a radio news personality, and some local charity board members to use their crystal balls to pear into the future. The responses the paper received were interesting but not outstanding with the exception of one, Kim Wade, resident “psychic” at a New Age Shop in Orlando called Avalon. I want to compliment Wade for her STUNNING AND DARING predictions for 2009. Without the benefit of ESP, gay activist, Michael Wanzie foresees Florida’s ban on gay adoption being lifted in 2009. Kim Wade, on the other hand, went out on a limb to say “Political things will be front-row center” in 2009. Because of the slowing economy, reporter, Mike Synan of WDBO radio was willi...

Well, I found myself at yet another party, with too much wine in me. There I was with five others arguing about the paranormal. As is generally the case, I alone was defending Science and Skepticism against assaults from all sides. I wasn ’t doing very well. My losses were completely due to the amount of alcohol that I had consumed and in no way related to my position, which I assure you was rock solid. Or at least that’s how I remember it. Although the next morning I woke up with a terrible headache and my socks were missing. Sensing vulnerability, one of my friends decided to attack on another front by reminding me that he is an accomplished dowser. They all know exactly where my buttons are and have no qualms in pushing them liberally. The long and short of it is I have a challenge. I must come up with an experiment to test my friend’s abilities. I will try to document this experiment and keep you posted as to how it is progressing. The following is the first email exchange: (ME) So...

Last week at a party a friend of mine started talking about the experiments of Masaru Emoto. The following is an entry from Wikipedia: Masaru Emoto , is a Japanese author known for his controversial claim that if human speech or thoughts are directed at water droplets before they are frozen, images of the resulting water crystals will be beautiful or ugly depending upon whether the words or thoughts were positive or negative. Emoto claims this can be achieved through prayer, music or by attaching written words to a container of water. Two things came to mind when I heard this claim. Don’t you think it is an amazing coincidence that nice thoughts produced white orderly crystals, while angry thoughts produced black splotchy disorderly crystals? I understand that the bad guys are supposed to wear black hats and the good guys are supposed to wear white, but, come on. What are the chances that a chemical reaction would somehow correlate to old Hollywood western stereotypes? Couldn’t it ha...

Recently I heard a political pundit on the radio comparing George Bush to Harry Truman. He was saying that although Bush’s ratings are low (as were Truman’s when he left office) history will show what a great president he was. It made me think of something I wrote a while back. This is old but I thought I would post it anyway just in case there are still one or two of you out there who still support George W. The first section is an email that was floating around in 2007. The second half is my response. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- email- One day while the class was in the lab the Prof noticed one young man (exchange student) who kept rubbing his back And stretching as if his back hurt. The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country's government and...

Orlando, Florida has a lot of traffic. I know, I sit in it every day. The other evening during my drive home I found myself sitting in a bunch of it when a car jumped in front of mine causing me to slam on my breaks. Having gotten a good look at the rear of this particular vehicle, I couldn’t help but notice it had a little metal emblem on it that was shaped like a fish, kind of. Now living in the South I see a lot of little fishes. They’re swimming everywhere: On cars of course, but also on billboards for attorneys, on the bill from my dentist, and even scribbled on walls, in the restroom stall of my favorite bar. I guess you can be struck in the spirit anywhere. I usually don't think any more about these symbols and their owners other then, “Well, there goes another one to the dark side.” This time though the sight of the little fish disturbed me greatly, because, this little fish had little feet growing out of its belly. In addition, it had the word "Darwin" written in...