You think the '90s were the dark ages or something? No, we weren’t all brainless morons. The same number of idiots exist now as did back then, and in the decades, centuries, and millennia past. Anyway, go look up James Randi for some fun.
I already know about James Randi, his reputation isn’t as clean as you might think, dude was VERY problematic
Dude I remember the 90’s, I was there, the Satanic Panic was in full swing. People believed that there was this epidemic of Satanists going around brainwashing kids with Pokemon and Harry Potter, and the proof was in repressed memories.
You can be an awful person and still be right. If you’re asking people to ignore someone’s legitimately useful work because they’re a bad person, stop.
Is that what he’s doing? Back when I read his blog, he always talked about staff from his foundation establishing testing protocols. I suppose it’s always possible he could say that and then not do it, but it seems unlikely.
You don’t need formal training to follow the scientific method.
I already know about James Randi, his reputation isn’t as clean as you might think, dude was VERY problematic
Meaning what? You could say this about anybody as long as you don’t provide any evidence. How funny that you want us to believe a vague claim with zero evidence about one of the most famous skeptics ever.
You don’t get it, it wasn’t just religious nuts believing in the Satanic Panic, today only Fundies and Evangelicals go for that nonsense. Back then this was a mainstream belief, heck Christianity itself was incredibly mainstream… Richard Dawkins hadn’t helped start New Atheism yet, no one knew who he was. Churches weren’t in decline yet, you were there every Sunday or you were seen as weird.
The concept of not believing in a God was itself very strange and novel. Not believing in psychic powers or astrology made you look close minded and dumb in mainstream eyes.
Now you are allowed to not believe in magic, in fact it seems to be slowly becoming the dominant position.
I’m sure there’s similar madness today and it will be looked upon as nonsense by hindsight. I know for a fact Donald Trump will be remembered as one of the worst presidents in America’s History if America is even still around
Back then this was a mainstream belief, heck Christianity itself was incredibly mainstream…
Christianity is still “incredibly mainstream”. In fact, the more extreme Christians have become so mainstream that they’re running the government now.
Now you are allowed to not believe in magic, in fact it seems to be slowly becoming the dominant position.
I don’t know where you were living, but I’m confident that most people in the 90s didn’t believe in magic. Yeah, The Craft was pretty popular, but I didn’t know anybody who thought that it was a documentary.
I get it - you don’t. My point is that it there’s always been bullshit, and there have always been plenty of rational people who could sniff it out. The flavor may have changed, but the nature of the matter has not.
There were so many adults in the 90s that believed esp was real.
The town I grew up in had so many clout chasers and liars because until the internet became readily available, you couldn’t fact check their bullshit without going to the local library.
I served on a rural fire department from 2004-2012 and both of the captains from my station believed that dowsers are legit.
90% of that town voted for the right in the last election.
There were so many adults in the 90s that believed esp was real.
A lot of the media at the time was very pro-“Mysticism” and things of that nature. Typically there were two characters, a true believer and a skeptic, and the skeptic was always vilified with the believer turning out right at the end. X-Files, one of the most popular shows of the 90’s, ran on this.
Police used psychics to help solve murder cases and Ms. Cleo was seen as legitimate.
Your use of the past tense makes me think you come from a glorious alternate reality where stupid people didn’t literally break western civilization.
In the continutiy I live in, the folk who fall for spoon bending and ESP suppression theories moved on to anti-vacince denialism, hero-worship of a 1980s punchline, and have successfully taken over the USA’s department of health by way of a halfwit who just claimed autism is caused by Tylenol.
No it wasn’t. This was back when people still believed ESP had science backing it and Uri Gellar could really bend spoons.
You think the '90s were the dark ages or something? No, we weren’t all brainless morons. The same number of idiots exist now as did back then, and in the decades, centuries, and millennia past. Anyway, go look up James Randi for some fun.
I already know about James Randi, his reputation isn’t as clean as you might think, dude was VERY problematic
Dude I remember the 90’s, I was there, the Satanic Panic was in full swing. People believed that there was this epidemic of Satanists going around brainwashing kids with Pokemon and Harry Potter, and the proof was in repressed memories.
You can be an awful person and still be right. If you’re asking people to ignore someone’s legitimately useful work because they’re a bad person, stop.
I don’t just have a problem with the man. I find his methodology questionable. Yelling “FAKE” and doing a bit of showmanship is not good science
In fact he had no science training at all being a high school dropout
Is that what he’s doing? Back when I read his blog, he always talked about staff from his foundation establishing testing protocols. I suppose it’s always possible he could say that and then not do it, but it seems unlikely.
You don’t need formal training to follow the scientific method.
Well right now he’s not doing anything. He’s dead
James Randi was to skepticism what Charlie Kirk was to debates.
An inflammatory phony
Meaning what? You could say this about anybody as long as you don’t provide any evidence. How funny that you want us to believe a vague claim with zero evidence about one of the most famous skeptics ever.
He was a misogynistic climate denying
pedophileEdit: Turns out the phone sex tapes were fake. I still don’t like him and he still denied climate change
Source for any of that? He was gay and rationally skeptical. Are you twisting those like a conservative?
“You don’t like the guy I worship. You must be a conservative!”
No I think we are done with this conversation
PS: You should look up the phone sex tapes… nvm went to go get them and found they were fake
Yikes, there’s a lot to unpack there.
No there isn’t. You heard I didn’t like James Randi and you resorted to calling a transwoman socialist a conservative homophobe
Btw I double checked. Apparently the phone sex tapes are actually fake but I still do not like him
Okay, I see.
plonk
And you think there’s no similar madness now?
You don’t get it, it wasn’t just religious nuts believing in the Satanic Panic, today only Fundies and Evangelicals go for that nonsense. Back then this was a mainstream belief, heck Christianity itself was incredibly mainstream… Richard Dawkins hadn’t helped start New Atheism yet, no one knew who he was. Churches weren’t in decline yet, you were there every Sunday or you were seen as weird.
The concept of not believing in a God was itself very strange and novel. Not believing in psychic powers or astrology made you look close minded and dumb in mainstream eyes.
Now you are allowed to not believe in magic, in fact it seems to be slowly becoming the dominant position.
I’m sure there’s similar madness today and it will be looked upon as nonsense by hindsight. I know for a fact Donald Trump will be remembered as one of the worst presidents in America’s History if America is even still around
Christianity is still “incredibly mainstream”. In fact, the more extreme Christians have become so mainstream that they’re running the government now.
I don’t know where you were living, but I’m confident that most people in the 90s didn’t believe in magic. Yeah, The Craft was pretty popular, but I didn’t know anybody who thought that it was a documentary.
People thought the Blair Witch was a Documentary…
I get it - you don’t. My point is that it there’s always been bullshit, and there have always been plenty of rational people who could sniff it out. The flavor may have changed, but the nature of the matter has not.
There were so many adults in the 90s that believed esp was real.
The town I grew up in had so many clout chasers and liars because until the internet became readily available, you couldn’t fact check their bullshit without going to the local library.
I served on a rural fire department from 2004-2012 and both of the captains from my station believed that dowsers are legit. 90% of that town voted for the right in the last election.
Yes, those are the morons I’m talking about. Those people are still around today, just as deluded. See how many people voted for Trump?
A lot of the media at the time was very pro-“Mysticism” and things of that nature. Typically there were two characters, a true believer and a skeptic, and the skeptic was always vilified with the believer turning out right at the end. X-Files, one of the most popular shows of the 90’s, ran on this.
Police used psychics to help solve murder cases and Ms. Cleo was seen as legitimate.
Were you a child in the 1990s? The police were not using psychics with any regularity as their evidence cannot be introduced in courts.
I dont think many believed a TV commercial psychic had any powers.
Your use of the past tense makes me think you come from a glorious alternate reality where stupid people didn’t literally break western civilization.
In the continutiy I live in, the folk who fall for spoon bending and ESP suppression theories moved on to anti-vacince denialism, hero-worship of a 1980s punchline, and have successfully taken over the USA’s department of health by way of a halfwit who just claimed autism is caused by Tylenol.