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snopes.com's David Mikkelson Interviewed

pipingguy writes "Online Journalism Review interviews David Mikkelson of the Urban Legends Reference Pages. While the Internet has taken its share of knocks for helping scammers perpetrate e-mail and Web hoaxes (the Bambi hunt reportedly was staged to sell videos on the proprietor's Web site), not enough credit is given to the folks who are using the Internet to debunk them. Snopes.com is the work of the husband-and-wife team of David and Barbara Mikkelson, who have taken their passion for urban myths to the Web since 1995."

268 comments

  1. A matter of trust by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There's a matter of trust I'm wary about, when it comes to sites like snopes.com. How easy would it be for them to be 'infiltrated' somehow by a hack attempt or by bribery and the like, and pass off something that is a hoax or scam as being 'real'. or perhaps pass off something that's a real and present danger as being just another net hoax?.

    I know about half the mindless net followers will believe everything they read in email. Most of those who follow up to check if something is valid or not turn to snopes. That's a big responsibility.

    1. Re:A matter of trust by pphrdza · · Score: 1
      Gee, I don't know.
      Anyone who admits to having both cats and rats for pets is pretty impressive.

      Besides, if you RTFA, you'll see they engaged in a little leg-pulling themselves, just to see how much people will swallow.

    2. Re:A matter of trust by wiggys · · Score: 4, Informative
      For starters Snopes show you what references they've used when hunting down the facts (makes it possible to check that Snopes are at least reporting the facts correctly, even if you don't like their conclusions).

      I guess at the end of the day you make up your own mind. Snopes don't force their opinions down your throat, they simply present their findings and leave it up to you.

      --

      Sorry, but my karma just ran over your dogma.

    3. Re:A matter of trust by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 2, Informative

      There's a matter of trust I'm wary about, when it comes to sites like snopes.com. How easy would it be for them to be 'infiltrated' somehow by a hack attempt or by bribery and the like, and pass off something that is a hoax or scam as being 'real'. or perhaps pass off something that's a real and present danger as being just another net hoax?.


      snopes, along with his wife, little gator, are well known in the online urban legend neighborhood going back to afu and are pretty dedicated to debunking urban legends. Given their standards of proof, I doubt someone could slip something past them. As for bribery, I suggest offering them two-fifty and see what they say...

      -jlc

      "he's dead, Jim" The late Bill Shatner aka Doctor "Bones" Spock on Star Trek.

      --
      I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
    4. Re:A matter of trust by skryche · · Score: 4, Funny

      No, dude, you're on to something. My cousin was saying just the same thing, and she's David Mikkelson's babysitter's boyfriend's best friend.

    5. Re:A matter of trust by Maserati · · Score: 1

      Well, then you're better off trying to bribe them.

      I'd want about three-fifty.

      --
      Veteran, Bermuda Triangle Expeditionary Force, 1992-1951
    6. Re:A matter of trust by indros13 · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Snopes.com is an example of what distinguishes free speech from journalism. There are hundreds of radio shows, newspapers, and even TV programs that will pass off anything that someone else has said as news or information (even major news networks are caught in the act occasionally). Snopes makes sure they actually have it right.


      Interestingly enough, the Star Tribune in Minneapolis recently addressed the issue of corrections and accuracy. Ironically, newspapers that report more corrections are perceived as less trustworthy, even though they are often more accurate for the effort! Another story on this issue found here.

      --
      Under capitalism man exploits man. Under communism it's the other way around.
    7. Re:A matter of trust by Thing+1 · · Score: 4, Funny
      I know about half the mindless net followers will believe everything they read in email.

      Those are my relatives, you insensitive clod!

      --
      I feel fantastic, and I'm still alive.
    8. Re:A matter of trust by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, dude, you're on to something. My cousin was saying just the same thing, and she's David Mikkelson's babysitter's boyfriend's best friend

      You should RTFA -- the Mikkelsons don't have any children.

    9. Re:A matter of trust by pipingguy · · Score: 2, Funny


      Bribery? Do you know how much I had to pay to get this story submission on the front page?

      Paul (not snopes) :)

    10. Re:A matter of trust by pipingguy · · Score: 1


      I don't think I've ever heard Barbara referred to as "little gator". Maybe you are thinking of Tommy from www.sewergator.com

      Paul

    11. Re:A matter of trust by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >>No, dude, you're on to something. My cousin was saying just the same thing, and she's David Mikkelson's babysitter's boyfriend's best friend

      >You should RTFA -- the Mikkelsons don't have any children.

      Or so they would have you believe!

    12. Re:A matter of trust by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 1

      don't think I've ever heard Barbara referred to as "little gator".

      IFAICR, that's her nickname on afu.

      Could be an urban legend, though...

      --
      I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
    13. Re:A matter of trust by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, maybe it's David Mikkelson that needs a babysitter! Ever think of that? Didja? Huh? Punk?

    14. Re:A matter of trust by blamanj · · Score: 1

      A little googling shows this:

      Susan Mudgett aka little gator

      Said nickname doesn't appear to show up in relation to Barbara at all.

      Real AFUistas do their own research.

    15. Re:A matter of trust by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 1

      A little googling shows this:

      Susan Mudgett aka little gator

      Said nickname doesn't appear to show up in relation to Barbara at all.

      Real AFUistas do their own research.
      ... and don't rely on fading memories of teh pre-web USENET. Oh well...

      --
      I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
    16. Re:A matter of trust by Schnapple · · Score: 1
      Those are my relatives, you insensitive clod!
      Tell me about it - my aunt likes to forward to all us relatives everything she gets in her email box. I would of course politely reply to just her with the Snopes link proving the email wrong. At some point my parents told me to stop doing that - "she likes living in a fantasy world...". I haven't seen anything from her in a long time, and though I'd like to think I finally conditioned her to "snope" the things she gets first, I fear that she's really just taken me off of her distribution list. The sad thing is she's a teacher....
    17. Re:A matter of trust by Thing+1 · · Score: 1
      You said it man, every time I get an email with an obvious hoax I do a reply-to-all with a polite explanation (with links) of how to verify a hoax before forwarding something which just doesn't sound right (i.e., the latest being Bill Gates paying you thousands of dollars just for forwarding an email... DAMMIT PEOPLE THINK! This doesn't happen with snail mail, why would it happen with email???) -- links to Google, ways to search "bill gates email hoax", and a few sites which maintain lists of hoaxes (as you mentioned, snopes).

      As you said, I like to think I'm having an effect but the effect may be limited to "well I won't send this to HIM any more..." -- which to me is fine, as it keeps the clutter out of my inbox. ;-)

      Cheers!

      --
      I feel fantastic, and I'm still alive.
  2. Television show. by Chess_the_cat · · Score: 1

    I remember reading that Snopes: The TV Show was in development but I never heard anything about it again. I was looking forward to that.

    --
    Support the First Amendment. Read at -1
    1. Re:Television show. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The TV show concept was canned in 2002, but the motion picture is in development. James Cameron will be producing.

    2. Re:Television show. by Burpmaster · · Score: 5, Funny
      I remember reading that Snopes: The TV Show was in development but I never heard anything about it again. I was looking forward to that.

      That was just an urban legend.

    3. Re:Television show. by frostman · · Score: 1

      No no, it's TRUE, but it was called "Spike TV."

      --

      This Like That - fun with words!

    4. Re:Television show. by Schnapple · · Score: 1

      I don't know how closely you ever followed it, but as I saw it, they actually produced a pilot episode for it (complete with clips on their site), then started shopping it around to networks and such. I assume that went nowhere. It must be frustrating as hell to see some of these networks (TBS, TLC) turn around and make their own show, especially when they take a gag from your website and report it as true.

  3. uhhh by gfody · · Score: 5, Funny

    holy animated gifs and midi soundtracks.. snopes.com looks like my mom's first website

    --

    bite my glorious golden ass.
    1. Re:uhhh by WWWWolf · · Score: 1

      When people are building their first websites, they may go way overboard with the presentation, often not even very good at that. I have looked at such sites, and told the people that they've wasted time on making bells and whistles (and annoying ones at that) but not done any real content. Original content is the substance people want from the web.

      ...and then I give snopes.com as an example of Bad Web Design which is excusable because they actually have lots and lots and lots of interesting content on the site! It's a wonderful site content-wise, but the presentation could use some work...

    2. Re:uhhh by danila · · Score: 1

      Actually the navigation part of snopes.com design is quite good. And the animated gifs are just part of the 1995 style, which is admittedly retro, but still just as good as any modern design.

      --
      Future Wiki -- If you don't think about the future, you cannot have one.
    3. Re:uhhh by pipingguy · · Score: 2, Informative

      They use Atomz as a search engine, it is excellent.

  4. Even though their website is somewhat outdated... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It's still useful. They've been debunking articles hours after they've started, especially handy in the recent "Metallica sues Canuck band for the use of E and F chords".

    You want to learn how to troll? GO HERE

  5. LINUX for the DESKTOP? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    DEFINATELY an URBAN LEGEND.

    1. Re:LINUX for the DESKTOP? by integral_anomaly · · Score: 0

      Umm, no. It's been slow to takeoff, but with people like walmart now offering Linux for the dekstop, progress is inevitable. Eventually all the bugs will be worked out, and Luniox will be even more useable than Windows or the Macintosh OS. It's only a matter of time.

    2. Re:LINUX for the DESKTOP? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, it's being sold on boxes in Wal-Mart, among other places... It's a nice setup.

      www.lindows.com

    3. Re:LINUX for the DESKTOP? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      DEFINITELY spelled INCORRECTLY.

  6. What about the Liberal Media? by Limburgher · · Score: 5, Funny
    I'm still trying to find that channel. I'd love to see it.

    Really.

    --

    You are not the customer.

    1. Re:What about the Liberal Media? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      California is a desert land roughly the size of Iraq. It is also an object lesson in the dangers of trying to impose democracy in a culture that is not ready for it. California "is degenerating into a banana republic," writes former Enron adviser Paul Krugman in his New York Times column. Leon Panetta, himself a Californian, writes in the Los Angeles Times that California is undergoing a "breakdown in [the] trust that is essential to governing in a democracy." Newsday quotes Bob Mulholland, another California political activist, as warning of "a coup attempt by the Taliban element." Others say a move is under way to "hijack" California's government.

      What isn't widely known is that the U.S. has a large military presence in California. And our troops are coming under attack from angry locals. "Two off-duty Marines were stabbed, one critically, when they and two companions were attacked by more than a dozen alleged gang members early Thursday," KSND-TV reports from San Diego, a city in California's south.

      How many young American men and women will have to make the ultimate sacrifice before we realize it isn't worth it? Is the Bush administration too proud to ask the U.N. for help in pacifying California? Plainly California has turned into a quagmire, and the sooner we bring our troops back home, the better.

    2. Re:What about the Liberal Media? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm still trying to find that channel. I'd love to see it.

      Try tuning to CNN, BBC, or any news source predicting gloom and doom in Iraq (where, in fact, things are looking up).

    3. Re:What about the Liberal Media? by KiahZero · · Score: 1

      That's not liberal. When we go into Liberia, how much you want to bet they predict doom and gloom there? The media loves to exaggerate. Is anyone surprised?

      And another thing - what about conservatives predicting doom and gloom all over the airwaves during our actions in Kosovo? Were they being liberal?

      --
      I'm a lawyer, but not yours. I wouldn't represent someone who thinks taking legal advice from Slashdot is a good idea.
    4. Re:What about the Liberal Media? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      actually, the media loves a winner. When it looked like Bill Clinton was history, they let it all hang out, then stopped reporting on his habits (last minute pardons, stealing white house furniture, etc) when it was clear he wasn't going anywhere.

      During the Iraq war, the embedded reporters and tv were generally upbeat and positive, and wanted to see Iraq ass getting beat. Consider the CNN mea culpa editorial that they knew saddam was a sick bastard and all around evil guy, but didn't tell anyone because he would have kicked them out of baghdad and executed anyone who had worked with them.

      It was only baghdad bob and the ney york times front page, time, newsweek, etc that said the coalition was in trouble.

    5. Re:What about the Liberal Media? by Uncle+Dick · · Score: 1

      The above was originally posted at OpinionJournal.com.

      --
      END OF LINE
    6. Re:What about the Liberal Media? by 1u3hr · · Score: 1
      That's not liberal. When we go into Liberia, how much you want to bet they predict doom and gloom there?

      Of course they won't be happy that you're invading their native land.

    7. Re:What about the Liberal Media? by mfrank · · Score: 1

      Uh, the Liberians are begging US troops to land. It's probably one of the most pro-America countries in Africa.

    8. Re:What about the Liberal Media? by 1u3hr · · Score: 1
      Uh, the Liberians are begging ...

      Uh, it was a joke: "Liberal, Liberia".

  7. Re:Debunking snopes.com by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    lol, nice troll.

    the link is to an animated gif of two guys having sex. so unless you're gay (like me :> ) then you probably won't enjoy it.

  8. most important statement by AbdullahHaydar · · Score: 5, Insightful

    from the interview:

    MG: "What about the role of the Internet in hoaxes?"

    DM: "I think in general, nothing's changed but the technology. There's a lot on the Internet that you can't trust. But frankly, there's a lot on your bookshelf and the library shelves that you can't trust either. There are books on UFOs and alien encounters that require some examination. There's never been a medium that you could inherently trust. You still have to look at who's telling you this and why are they telling you this. Is there anything else they should be telling you? That concept hasn't changed. The Internet has made it easier to debunk hoaxes while at the same time making it easier to perpetrate them. Nothing's really changed but the technology."

    The only other thing he could have mentioned is that people trust TV news and newspapers way too much also. 'nuff said.

    --


    Suicide Booth: You are now dead! Thank you for using Stop and Drop, America's favorite since 2008.
  9. hmm by wiggys · · Score: 5, Funny
    "Snopes.com is the work of the husband-and-wife team of David and Barbara Mikkelson, who have taken their passion for urban myths to the Web since 1995."

    Or so they would have us believe... what if Snopes is a secret CIA plot to spread deliberate disinformation (the same CIA which is run by Masonic Lizards who would love nothing better than to enslare the world's population using advanced psychic mind-control tactics)

    --

    Sorry, but my karma just ran over your dogma.

    1. Re:hmm by PakProtector · · Score: 5, Funny

      Oh, stop spreading such disinformation.

      Anyone who's in the know knows that the Masonic Lizards are just a front for the secret organization of International Bartenders.
      Bartenders are the most powerful people in the world! Just think about it. I've told many deep, dark secrets to bartenders! They must know absolutely everything!

      Even now, they sit in their secret base, plotting the overthrow of the world's governments, using those same governments' leaders as their willing dupes!


      Of course... I could be crazy.



      Where's the +1 Paranoid mod?

      --

      Edward@Tomato - /home/Edward/ man woman
      man: no entry for woman in the manual.
      "Qua!?"

    2. Re:hmm by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 2, Funny

      No, you're not crazy.

      However, the International Bartenders are controlled by the Boy Sprouts, who in turn are controlled by the Fnord Motor Company who in turn is controlled by the Fred Birch Society.

      Ultimately, to find the real source of the power you have to follow the tiny yellow lucre. Of course, the real problem with world domination is that if someone sneezes, everything is reduced to anarchy.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
    3. Re:hmm by PakProtector · · Score: 1

      Forget this. I blame the whole thing on Marketing.

      --

      Edward@Tomato - /home/Edward/ man woman
      man: no entry for woman in the manual.
      "Qua!?"

    4. Re:hmm by NickFitz · · Score: 4, Funny

      I used to be a bartender.

      Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.

      That's right, I heard the same thing.

      Do you want ice in that?

      --
      Using HTML in email is like putting sound effects on your phone calls. Just say <strong>no</strong>.
    5. Re:hmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      You fool! Clearly the Rand Corporation, in conjunction with the saucer people, under the supervision of the reverse vampires, are forcing our parents to go to bed early in a fiendish plot to eliminate the meal of dinner. We're through the looking glass, here, people

      (Come on, you knew it was coming)

    6. Re:hmm by jmason · · Score: 1
      Wouldn't you know it, someone already mentioned that...
      'Snopes was set up in early 1995 by the CIA as a way to debunk popular conspiracy theories, Companies and individuals can now pay to have their urban legend denied on the site, a prime beneficiary being Richard Gere.'
  10. Nostradamus prediction. by questamor · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Or the false nostradamus prediction, debunked on snopes.com:

    In the City of God there will be a great thunder,
    Two brothers torn apart by Chaos,
    while the fortress endures, the great leader will succumb,
    The third big war will begin when the big city is burning.
    *NOSTRADAMUS 1654


    Written by a student to show how vague prophecies can be misinterpreted easily. Popped up after Sept11... now applies only a couple of years later to Uday and Qusay Hussein.

    Just thought that curious :)

    1. Re:Nostradamus prediction. by rebeka+thomas · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Actually I don't think you understand the predictions very well. Nostrodamus was coming from the background not of Islam but in a society very much in the control of christianity, so the statement

      In the City of God there will be a great thunder,

      cannot apply to Baghdad, as it's never had great religious significance for christians. It may have been a great city but Nostrodamus would never have described it as a City of God.

      Two brothers torn apart by Chaos

      Another opposite where the brothers Odai and Qusai were together until death, and even in death they were kept in the same tent. Hardly torn apart. Maybe torn from this world but certainly not from one another.

      while the fortress endures, the great leader will succumb

      There could be some truth in this. Baghdad has survived and its citizens are a hardy lot. There is a lot of work in rebuilding but it will happen. I believe Saddam will be caught.

      The third big war will begin when the big city is burning.

      The war is over dude.

      --
      RST
    2. Re:Nostradamus prediction. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful
      Are you being funny or stupid? I can't tell. You do know it's not a Nostrodamus prophecy, right? That it was written by a Canadian student. That your attempts to understand it in terms of Notrodamus's beliefs are ridiculous. That....

      I give up. There's no reaching stupid people.

    3. Re:Nostradamus prediction. by KiahZero · · Score: 1
      In the City of God there will be a great thunder,

      cannot apply to Baghdad, as it's never had great religious significance for christians. It may have been a great city but Nostrodamus would never have described it as a City of God.


      Christians and Muslims both believe in the same God, just disagree in the nature of Jesus Christ. Chrisitians believe he was the Messiah. Muslims believe he was just another prophet. The two, combined with Judaism, are referred to Abrahamic, because they all worship the God of Abraham.
      --
      I'm a lawyer, but not yours. I wouldn't represent someone who thinks taking legal advice from Slashdot is a good idea.
    4. Re:Nostradamus prediction. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      NOSTRADAMUS 1654

      Ah yes, this would be Michel de Nostradame (1503-1566)?

      (Which makes it even more amazing that people fell for it)

    5. Re:Nostradamus prediction. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      *NOSTRADAMUS 1654

      The thing that always cracks me up about Nostradamus predictions everyone puts in their sigs or whatnot: Nostradamus died in 1566.

      Maybe not the exact year, but any simple search will see that he died around that time, almost 100 years before he made these predictions.

      Damn, he was good.

    6. Re:Nostradamus prediction. by BobTheLawyer · · Score: 3, Funny

      you're just a sceptic: this is clear proof of life after death.

    7. Re:Nostradamus prediction. by Stonent1 · · Score: 1

      There was a show that appears some times on TLC or Discovery (I think)that is hosted by the late orson wells. It was made in the early 80's and it talks about Nostradamus's predictions and there was one that they interpretted as possibly being New York. But it was the man from "Persia" in the blue turban. I'm still trying to figure out who he is. I mean he predicted "Hister" (Hitler) so where is this blue turban "antichrist"?

    8. Re:Nostradamus prediction. by Stonent1 · · Score: 1

      The name of the show was The Man Sho Saw Tomorrow

    9. Re:Nostradamus prediction. by dvdeug · · Score: 1

      Christians and Muslims both believe in the same God, just disagree in the nature of Jesus Christ

      That's not the question; the question is, would Nostradamus have described Baghdad as "the City of God"? Given the particular views on God and religion that Catholism of the era put forth, I would seriously doubt, especially given as I don't remember any of the people of the book who would consider Baghdad "the City of God". Jersulem, yes. Mecca, yes. Rome, yes. Constantinople - mmm, maybe. But Baghdad, the capitol of Babylon, never.

    10. Re:Nostradamus prediction. by in7ane · · Score: 1

      Clearly, he just predicted the making of the prediction after his death.

    11. Re:Nostradamus prediction. by nathanh · · Score: 1
      Actually I don't think you understand the predictions very well. Nostrodamus was coming from the background not of Islam but in a society very much in the control of christianity, so the statement

      I think you missed the point; that verse wasn't written by Nostrodamus. It was written by a student to demonstrate how vague predictions might be interpreted to mean anything.

    12. Re:Nostradamus prediction. by iabervon · · Score: 1

      Actually, that area is considered to be the birthplace of civilization, and therefore of organized religion in general, so it is of some significance even to the Canadian student who wrote those lines (as well as in the context he was writing them for of Nostradamus's text). Baghdad makes sense for the site of the city that God lived in when Adam and Eve were in Eden.

      "Major combat" is over. Unfortunately, the US military is really best at major combat, and has not been doing nearly so well at the war since (which, given that the roles of defender and attacker have reversed, might be considered a new war -- the third).

      In any case, it fits better than 9/11, in which there was no great leader who succumbed, and no third war in any logical set which began while New York (hardly a better candidate for the "City of God") was burning.

    13. Re:Nostradamus prediction. by MsGeek · · Score: 2, Informative
      In the City of God there will be a great thunder,

      cannot apply to Baghdad, as it's never had great religious significance for christians. It may have been a great city but Nostrodamus would never have described it as a City of God.

      The Hebrew name for Baghdad, Babel, comes from two words: "bab"=gate and "El"=The Most High. That was actually a good call by the guy who forged that quatrain...Nostradamus was very fond of making puns from things he translated out of Hebrew or Latin. "The Gate of God" could easily be rendered as "The City of God" in archaic French.

      This is not to give the faux prediction any weight. Just to show that the guy who did the forgery did his homework.

      --
      Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
    14. Re:Nostradamus prediction. by uncoveror · · Score: 1

      The name Babylon means "Gate of God", but Nostradamus quatrains are B.S. whether they are authentically his or not. The future is a book that hasn't been written yet, so you can't skip ahead to the end. There is no such thing as a psychic.

      --
      The Uncoveror: It's the real news.
  11. Hunting for Bambi. Hoax? Reality? Does it Matter? by useosx · · Score: 3, Interesting

    A good article at CommonDreams.org about how the fact that it turned out to be a hoax seemed to make it 'acceptable' according to mainstream news sources.

    Right-wing misogynists need not apply....

  12. Interview by dicepackage · · Score: 3, Funny

    Its not a real interview its a hoax.

    1. Re:Interview by Decaffeinated+Jedi · · Score: 1
      He's right; the real David Mikkelson died six years ago from mixing Pop Rocks with a carbonated soft drink.

      DecafJedi

      --
      DecafJedi
      my weblog: apropos of something
  13. UGH Parent contains link to dead babies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What happened to those babies is far too good for scum like you. I HOPE YOU ROT IN HELL!!!

  14. MOD PARENT UP. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hehe, good call.

  15. One Drawback by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    The only bad thing about that site is that Barbara uses it as a political tool every time that elections are near. If I have to read one more article on snopes about how hillary clinton has never lied, I am going to vomit.

    1. Re:One Drawback by TomHandy · · Score: 1
      I know this has been modded as flamebait already, but even so, what exactly are you talking about? There are exactly four entries on Hilary Clinton, and I don't see any of them as having the purpose of showing that Hilary Clinton has never lied. The closest I can seem to find is the entry on her getting her name from Sir Edmund Hillary:

      Hillary vs. Hillary

      But I don't see this as saying she has never lied.... in fact, they even seem to say that the claim seems to have been a lie, although they characterize it as a harmless one (which, frankly, it is).

      The other three items were all demonstratably false.

      So, how is she using the site as a political tool? She doesn't seem to make the claim she has NEVER lied, just that these particular examples can be looked at for themselves. That they might come up when elections come near has more to do with the fact that false e-mails about Hillary Clinton are inherently going to come about around elections (because people want to spread these around to show she is a liar and shouldn't be voted for or whatever).

      -Tom

  16. My problem with Snopes.com by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I read one of their articles debunking the myth that Marilyn Monroe had six toes. The only issue I had with it was one of their "counterproofs":
    There is no record of Marilyn's having had an operation at that point in her life, and no contemporary references to anyone's noticing her walking with a bandaged foot or a limp for a period of time. (One doesn't simply get up and start trotting around after having a toe removed -- the missing digit affects one's balance, and it takes some time to adjust to the change and "relearn" how to walk.)

    The problem is that according to my wife, a podiatric (foot) surgeon, the recovery period following a phalangectomy (ampution of a toe (or finger)) is almost nil. The big toe, let alone a vestigial "pinky toe", is not crucial for balance or stability. You can verify this yourself; lift up your big toe and walk around. Bet you can still do it, can't you? Sure you can, especially if you're wearing a shoe with a sole that is even moderately stiff, which would replace some of the big toe's stabilizing influence.

    I reported this via the Snopes.com comment form. After a couple of days, I received a reply that basically said "everyone knows you can't walk right if you have a toe cut off", and my wife's qualified medical opinion was pretty much ignored. Now, I really don't think that Marilyn Monroe had six toes. However, I stand by my assertion that at least one of the reasons they give opposing such an idea just doesn't work.

    Why do I think that's important? Because I don't know anything at all about a lot of the subjects that they speak authoritatively about. Since I know of at least one topic where they discarded the opinion of a subject matter expert, I have no reason to believe that they haven't done so elsewhere.

    An old saying, paraphrased, is that "the news is accurate, except for the parts you personally know about", and I now kind of feel the same way about Snopes.com. I agree with a lot of their findings, but I have to take it all with a grain of salt.

    --
    Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
    1. Re:My problem with Snopes.com by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Very true. I've seen half a dozen casses where Snopes makes an assumtion that someone with real expertise about the given subject could tell you is just plain wrong.

      I've also seen a few too many cases where they take the most far fetched claims of a story and after disproving those claims state that the whole thing is false. Even most true stories get mangled somewhat after only a few retellings.

      That said, they are doing a good job at a herculean task. They just need to talk to the experts in the given field more often.

    2. Re:My problem with Snopes.com by gonzo67 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Actually, your "proof" of lifting a toe to prove you can walk without it is NOT actually proof. If you need it to walk, and simply lift it, it is still there. And by lifting it, you will automatically compensate for the lift.

      Now, as someone who has had a relative (grandfather) lose a toe due to diabetes related gangrene, and having seen him walk awkwardly afterwards for a while until he was used to it, I would say that your "proof" is false based on my own observations.

    3. Re:My problem with Snopes.com by binaryDigit · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The problem is that according to my wife, a podiatric (foot) surgeon, the recovery period following a phalangectomy (ampution of a toe (or finger)) is almost nil. The big toe, let alone a vestigial "pinky toe", is not crucial for balance or stability.

      While this may be true, one would think that the actual act of having an operation would cause that foot to be a bit tender/sore for a while, which would cause someone to walk awkwardly. After such a surgery, I would be very surprised that she could walk "normally" without a bit of gimpiness just from pain of having the operation. Of course, if you believe those who say that she was a drug addict, then it could be that she just never felt the pain anyway.

    4. Re:My problem with Snopes.com by Shadowlore · · Score: 1

      I've got personal experience with the effects a messed up big toe. Twice. No, no amputations. However, I beat the toe up pretty bad playing with my daughter and had a hell of a time trying to walk for about a week. Even when I tried to keep the toe off the ground.

      After about a week I could walk somewhat decently. Of course, the pain was subsiding by then, too. Now, this was the big toe. I've hurt other toes w/o much effect other than pain.

      --
      My Suburban burns less gasoline than your Prius.
    5. Re:My problem with Snopes.com by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 2, Informative

      Not so sure about that. When I was 17 I cut my 4rd toe on my right foot on a peice of glass. Deep cut right on the joint. Painless, due to the sharpness of the glass. I had it stitched up and went about my bussiness with some painkillers for good measure. Despite my toe being all there, it no longer functions quite properly, I can't bend it as redily since the tendon was partiall severed and a reattachment was too risky and costly for such a generally useless digit. It did, however, take me a few weeks before my walk felt completely comfotable and I couldn't run for a week or two at all.

    6. Re:My problem with Snopes.com by miTMan · · Score: 0

      Walking around in shoes with one toe raised is not the same as having a toe removed!

      Thats like saying that holding your mouth open is the same as getting a tooth filled.

    7. Re:My problem with Snopes.com by pipingguy · · Score: 1


      Is Jan Brunvand good enough for you? As you mention, "talking to experts in the field" would be nice, but expensive. Plus, that would open the door to subtle manipulation.

    8. Re:My problem with Snopes.com by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 1

      If your grandfather had gangrene, the missing was was probably the least of his foot problems. He probably would've walked awkwardly even with the toe in perfect condition.

      --
      Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
    9. Re:My problem with Snopes.com by gonzo67 · · Score: 1

      The gangrene was just the tip, but as this was over two decades ago, the choice to remove the whole toe was cosidered the best.

    10. Re:My problem with Snopes.com by drac · · Score: 1

      I'm a doctor.

      Although the "recovery time" with respect to necessary sick leave, bed rest, etc. is practically nil, I am a bit unclear as to what she could be claiming.

      Is she REALLY saying that there is no pain, no limping, no observable problems after the removal of an anatomically complete sixth toe? (as opposed to a boneless vestigial)

      Such a claim would be in opposition to my (admittedly generalist) experience- including experience with the removal of toes.

      Hell, people limp after having a toenail removed.

    11. Re:My problem with Snopes.com by gpinzone · · Score: 1

      They have a hard time admitting when they're wrong. For years, the "Up the Butt, Bob" story about the Newlywed Game was listed as false. When someone found the episode, the Mikkelsons' response was to shrug it off since it wasn't an exact quote. Now, it's finally listed as true. I've seen other examples of Urban Legends being 99% right, but they'd call them false on a technicality.

  17. Who Believes Half of what they read in email ? by Crashmarik · · Score: 2

    Right Now I am looking at my email. 75% of whats come in today is spam. Mozilla mail has caught 95% of that, classified it and moved it into my junk folder.

    My Point is if you know people that believe half of what they read in their email do them a favor. Unplug their computers and reacquaint them with reality Its the kind thing to do before they start taking HGH, Viagra and herbal estrogen mixtures.

  18. It's a joke, laugh by NanoGator · · Score: 3, Funny

    Claim: Linux can replace Windows as a desktop OS

    Status: False

    Example: Somebody installed Linux where they work and found they could answer email and visit Slashdot, thus claiming that the OS can replace the ever popular Windows.

    Origins: Slashdot is the home of a number of self-righteous Linux zealots who...

    Ya know, I really wanted to continue writing this but I'm not sure how to dodge a Troll moderation!

    --
    "Derp de derp."
  19. Re:Hunting for Bambi. Hoax? Reality? Does it Matte by loucura! · · Score: 1

    I disagree, he's claiming that a (fictional!!!) movie about hunting women is equivocal to spouse abuse, or actually hunting women. First, there's a serious disconnect here, between fantasy and reality. A person who fantasizes about things that may not be politically correct, or even socially acceptable doesn't harm anyone so long as he doesn't force his fantasy upon anyone else.

    Second, there's he's trying to claim fiction is the same as reality. His argument would have us banning movies like American History X, because there was racial violence in it, banning books like Jennifer Government because poor people are discriminated against, banning works of social commentary fiction because they happen to violate someone's sense of decency.

    The actors(!!) in the movie were (presumably) not forced to run around naked while male actors simulated shooting them with paintball guns. They were paid for the service.

    This, isn't to say that I condone the video, nor the use of violence against anyone (simulated or otherwise), I think that arguing against it only works when it exists though, and that you can't equate stylised violence with actual violence, none of the actresses were battered by the actors, nor were they actually shot with the paintball guns.

    --
    Black and grey are both shades of white.
  20. Two brothers TORN APART by Chaos by RLiegh · · Score: 1

    Can be another way of phrasing "two brothers ripped to shreds by chaos".

    I'm not clear on how they died, so I don't know if they were literally 'torn apart' or not.

  21. Re:Debunking snopes.com by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Umm, no. The one on top is a she-male, with a bikini tan line. Why would anybody who uses a strap-on use a semi-flacid one?

  22. Strangest TRUTH by 403Forbidden · · Score: 3, Interesting

    What is THE strangest story that you thought couldn't POSSIBLY be true, but upon further research, was?

    BTW excellent site, been reading it for years :)

  23. Come on now by skryche · · Score: 1, Insightful
    Dagnabbit, how hard is it to make your links sensible? I spend way too much time (~3 sec!) trying to figure out which of your links is the link and which are backstory.

    "Online Journalism Review", links to that periodical's site, which is logical enough -- but why would "David Mikkelson" link to anything but a page about Mr. Mikkelson? "Interview" should be the link to the interview.

    Am I a crank? Or do I make sense? (Or both?)

    1. Re:Come on now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Glad to see I'm not the only one who thought those links were a bit odd.

    2. Re:Come on now by tommertron · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Dagnabbit, how hard is it to make your links sensible? I spend way too much time (~3 sec!) trying to figure out which of your links is the link and which are backstory.

      I have to say I really agree.

      I think some of the poster are better than others. Sure, link the parent site, but if you link the interview, the link should be embedded in the word 'interview' or better yet, 'interview with ###'. If you link somebody's name, that link should point to a bio or vanity page of that person.

      Hey editors, maybe some guidelines on links in posts?

      --
      Random rants about technology: http://technorants.blogspot.com
    3. Re:Come on now by pipingguy · · Score: 1


      I humbly apologize for my apparent inability to clearly link.

      Are you a crank? I can't tell.

  24. Re:Hunting for Bambi. Hoax? Reality? Does it Matte by useosx · · Score: 1

    I agree with you, as well. But, I would point out that his argument is useful in that it generates an opposing discourse. While I agree with your argument, and think that the video provides a valuable services to persons who get off on this sort of thing, it also could be extremely psychologically damaging to another set of persons. Both of these views need to be recognized. His view of sexuality and representations of sexuality are a bit conservative, but this no doubt comes from his work with battered women. So, no, clearly the video should not be banned, but I think his viewpoint is a valuable one.

  25. Re:Article Text for those too lazy to follow links by stephanruby · · Score: 2, Insightful
    "Despite the fact that the station's LuAnne Sorrell did a four-part report on the scheme -- supposedly giving men the chance to hunt naked women with paintball guns for up to $10,000 -- it failed to do the heavy lifting needed to unmask the hoax. Instead, urban legends site Snopes.com led the way within days with a detailed explanation of why it was a hoax."

    I would hate to interrupt this self-congratulatory pat on the back, but "Hunting for Bambi" wasn't much of a hoax. A publicity stunt, yes. An hoax, not really. Assuming you have the money and assuming you have the desire, shooting paintballs at naked girls isn't something an *unlicensed* escort service would shy away from. Afterall, fullfilling sexual and/or sadistic fantasies is their business.

    If we call "Hunting for Bambi" a hoax, we might as well call the Nike publicity stunts hoaxes as well. For example, the incident where they blocked traffic by setting up an impromptu tennis court. The news may be shocking to you, but that was staged -- even the outburst of the bus driver was carefully choreographed.

  26. Quote from their response email by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I wanted to provide a little evidence to my statement that they scoffed at my statement. Here's a quote from their reply; my original words are in <> brackets:
    <<Are there other photographs of a young Marilyn without shoes or socks? There very well may be; I've not done the research.>>

    Yes. But even if there weren't, lack of negative evidence is not the same as positive evidence. It's up to those who make the claim to establish that Marilyn had six toes; it's not up to others to disprove it.

    <<Perhaps a pro-bono helping hand from a family friend or compassionate surgeon?>>

    Whom she met how? How is it that no other friend or relative of Marilyn's knew this mysterious "friend" or surgeon?

    <<Try this experiment: take off your shoes and walk around in your socks. Your toes are not weight-bearing - the ball of your foot is the active fulcrum on which you walk. Even with your toes deliberately lifted, you should still be able to maintain your normal gait without any conscious adjustment.>>

    Then there should be no reason why a person with a painfully infected toe would walk with a limp. But they do.

    I found two major problems with this:

    1. David correctly said that "lack of negative evidence is not the same as positive evidence", but then contends that she couldn't have had the surgery because "no other friend or relative of Marilyn's knew this mysterious 'friend' or surgeon". It works both ways; lack of postive evidence is also not the same as negative evidence, and to see those two statements back-to-back bothered me.
    2. The finally statement flat-out pissed me off. What if I'd said that it is possible to eat after you've had a tooth removed, but his "counterevidence" is that "then there should be no reason why a person with a painfully infected tooth would eat without favoring the other side of their mouth. But they do." I completely disagree with his assertion that the lack of a body part is in any way similar to having that body part in agony, but he used that as a reason to dismiss my claim.

    The funny part, to me, is that I pretty much agree with the conclusion he reached. The offered evidence, however, had little bearing on the theory being proved.

    --
    Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
    1. Re:Quote from their response email by RedWizzard · · Score: 1
      David correctly said that "lack of negative evidence is not the same as positive evidence", but then contends that she couldn't have had the surgery because "no other friend or relative of Marilyn's knew this mysterious 'friend' or surgeon". It works both ways; lack of postive evidence is also not the same as negative evidence, and to see those two statements back-to-back bothered me.
      You introduced the assertion that there could have been "a pro-bono helping hand from a family friend or compassionate surgeon?". David appears to be simply questioning why there is no evidence of that. To paraphrase his first response: it's up to those who make the claim to provide proof.

      I completely disagree with his assertion that the lack of a body part is in any way similar to having that body part in agony, but he used that as a reason to dismiss my claim.
      Well maybe. I've never had anything amputated. I'm sure that the wound resulting from even a small toe being amputated would hurt for a while, but it is possible that it could be concealled from everyone if it's only a few days. Still I think you're overreacting a bit - the other photos from the same shoot are more than sufficient to disprove the allegation. It seems a bit much to start questioning the whole site over one throw-away comment in an open and shut case.
    2. Re:Quote from their response email by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He's just in 'debunking mode'. He deals with so many hoaxes, he's desensitized to any counter-evidence, because he thinks you're trying to change his mind.

      You can observe this in nearly anyone who regards themselves as a "skeptic" on the internet.

    3. Re:Quote from their response email by Lelon · · Score: 1
      Yes. But even if there weren't, lack of negative evidence is not the same as positive evidence. It's up to those who make the claim to establish that Marilyn had six toes; it's not up to others to disprove it.
      That seems to run counter to the whole point of the site. Urban Myths (by definition) sometimes can't be proven. So if you set out to debunk these myths, it is in fact your job to disprove them. If you are unable to disprove the myth, you should't claim its false simply because of lack of positive evidence.
    4. Re:Quote from their response email by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 1
      To paraphrase his first response: it's up to those who make the claim to provide proof.

      But isn't that what he does? He claims that she did not have surgery, in part because she didn't know any surgeons. I was only trying to explore the posibility that she might have known a doctor willing to do some fancy footwork. Doesn't he have to provide positive evidence for his claim? It seems like he pretty a rather broad and hard-to-prove claim, and used that as evidence for his case. That's the part that bothered me.

      Also note that I likely agree with his enventual conclusion. I really doubt that Marilyn Monroe had six toes. Similarly, I believe that Fermat's Last Theorem is probably true, but noone had a reasonable proof until very recently. Thinking something is true is a far cry from claiming to have proved that it is true.

      --
      Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
    5. Re:Quote from their response email by RedWizzard · · Score: 1
      He claims that she did not have surgery, in part because she didn't know any surgeons.
      He said: "There is no record of Marilyn's having had an operation at that point in her life...". To me that is not the introduction of a new claim (which would require supporting evidence), it is the observation that there is no evidence to support someone else's contention that surgery might have occured. You then introduced the idea that there may have been a family friend or similar involved and he again asks "where is the evidence?" I don't see how there is any burden on David to provide evidence that there is no evidence of surgery. It's not even possible without accounting for every single day of Monroe's life over a fairly large period of time.
      Also note that I likely agree with his enventual conclusion. I really doubt that Marilyn Monroe had six toes. ... Thinking something is true is a far cry from claiming to have proved that it is true.
      "I likely agree"? How can photos from the same photo shoot not be accepted as absolute proof that the claim is false? Exactly what still gives you pause?
  27. James Randy debunking paranormal claims by bstadil · · Score: 4, Informative
    James Randy is another person that has dedicated his life to debunking paranormal claims, notably religious charletans.

    Look at his lecture Series, If he comes to your city it is well worth attending the lecture.

    --
    Help fight continental drift.
    1. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by TomHandy · · Score: 4, Informative
      I'm sorry, but this is a complete distortion of what James Randi and the JREF do. Anyone who really cares about this can read Randi's work for themselves at the JREF Website

      Clearly though the folks at Survival Science have a bone to pick with people like him and other debunkers.

      But either way, what you have said is not in line with what James Randi does. He doesn't take the vantage point that anything paranormal must be false. He simply says that it should be something that should hold up to scientific testing.

      Saying he ditches the scientific method is ridiculous, and he has documented the exact tests they have worked with claimants to develop, and these are almost always scientifically sound.

      But again, trying to argue about the scientific method with someone from SurvivalScience.org is probably futile, as I'm sure you're convinced that your brand of science is much more valid than anything that is done by the folks associated with the JREF.

      -Tom

    2. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      VERITAS - The theory of systemic memory predicts that informed energy can take on a "life of its own." Hence, imaginary beliefs such as the toothfairy, even Santa Claus, can potentially exist as dynamical info-energy systems.

      Uh. Yeah. You go, Mr. Scientist.

    3. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by KiahZero · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      But again, trying to argue about the scientific method with someone from SurvivalScience.org is probably futile, as I'm sure you're convinced that your brand of science is much more valid than anything that is done by the folks associated with the JREF.

      Wow, that was an amazing assumption. I haven't looked into their actual science. I've merely perused the "Debunking the Debunkers" section.

      It is a logical fallacy to attach the truth of an argument to its source. The criticisms of "skeptical" arguments are valid, despite that they come from "belivers".

      I can't claim today that he doesn't follow the scientific method in testing claimaints to his million dollar prize, because it's been a while since I read the specifics of his tests. However, as he assumes that all "paranormal" events are false and looks for evidence to change his mind is contradictory to the scientific method.

      It doesn't bother me if you still trust Randi after reading some of the criticisms (that isn't the best one I've seen, simply one I stumbled across recently), but I felt that people would be interested some of the criticisms of his work. No harm in seeing both sides of the story.

      --
      I'm a lawyer, but not yours. I wouldn't represent someone who thinks taking legal advice from Slashdot is a good idea.
    4. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by dvdeug · · Score: 4, Informative

      Sure, there's little to no evidence of divinity, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Agnostics are the only ones who can claim that their beliefs are based off the scientific method, since they admit there's not enough evidence to make a conclusion, either way.

      Sure, there's no little to no evidence of invisible pink unicorns, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. The scientific method includes this little thing called Occam's razor; if there's little to no evidence for something, and it would be simpler if you left it out, leave it out.

    5. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by Knife_Edge · · Score: 1

      James Randi is not a pseudo-scientist. He deals with a lot of people who insist that they have some sort of unknown capability, special power, whatever, or that they have some substance that does. Being a good scientist, he insists that these people provide reproducible, testable proof to validate these claims. These people do not - they say all sorts of things about him, insisting that it is him and his methods that are preventing the truth from coming out. Whatever. Randi does not ditch the scientific method. What he is offering anybody willing to accept his offer, an opportunity to truly prove their claims! Why toss out the only tool that is known to be reliable in doing this? However, he does not give people the benefit of the doubt all the time. Randi dispenses with equivocal language. Why bother acknowledging that something may be possible? Anything may be possible! Randi offers people the ability to prove that their claims are true, not just possible.

      Do you think he refuses to give the people who make the claims a fair hearing? Oh, that is what they often think, but all he really does is make sure the tests are verifiable. There are plenty of charlatans in the world who demonstrate bogus phenomena with rigged demonstrations. Would you prefer he added legitimacy to these con men, by refusing to tests their claims accurately?

      I read some of the sh*t in that link you posted - This is the usual nonsense runaround Randi gets from crackpots. In this particular case, he was going to be allowed to test the claims, but forced to sign some sort of non-disclosure agreement about the results of the test. Well, Randi called bullsh*t, and if you think that is unreasonable, it is your right.

      You have to understand the position he is in. He is much more credible than the phony psychics and UFO lunatics and what have you. If he says that something may be possible (which anything is), these people take it as a blessing of truth from him. Why take the risk of being associated with a claim that has a 99.9% chance of being bogus? Especially when you know how to test the claim.

    6. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by KiahZero · · Score: 1

      Funny you said that, 'cause I just was reading this page of the site:

      Debunking Debunker's Arguments - Occam's Razor.

      By the way, The Scientific Method.

      --
      I'm a lawyer, but not yours. I wouldn't represent someone who thinks taking legal advice from Slashdot is a good idea.
    7. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by KiahZero · · Score: 1

      You neglected to mention, that quote was followed by:

      However, this does NOT mean that I believe in the tooth fairy or Santa Claus. Once again, skeptics make the mistake of confusing theory and predictions with personal belief.

      This whole article is quickly becoming a karma-sinkhole, by the way. I got modded down Troll for pointing out a troll, and my above information, relevant to the conversation, was modded Flamebait. Maybe we can all have a discussion without trying to mod each other into oblivion, k?

      --
      I'm a lawyer, but not yours. I wouldn't represent someone who thinks taking legal advice from Slashdot is a good idea.
    8. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by TomHandy · · Score: 4, Informative
      Again, James Randi does not assume that all paranormal events are false. Where do you get this from? The most he ever does is go by experience, and so if he sees someone claiming to be able to do something that has been previously shown to be impossible, he will make an assumption that it is probably false.

      But he doesn't say it is necessarily false, which is why he does what he does. He affords anyone the opportunity to work with him to design a test both sides can agree on (you mentioned reading the specifics of his tests, but this makes no sense.... he doesn't have one set test, since each claim is different..... the JREF works with claimants to develop a test, set of rules, etc. that BOTH parties agree to, and then set out to enact it).

      The details of the JREF Challenge can be read here (and I would suggest reading it carefully because many of the JREF's critics misconstrue a lot about how it works, or complain that the tests aren't fair, etc. even though the challenge clearly states that the tests are designed together by both parties, and nothing happens until the claimant themselves is happy with the conditions): JREF Challenge

      But again, Randi never starts out assuming that all paranormal events are false. He simply starts out saying they should be able to pass a test that can show they can do what they claim to do.

      One of the most popular types of claims he gets, for example, are dowsers. So, they work to develop a test of their abilities, by setting up a double or triple blind test of their dowsing abilities. And they both agree on what would be a reasonable success rate (i.e. something that would be better than just what someone would get by chance). Randi and the JREF don't automatically assume these are false, but the nice thing about designing double and triple blind tests is that Randi's personal opinions are irrelevant.

      Whether Randi personally believes a claimant can do what they say has nothing to do with whether they can pass a test they agree to. If Randi's personal beliefs did affect it, it would be pointless.

      And again, Randi doesn't automatically assume that all dowsers, for example, who come to him are not what they say they are. The most he will do is say "I've seen hundreds of dowsers come and try to prove what they can do, and they can't do it" and he will go on that to have a pretty clear idea that a dowser might not be able to do what they say they can do.

      But again, that has nothing to do with it, and if someone with a legitimate ability to demonstrate dowsing or any other paranormal abilities would have every opportunity to do it.

      But again, I can't stress this strongly enough. Randi's own trustworthiness isn't and can't be related to the tests themselves. If a claimant doesn't want Randi involved in any way, he can make that part of the terms of the test. Randi isn't the one who makes the decisions, and if someone ever could pass a scientific test they all agreed on, that would be it.

      Anyway, you're right, it's good to see all sides of an argument, and people can be free to make up their own minds from looking at sites like survivalscience.org and the various other groups and individuals that criticize James Randi, and then they can also look at the arguments of his supporters.

      -Tom

    9. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by KiahZero · · Score: 1

      As I said above, I'm not speaking of specific methods used to test claims, since I am no longer familiar with his methods. I am instead speaking of the way he goes about his work.

      Does it matter if an astrologist follows the scientific method in testing claims, if he/she still assumes that his/her beliefs are true? As my recollection goes, a psuedo-scientist can still "follow the scientific method" in terms of experimental design, but if he/she has made a decision about the 'truth' before the research is done, that makes him/her a psuedo-scientist. Your definition may vary.

      Unfortunately, I did a lot of this research fall semester last year, and rebuilt my computer since then, losing all of my bookmarks. I've got the papers I wrote, but I haven't found the information of Randi yet, since I don't know if I used it.

      In this particular case, he was going to be allowed to test the claims, but forced to sign some sort of non-disclosure agreement about the results of the test. Well, Randi called bullsh*t, and if you think that is unreasonable, it is your right.

      The author mentions this, and explains:
      VERITAS - When we learned how Randi operated, we decided that he could not be trusted to present the facts and the truth (see example below). Hence, we told him that we are happy for his consultation, but not his journalism, PRO OR CON the research. Randi does not like it when people question his questionable ethics. We have no need or interest in Randi's praise or propaganda; however, we do respect his suggestions on experimental design.

      Examples of his alleged misrepresentations of other events follows. Granted, it comes down to he-said|he-said, and we've simply chosen different people to believe.

      --
      I'm a lawyer, but not yours. I wouldn't represent someone who thinks taking legal advice from Slashdot is a good idea.
    10. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by WNight · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Athiests are on the sturdiest ground. They say there's no verifiable evidence for the existance of god. Without such evidence, they take the reasonable action of not believing in a god.

      You think it's unreasonable to dismiss a view like this, but really it's the only thing to do. What if I tell you that the world doesn't actually exist anywhere you're not looking or sensing? Do you take my word for it? What if I offer poorly documented third-party claims, and first-person claims from people who "just know" it's true, but are unwilling to try to prove it?

      The only reasonable action to take is to act as if a claim like this isn't true unless you can get proof. This is how athiests view the claim of the existance of god.

    11. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by WNight · · Score: 1

      In a strict logical sense, it doesn't matter who makes a claim. A scientologist's claim should be examined as critically as that of a person whose claims you have investigated and found to be valid before.

      In the real world, the boy who cries wolf is quickly ignored. If you make claim after unjustifiable claim of alien abduction and anal probing, you're likely not going to be taken seriously when you claim that your detractors are kooks.

      Being that anytime Randi has "debunked" a specific person he's provided evidence and a description of the test they failed, I think he's fairly reliable. Saying he ignores the scientific method doesn't ring true because it's exactly the opposite of what I've observed.

      Is there a link to him on his own site, calling someone a fraud without offering any proof? ("Quotes" don't count, I don't trust your sources anymore than you trust mine.)

    12. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      James Randi crosses the line from healthy skepticism to a "I'm right, even though I have no evidence. Prove me wrong" psuedo-scientist. He takes the vantage point that any thing he thinks is "paranormal" must neccesarily be false, and then looks for evidence to validate his view. Sure, most of these claims are probably false, but that doesn't mean you get to ditch the scientific method. This is the same reason I don't agree with Atheists. Sure, there's little to no evidence of divinity, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Agnostics are the only ones who can claim that their beliefs are based off the scientific method, since they admit there's not enough evidence to make a conclusion, either way.

      Ok, this was rightly modded flamebait. That's because you're distorting Randi's record, making false claims, and generally making an ass of yourself.

      Randi has only one requirement; that anyone who claims to have paranormal powers should be able to demonstrate them. That's all he asks, and he's put up a million dollars for anyone who cain demonstrate paranormal powers.

      You said that Randi says "I'm right, even though I have no evidence. Prove me wrong", and you even put quotes around it, even though he NEVER SAID THAT.

      Randi does just the opposite. He has never set out to disprove anyone, all he has asked is for people to prove themselves. And no-one can. He has been looking for proof for, what, 40 years, tested thousands of claiments, and every single one of them turned out to be making flase claims.

      You accuse him of abandoning the scientific method, which is a lie. That's right, I called you a liar.

      He uses the scientific method. Get that through your thick skull. Claiming otherwise is a LIE. He does double-blind experiments, agreed-to by both parties, run by an independent group who is also agreed to by both parties.

      You are attempting to disparage him, most likely, because he has showed that one of your pet beliefs is full of hot air. Or you're one of those people who likes to steal money from gullible people in need. You're misguided or you're scum. And your beliefs are defenseless, so you attack the man. An ad hominiem, as your kind always turn to.

    13. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      You are an idiot.

      Does it matter if an astrologist follows the scientific method in testing claims, if he/she still assumes that his/her beliefs are true?

      Randi doesn't run the tests, an independent group does. SO YOU'RE WRONG.

      The experiments are designed to be reproducable. SO YOU'RE WRONG.

      The experiments are agreed-to by both parties before the tests are run. SO YOU'RE WRONG.

      Both parties agree to what is considered a pass of the test before the test is run. SO YOU'RE WRONG.

      Unfortunately, I did a lot of this research fall semester last year

      I trust this research was for a paper you failed, otherwise you'll get the wrong idea of just what research entails, because you're talking out of your ass.

      Examples of his alleged misrepresentations of other events follows.

      Nice use of the word alleged. I hope you know what it means. It means that people who have been debunked by Randi make baseless accusations against him. People like you.

    14. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by KiahZero · · Score: 1

      I may have misspoke, since you misunderstood me. I recall reading complaints about the nature of the tests, hence why some individuals have refused to take them.

      He simply starts out saying they should be able to pass a test that can show they can do what they claim to do.

      This is something I can disagree with on its face. Not everything that exists is provable, not to mention that some claimed phenomena are, at their very nature, random.

      Not everyone is interested in taking his test, yet my understanding is that he uses the lack of anyone succeeding in the test to 'prove' that there is no substance to any 'paranormal' claims.

      I do appreciate your being reasonable, though. Being ripped apart for merely stating an opinion was not how I expected this thread to unwind.

      --
      I'm a lawyer, but not yours. I wouldn't represent someone who thinks taking legal advice from Slashdot is a good idea.
    15. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by KiahZero · · Score: 1

      A simple example of implied accusation of fraud:
      From http://www.randi.org/jr/03-23-2001.html -
      Were I a participant in the Schwartz operation, the kind of information that I would look for, may already be available, either through others who participated in the work, or from video records that seem to come to hand by mysterious means. Please note the video frame shown here. It was made from one of Schwartz's "scientific experiments" with John Edward. The "medium" has just taken his seat in the lab, adjacent to another chair to his left where the subject is located. This is what Schwartz considers to be "isolation" of the two persons. Lo! Do we perhaps see Edwards here taking a quick test peek through an opening in the partition? Say not so! This is science, tight controls and all that, and Schwartz himself told Edward, "There will be no eye contact, so a screen will separate you." I'll bet that Edward chuckled when he saw the set-up!

      Now, I make no claim that Edward actually peeked through the opening during the "reading." If we had the original material, we could not only make that observation, but many others, as well. But we'll never see that. What I'm pointing out here is that the opportunity to peek was certainly there, and it should not have been, had Schwartz known how to -- or cared to -- implement proper security. It's not too hard to do, Dr. Schwartz, even for a Ph.D.


      Here's the original video. According to the author, said hole was also patched up later, but no one has evidence of that, either way.

      In the real world, the boy who cries wolf is quickly ignored. If you make claim after unjustifiable claim of alien abduction and anal probing, you're likely not going to be taken seriously when you claim that your detractors are kooks.

      The problem is that legitimate researchers are lumped in with people you just dismissively referenced. If a scientist looks into psychokinesis, medians, or anything else referred to as 'paranormal' with anything other than a cynical mindset, he/she seems to be dismissed as a kook automatically.

      --
      I'm a lawyer, but not yours. I wouldn't represent someone who thinks taking legal advice from Slashdot is a good idea.
    16. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by KiahZero · · Score: 1

      I'm starting to understand why people don't argue with Anonymous Cowards. I'm willing to admit what I believe, without fear of reprisal from people as capricious as yourself.

      I am aware of those facts, and as I have explained in *numerous* posts, I don't doubt that the individual trials follow the scientific method. My point was that the whole set-up of the contest, in my mind, does not follow the scientific method, since it sets out to prove the nonexistence of 'paranormal' phenomena.

      For your information, I recieved an A on that paper. Not that you would know what that meant, because you don't know what the thesis of the paper was, whether I supported it with evidence, or even what class the paper was for.

      Nice use of the word alleged. I hope you know what it means. It means that people who have been debunked by Randi make baseless accusations against him. People like you.

      Yes, I do know what it means. You don't seem to, so I'll post the definition:
      Represented as existing or as being as described but not so proved; supposed.

      It does not mean that said claims are false. It means that I can't prove those claims as true. I'm intellectually honest enough to admit it. The main reason they are "alleged" is not because they are baseless, but rather because it ultimately boils down to a battle of hearsay, and there really is no way to resolve that, since neither side has presented evidence to do so.

      --
      I'm a lawyer, but not yours. I wouldn't represent someone who thinks taking legal advice from Slashdot is a good idea.
    17. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by KiahZero · · Score: 1

      Randi has only one requirement; that anyone who claims to have paranormal powers should be able to demonstrate them. That's all he asks, and he's put up a million dollars for anyone who cain demonstrate paranormal powers.

      You said that Randi says "I'm right, even though I have no evidence. Prove me wrong", and you even put quotes around it, even though he NEVER SAID THAT.


      I never said he did. I generally put quotes in italics.

      I said:
      James Randi crosses the line from healthy skepticism to a "I'm right, even though I have no evidence. Prove me wrong" psuedo-scientist.

      If I say he's a I'm-right-even-though-I-have-no-evidence-Prove-me- wrong pseudo-scientist, and make the whole thing one big adjective, that should remove your objection. I did not type it that way since it looks like crap.

      Randi does just the opposite. He has never set out to disprove anyone, all he has asked is for people to prove themselves. And no-one can. He has been looking for proof for, what, 40 years, tested thousands of claiments, and every single one of them turned out to be making flase claims.

      You accuse him of abandoning the scientific method, which is a lie. That's right, I called you a liar.


      That's nice that you called me a liar - it really doesn't make it true. I feel that he's abandoned the scientific method since he is a passionate skeptic - he holds the view that anything viewed by our society as 'paranormal' is superstition, and the test, in my mind, is merely an elaborate method of trying to prove the negative (I'm going to use quotes here - these are *my* words) "No paranormal phenomena exist".

      I love how everyone has jumped on me, like I'm some zealot. My post was not that offensive. Perhaps I should have added "I feel that..." to the beginning of my post to make it clear that it was opinion, but I felt that was intuitively obvious.

      He uses the scientific method. Get that through your thick skull. Claiming otherwise is a LIE. He does double-blind experiments, agreed-to by both parties, run by an independent group who is also agreed to by both parties.

      You are attempting to disparage him, most likely, because he has showed that one of your pet beliefs is full of hot air. Or you're one of those people who likes to steal money from gullible people in need. You're misguided or you're scum. And your beliefs are defenseless, so you attack the man. An ad hominiem, as your kind always turn to.


      Now who's using ad hominiem attacks? I never claimed the man was a liar, or didn't honestly believe what he said. I merely think that he does the same thing he criticizes others for in going into experiments with strongly held beliefs, rather than agnosticism about the phenomena.

      I'm not a scam artist, nor do I recall which 'paranormal' theories he has tested. I do know that from reading his commentary, he comes across as arrogant and 100% sure of his beliefs.

      If a scientist placed a large bet on the outcome of an experiment, would you have faith in his credibility? I know I wouldn't. I also know that I don't place bets on things that I am agnostic about. I doubt that Randi walks up to a horse track and puts $1,000,000 on a random horse. No, I have a "pet belief" (your words) that he has no expectation of that money ever being given away.

      Now let's think about the type of people that apply for $1,000,000 prizes. Do you think that he's really getting the intellectually honest people who are doing the research for the truth, rather than expected results?

      You don't know my beliefs, except that I don't care for Randi's methods. I don't know how to explain why I don't care for them without "attacking the man." Perhaps you'd like to inform me?

      --
      I'm a lawyer, but not yours. I wouldn't represent someone who thinks taking legal advice from Slashdot is a good idea.
    18. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by Vellmont · · Score: 1

      Call me crazy, but I'm a bit dubious of a site that has pseudo-science descriptions of auras as "bio-photons" stored in DNA.

      --
      AccountKiller
    19. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by KiahZero · · Score: 1

      I'm a bit dubious of the science of the site, yes. That doesn't make some of the arguments any less sound.

      --
      I'm a lawyer, but not yours. I wouldn't represent someone who thinks taking legal advice from Slashdot is a good idea.
    20. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by KiahZero · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Athiests are on the sturdiest ground. They say there's no verifiable evidence for the existance of god. Without such evidence, they take the reasonable action of not believing in a god.

      See, this is where we disagree. While there is no verifiable scientific evidence of any sort of divinity, there is naturally no verifiable scientific evidence of a lack of any sort of divinity.

      To reduce this to the ever popular "invisible pink unicorn" debate, I can't prove there are invisible pink unicorns. I also can't prove there aren't. Therefore, it is most reasonable to be unsure of their existance. I feel it'd be silly to actively disbelieve something exists solely because there is no evidence it exists, for the same reason I feel it'd be silly to actively believe something exists solely because there is no evidence it doesn't exist.

      You think it's unreasonable to dismiss a view like this, but really it's the only thing to do. What if I tell you that the world doesn't actually exist anywhere you're not looking or sensing? Do you take my word for it? What if I offer poorly documented third-party claims, and first-person claims from people who "just know" it's true, but are unwilling to try to prove it?
      I don't believe you. However, if whatever revelation happened to those people suddenly happened to me, I'd believe it too. I wouldn't expect you to believe it unless you'd seen or felt the same things I had seen or felt. Personally, faith is a bit of a misnomer for me - I know what I've felt. Sure, I'd be willing to prove it to you, but I'm not entirely sure it's possible.

      The only reasonable action to take is to act as if a claim like this isn't true unless you can get proof.

      I agree. However, Atheists make a counterclaim - "There is no form of divinity whatsoever." This claim should be treated as untrue unless you can get proof.

      Some claim that they merely disbelieve in God, and are not claiming that God does not exist. I'm not entirely sure how you can "not believe" in something without recognizing a possibility that it exists. This link has an interesting view about it. Don't worry - it's short, and has absolutely nothing to do with 'survival science'.

      As for Randi himself, what bothers me is that he merely examines one religion to prove to himself that no divinity exists. While I also rejected Christianity for offending my sense of logic, I went from being an Agnostic to embracing a religion which is accused of being nutty by a lot of people, including Christians. My point is that his arguments against faith are just as flawed as Pascal's arguments for faith, in that they both consider solely Christianity.

      --
      I'm a lawyer, but not yours. I wouldn't represent someone who thinks taking legal advice from Slashdot is a good idea.
    21. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I'm willing to admit what I believe, without fear of reprisal from people as capricious as yourself.

      Reprisal? You are a deluded fool. Would it help if I made up a user name right now to continue this conversation? Would it make me any less anonymous? I'd probably have a user number in the 600,000's, like you.

      My point was that the whole set-up of the contest, in my mind, does not follow the scientific method, since it sets out to prove the nonexistence of 'paranormal' phenomena.

      So what you're saying is that you still don't understand. How many times does it have to be explained to you? The contest does not set "out to prove the nonexistence of 'paranormal' phenomena." It sets out to prove the existence of paranormal phenomena, which is the exact opposite of what you are claiming.

      For your information, I recieved an A on that paper. Not that you would know what that meant, because you don't know what the thesis of the paper was, whether I supported it with evidence, or even what class the paper was for.

      I know the evidence didn't include any understanding of Randi's claims. Let me guess what the class was; you got an A, so my guess is creative writing. Am I right?

      The main reason they are "alleged" is not because they are baseless, but rather because it ultimately boils down to a battle of hearsay, and there really is no way to resolve that, since neither side has presented evidence to do so.

      Your idea of a non-baseless claim is a a collection of rantings made on a website with no supporting evidence?

      So by your standards, the claim that you are a pedophiliac kitten-raping cocksucker is just part of a battle of heresay and the claims can't be resolved?

      You think it's the reader's duty to prove that the claims aren't true? You don't think it's the claiments duty to prove the claims true? Open that dictionary of yours to the word credulous.

      Of course, now I know why you have stupid beliefs. You think you have to believe everything you read unless you can prove what you read is not true. Good luck proving the negative.

    22. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by Vellmont · · Score: 1

      True, It doesn't make any argument they have less sound. But it does make me far less willing to bother reading the site and trusting anything it says.

      I only have a limited amount of time, and I'd rather spend it reading credible sources than trying to determine if a non-credible source just happens to print something true. I don't bother looking for information from the weekly world news for similar reasons.

      --
      AccountKiller
    23. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I never said he did. I generally put quotes in italics.

      Do you ever get confused by "" being called quote marks?

      I feel that he's abandoned the scientific method since he is a passionate skeptic

      So according to you if a physicist passionately believes in gravity, that physicist can't construct a test for gravity? Even if the test was administered by someone else? Interesting.

      the test, in my mind, is merely an elaborate method of trying to prove the negative

      I called you a liar because you made both the above claim and the claim that you had studied Randi's methods. Either you are a liar or an idiot or both. Because you don't understand Randi's methods. As proof I give you your quote above.

      I merely think that he does the same thing he criticizes others for in going into experiments with strongly held beliefs

      He doesn't do the experiments, as you should know if you studied his methods. Do you see why I call you either a liar or an idiot?

      I do know that from reading his commentary, he comes across as arrogant and 100% sure of his beliefs.

      Well, I never! Sure of himself? How dare he! Good thing no real scientists are ever sure of themselves or we'd never get anything done. Real scientists walk around all day unsure if this gravity thing will still be working in the morning.

      If a scientist placed a large bet on the outcome of an experiment, would you have faith in his credibility?

      There are million-dollar prizes for a variety of mathematical problems. Now there's one for proving paranormal powers. Cry me a river. If someone put down a million dollars, they'd either know what they were talking about or they'd lose the money pretty quickly. Randi hasn't lost the money.

      Now let's think about the type of people that apply for $1,000,000 prizes. Do you think that he's really getting the intellectually honest people who are doing the research for the truth, rather than expected results?

      Well, real scientists won't work for a million dollars! They will only work for small amounts of money, like the $400,000 Nobel prize. Of course, most Nobel prize recipients are 100% passionately sure that gravity will still be working in the morning, so they're not really open minded like you.

    24. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I love how everyone has jumped on me, like I'm some zealot.

      P.s. We don't think you're a zealot. We think you're an idiot, which isn't appreciated on a site for nerds.

    25. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by BobTheLawyer · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You are either wrong or under a misapprehension as to the nature of science.

      if by "exists" you mean "has effects on the physical world" then you're wrong: if something has effects then you can test it. If by "exists" you mean something else, then you're making a metaphysical claim which science isn't competent to test. Randi doesn't look at purely metaphysical claims (and nor could he).

      if by an effect being "random" you mean "only happens sometimes, but more often than you'd expect if there was no effect" then this is a physical claim which is statistically testable (i.e. try to guess the flip of a coin 100 times - you don't need to get it right all the time for me to admit you're psychic).

      If by "random" you mean "happens no more often that it would if there were no effect" then again you're making a metaphysical claim which is untestable.

    26. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by BobTheLawyer · · Score: 1

      pray tell, who are these legitimate researchers? Where can we find them? Does the Nobel committee have their contact details?

    27. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by BobTheLawyer · · Score: 1

      I am a giant invisible space hamster and will destroy the world unless every slashdot reader sends me $100.

      According to you, any counterclaim "should be treated as untrue unless you can get proof".

      I look forward to receiving $100. Drop me a message and I'll send you the bank account details.

    28. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by arkhan_jg · · Score: 1
      I agree. However, Atheists make a counterclaim - "There is no form of divinity whatsoever." This claim should be treated as untrue unless you can get proof.

      Some claim that they merely disbelieve in God, and are not claiming that God does not exist. I'm not entirely sure how you can "not believe" in something without recognizing a possibility that it exists. This link has an interesting view about it. Ok. I'm one of those people who 'merely disbelieve in God'.

      You cannot prove to me, at this time, using logic or any other scientic method, that (any) God exists. All arguments I have met so far basically devolve to the faith of the arguer or the faith of someone he quotes. That, or by pointing at a 'miracle' that cannot be explained due to lack of evidence as proof, beyond pure chance.

      From your point of view, that would make me an agnostic, given two conflicting points of view.

      However, I consider myself a humanist (a form of atheism). Why?

      Well, let's use your 'invisible pink unicorn' example. You say that I should be agnostic about their existance. But as far as I'm concerned, you have to weigh the credibility of the source in as part of the evidence. Now, it's not a numbers game per se; science has shown that sheer weight of numbers is not proof (re: world is flat), so lack of supporting opinion is definitely not proof that something does not exist. In the absence of other proof however, I consider that credibility to be the tipping factor.

      I.e. if you tell me you can see something, and nobody else can, then I take your lack of evidence, and weigh in with the proven fallibility of the human mind, along with the proven ability of man to lie to others, to come down upon the balance of probabilities that invisible pink unicorns do not exist.

      However, I keep an open mind; if you are able to bring me evidence that pink unicorns exist, then I too, will agree that pink unicorns exist. Of course, it has to be verifiable, anonymously repeatable evidence.

      Now, organised (and disorganised!) religion have a lot of followers. But, I weigh in with theories like this one. (long link, sorry). Basically, that we are hardwired for (a) God. Just looking at the sheer range of thing that people fervently believe , many of them that theirs is the one true God, and willing to kill those who don't believe in Him; that makes me think God is a part of the human mind.

      Now, I do not believe in God. That is the scientifically standard option, given that there is no proof, and there is an acceptable theory for people believing in Him, i.e. a feature of the human brain.

      However, I keep an open mind, and am willing to accept incontrovertible, independently verifiable proof that he does exist. Therefore I do not believe in God, but do not go so far as to say that a supranatural being cannot exist; merely that it up to believers to prove his existance.

      Out of interest, given a lack of reliable positive evidence, why is it up to science to prove that God does not exist?

      Science can prove a negative, (for proof in this whole article, read, theory that cannot reasonably be attacked with current evidence) by proving the opposite. I.e. I can prove the statement 'the moon is made of green cheese' false by reference to spectroscopy and moon rocks, for starters.

      I cannot prove that God does not exist, as by definition, we have no natural tools to probe a supranatural being. The theists have taken the position that there is a being beyond all ability to see, touch or otherwise measure, then claim that it us up to ME to disprove he exists!

      --
      Remember kids, it's all fun and games until someone commits wholesale galactic genocide.
    29. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by dvdeug · · Score: 1

      Funny you said that, 'cause I just was reading this page of the site:

      Debunking Debunker's Arguments - Occam's Razor.


      Let's take one claim from that site and examine how Occam's Razor applies:

      Likewise, if someone has a close up encounter of Bigfoot, skeptics will use Occam's Razor to claim that it is more likely that the experiencer was either lying or hallucinating.

      Bigfoot, according to most reports, is a primate that stands over six feet tall and lives in the Pacific Northwest, the forests of which have been greatly reduced by logging and a large number of people moving into the area. Given what we know of ecology, it's impossible for that area to sustain a breeding population of large primates. Occam's Razor comes down to this - either basic ecology is wrong and biologists and hunters and truck drivers (no Bigfeet have turned up as roadkill) and farmers (most large creatures end up raiding farms for food at some point) have managed to miss a creature that stands over six feet tall and weights at least three hundred pounds, or someone's playing a hoax or isn't right in the head. You can call it Occam's Razor, or common sense, but the answer's simple.

    30. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by niom · · Score: 1

      The page on Occam's Razor misses the point completely. Occam's Razor is not about provable falseness -- that only involves logic and experiments. It's about reasonable falseness.

      Inevitably, there will always be many theories about reality that can't be disproved because they are compatible with logic and experiments; for example, the standard one involving a supernatural pink unicorn, called Bob, who created the world five minutes ago and impressed our minds with false memories of the time before that. You can't disprove the Bob theory any more than you can disprove any religion (in fact, less so, because it's not self-contradictory while many religions are).

      Therefore, most people, scientists included, will find useful a rule that can be used to select a theory among the multiple ones that are compatible with logic and experiments. Occam's Razor is such a rule, and experience has shown that it works well and produces useful results -- the same reason that scientific method is used, after all.

      --
      -- Repeat with me: "There is no right to profits".
    31. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by dvdeug · · Score: 1

      To reduce this to the ever popular "invisible pink unicorn" debate, I can't prove there are invisible pink unicorns. I also can't prove there aren't. Therefore, it is most reasonable to be unsure of their existance.

      Have you ever taken an action based on the fact there might be "invisible pink unicorns" and it can't hurt just in case? It's easy to be unsure of their existence in a debate, but if you were seriously unsure of the existence of the pink unicorns (and all their kin), you would have seriously consider that you may offend one by stepping on its tail when walking and that it might take vengance, say by stabbing your heart and causing a heart attack. But in reality, you comport yourself in all ways like they were non-existant; so how can you honestly say you think they might exist?

    32. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by jpkunst · · Score: 1

      As my recollection goes, a psuedo-scientist can still "follow the scientific method" in terms of experimental design, but if he/she has made a decision about the 'truth' before the research is done, that makes him/her a psuedo-scientist.

      But you see, that is the beauty of 'the scientific method' of experimental design (double-blind tests, etc.) -- it does not matter what the personal beliefs of the researcher are if the design of the experiment is sound.

      JP

    33. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by dvdeug · · Score: 1

      This is something I can disagree with on its face. Not everything that exists is provable,

      (By provable, you mean testable, right?)

      That's an claim about the nature of reality, that I think James Randi might disagree with, as might I. If something's not subject to study or is random, then it's like dust on the film of reality; it doesn't help me figure what the movie is about; it's just noise I won't ever really understand it.

      Not everyone is interested in taking his test, yet my understanding is that he uses the lack of anyone succeeding in the test to 'prove' that there is no substance to any 'paranormal' claims.

      Those who are already using their testable 'powers' for money in public eye really have no excuse for not taking the test. Admittedly, others may not be as greedy or desiring of attention, but as Randi says, if you really don't need or want a million bucks, your favorite charity could sure use it.

      Randi would never use the word prove; he would just make snide remarks. And while the Wiccans and other true believers may have good reason for not trying for it, many of the people he directs the snide remarks at - those selling their powers on TV, or those selling 'enhanced' water or 'hi-tech' dowsing rods - if they were on the up and up, wouldn't hesitate to grab the million dollars (if Randi tried to weasle out of it, you've got a contract you can take to court - if it works, what do you have to lose?).

    34. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by dvdeug · · Score: 1

      A simple example of implied accusation of fraud:

      It's well known that the movement of people often introduces noise into the measurement of the gravitational constant. Any measurement of the gravitational constant that didn't take proper precautions to reduce that effect would be ignored. Likewise, it's well known that cheating, including such simple things as he mentioned here, often introduces noise (and worse yet, biased noise) into the measurement of paranormal abilities. Why should take any study that doesn't take proper precautions to reduce that effect be taken seriously?

    35. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by dvdeug · · Score: 1

      Now let's think about the type of people that apply for $1,000,000 prizes. Do you think that he's really getting the intellectually honest people who are doing the research for the truth, rather than expected results?

      Does it matter? If you're the next Thomas Edison and discover a telepathic enhancer and decide to make a quick mill on it, does that reduce the effectiveness of your invention? And as Randi says, if you don't need that money (and I know way too many people who buy lotto tickets to think that most people wouldn't try for an easy million if they thought they could get it), then surely your favorite charity could use the money?

    36. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So is Scientology working out OK for you and does your last name rhyme with "revolta"?

    37. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by KiahZero · · Score: 1

      So what you're saying is that you still don't understand. How many times does it have to be explained to you? The contest does not set "out to prove the nonexistence of 'paranormal' phenomena." It sets out to prove the existence of paranormal phenomena, which is the exact opposite of what you are claiming.

      Perhaps I don't understand. A contest, set up by a man who has no qualms about insulting those who do not actively disbelieve in the 'paranormal', sets up a challenge where, if an experiment results in conclusive evidence of something 'paranormal', he will pay the claimant a large sum of money, is somehow "setting out to prove" the existence or paranormal phenomena. "Setting out to prove" the existence of 'paranormal' would be going out and conducting research on the issue.

      No, my (admittedly unscientific, since there is no way of proving it) belief is that Randi uses the million to lure people in, when you, I, and everyone else knows that a lot of people are kooks who will fail, to give people the impression that anything 'paranormal' is no more true than anything that is demonstrated for his prize. Before you even think it, I don't think this is some "conspiracy" to hide the existance of 'paranormal' phenomena, I simply think that it is a crappy way of going about things.

      Your idea of a non-baseless claim is a a collection of rantings made on a website with no supporting evidence?

      Pardon me, but I linked to a claim Randi made and evidence to the contrary of that claim by Schwartz, and a counterclaim. It might have been in a different reply.

      So by your standards, the claim that you are a pedophiliac kitten-raping cocksucker is just part of a battle of heresay and the claims can't be resolved?
      Actually, yes, it is. I can't prove beyond a reasonable doubt that I'm not, nor can you prove beyond a reasonable doubt that I am, seeing as I am not.

      You think it's the reader's duty to prove that the claims aren't true? You don't think it's the claiments duty to prove the claims true? Open that dictionary of yours to the word credulous.

      Of course, now I know why you have stupid beliefs. You think you have to believe everything you read unless you can prove what you read is not true. Good luck proving the negative.


      No, I don't think that it's the reader's duty to prove the claims aren't true. I merely state that, since neither side provides much support for their claims (let's not forget, Randi called into question all of Schwartz's research on the basis of a frame of a video - they're both making claims), that I can't *prove* that either side is right.

      No, I do not think I have to believe everything I read is true unless I can find contradictory evidence. Rather, I do not dismiss claims about the 'paranormal' out of hand. I didn't think that made me a zealot with stupid beliefs.

      It bothers me how quickly just about everyone has jumped to conclusions. I've had only a few responses that didn't immediately assume that I was some crackpot that was just mad because Randi had disproven my latest stupid belief. My only point was that Randi has a bias - a bias he freely admits. I didn't claim he was a fraud, or that he doctored trials. I really didn't realize that I wasn't allowed to say any of this, or that Randi was so worshipped within the Slashdot community.

      --
      I'm a lawyer, but not yours. I wouldn't represent someone who thinks taking legal advice from Slashdot is a good idea.
    38. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by KiahZero · · Score: 1

      Right, but I also said that the initial claim should be treated untrue unless I can get proof.

      I have absolutely no reason to believe you. My not absolutely disbelieving you does not mean I believe you (wow, a triple-negative sentence that parses correctly). To pull the meaning out a little bit: The fact that I do not actively disbelieve you does not mean that I do, in reality, believe you.

      I land on the "probably doesn't exist" on the idea of a giant invisible space hamster that wants me to send it $100, though, since I have met no one who sincerely believes in such a creature. The circumstantial, non-scientific, evidence comes down against you, I'm afraid. Sorry, no $100 for you.

      Since I can't prove that your fictional self doesn't exist, I call bullshit on the grounds that you're making shit up to make me look dumb, and with that in mind, it's unlikely your claims are true. Admittedly, it's not scientific criteria, but it's enough evidence for me.

      --
      I'm a lawyer, but not yours. I wouldn't represent someone who thinks taking legal advice from Slashdot is a good idea.
    39. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by KiahZero · · Score: 1

      Finally, we can get to the root of my dislike of the man.

      Randi doesn't look at purely metaphysical claims (and nor could he).

      No, he doesn't examine them. He does not, however, have any qualms about out-and-out insulting those who make purely metaphysical claims.

      And perhaps I misused the word random - I meant that the persons involved have absolutely no control over them, and there is no seeming pattern to their occurance. Perhaps psuedo-random would be a better term, since the events themselves probably have some root cause, much like rand() has a seed and a formula, but without knowing that root cause, we don't have an understanding of the phenomena.

      --
      I'm a lawyer, but not yours. I wouldn't represent someone who thinks taking legal advice from Slashdot is a good idea.
    40. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by KiahZero · · Score: 1

      OK, this is one reply to address many of the threads that have cropped up, since it's basically become a pile-on.

      I don't think I ever stated what my beliefs are, with the exception that I don't like James Randi. I explained this because I feel that he is arrogant, an opinion come by reading some of his commentaries. I explained that I was not attacking the method of his experiments, but rather his methods in said commentaries, and the nature of his $1,000,000 prize.

      It is this sort of groupthink that prevents any serious research from getting done. Rather than let impartial scientists study the 'paranormal', the subject is attacked with an unparalleled viciousness. The only people that therefore do the studies are generally zealots that are preconvinced that the 'paranormal' exists.

      None of you really know me. You don't know who I am, what I believe, what I think is a crock of shit, or who I chose to trust. Several have claimed that I am resorting to ad hominem attacks, and I ask, "Where?" Instead, I have been called a moron who believes in invisible snorks, trusts everything he reads, and just an imbecile who doesn't understand the scientific process.

      I wish this were a Troll, because then I'd feel proud about the sheer volume of replies I'd gotten.

      The few posts that even *read* the last paragraph of my post were generally decent, though we continue to disagree. I wasn't trying to proselytize and change anyone's religion, merely state my opinion.

      I now understand what all the trolls are bitching about when it comes to going against Slashdot group-think. I'm so very sorry for offending your sensibilities by having an opposing opinion.

      --
      I'm a lawyer, but not yours. I wouldn't represent someone who thinks taking legal advice from Slashdot is a good idea.
    41. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by Anonamused+Cow-herd · · Score: 1
      "To reduce this to the ever popular "invisible pink unicorn" debate, I can't prove there are invisible pink unicorns. I also can't prove there aren't."

      That's funny -- I can prove that an invisible pink unicorn can't exist, if you count the principle of non-contradiction as proof that something does not exist (I.E. there can be no person that is both a man and not a man, or living and dead). Here's how:

      1. "Pink" is a color.
      2. Colors are frequencies of electro-magnetic waves that the human organism can interpret through the visual system.
      3. Thus, colors must be inherently visible.
      4. Thus, "pink" must be inherently visible.
      5. Thus, all objects that are "pink" must be inherently visible.
      6. Invisible is the polar opposite of visible.
      7. Thus, no object can be both "pink" and invisible.
      ----
      8. Therefore, an "invisible pink unicorn" cannot exist.

      --
      -----[0_o]-----
      We are not amused.
    42. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by WNight · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Atheists make a counterclaim - "There is no form of divinity whatsoever."

      This is the misunderstanding. Athiests don't make the claim because to make a claim requires something with which to prove the claim. Athiests, at least those like me, simply say that because of the total lack of evidence for the existance of a god, there's no reason to believe in one. Of course, they're going to phrase this in the same way as they would for a IPU (the unicorn), "there is no god", because belief in anything else is provisional on actual evidence which nobody in the history of mankind has yet provided, so it's pretty safe to assume it'll be a while in coming.

      As someone else said: Have you ever taken an action based on the fact there might be "invisible pink unicorns" and it can't hurt just in case?

      It's one thing to keep an open mind. If and when I see something I think is a miracle (not merely something I can't explain, but something that seems like it must be a miracle) then I may re-examine this. It's another thing to provisionally believe everything, just in case. That's like leaving cookies out for Santa every year, and feeling for the unicorn horn in front of you before you go anywhere, to avoid being stabbed as you walk.

    43. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by TomHandy · · Score: 1
      You are right, after taking the tests, many of the claimants have set out to complain about how the test was done, etc.

      This is of course their right, but the problem again is that before taking the test, they are the ones who help to come up with what the test will be, and what the terms will be. They aren't forced to do anything that they don't agree they should be able to do.

      And you are right, not everything is provable. That doesn't mean though that some people can't try though. If someone claims to be able to psychically "see" what color is on 10 cards, for example, they can work to come up with a test where they would be tested on this. Most of these claims are technically very simple, and someone with psychic abilities should be able to in fact pass a test like this with flying colors, so to speak.

      James Randi or the JREF don't use the lack of success in anyone winning the challenge (again, you speak of a specific test, which there isn't..... each claimant can come up with their own test, which they both work on to make sure it is valid, double-blind, etc.) to "prove" that there is no substance to any paranormal claims.

      Granted, a lot of people accuse him of this, but he has never really said that himself. The JREF takes any claimants who want to apply for the challenge seriously, and everyone is given a chance to demonstrate paranormal abilities.

      But outside of that, James Randi does not say that the paranormal is impossible or that there is no substance. He does bring up some interesting questions though, which some people would rather not answer and instead attack Randi and the JREF.

      Anyway.... as you said, many of these things inherently couldn't be proven. The JREF Challenge is open to anyone who wants to try it though, and while many paranormal things couldn't be proven, other abilities have had scientifically sound tests designed that both parties have originally agreed to (no-one is forced to take a test that they don't agree to the design of or that they feel they can pass).

      As you said though, a lot of people have later complained about the "nature" of the tests. They have come up with all sorts of excuses for why the tests they helped to design and agree to weren't fair. Some claimants have gone very far, and said things like their "psychic vision" was interrupted because of James Randi's presence in the room (i.e. his "negative vibes" or disbelief interefering for some reason with their psychic abilities). Generally, Randi has done a lot to accomodate these concerns.... when claimants claim his presence makes it impossible to work, he has left the building and sometimes even left miles outside of the area.

      Anyway, I think people will continue to say after the fact that the tests weren't fair, that James Randi is dishonorable, etc. I would just say that it is worth really looking at what they felt wasn't fair, since there are always two sides to a story. My main problem with many of Randi's critics is that they heavily distort the nature of the challenge, and they have a disturbing tendency to come up with any excuse they can to explain why they couldn't pass a test of their abilities.

      It's popular to attack James Randi, even though these tests are designed so that he doesn't even have any direct involvement most of the time. There is something fundamental about the JREF Challenge that nothing proceeds until the claimant is satisfied with the terms of the test, and has agreed that they should be able to do whatever the test they design says they can do. No-one says that the lack of ability to pass these tests mean that, say, dowsing is a fraud. But the lack of any dowser to be able to actually do anything under the conditions of a certain condition certainly brings in to question the "art" of dowsing.... and this goes beyond the JREF..... any dowser, for example, who could actually prove their abilities (Dowsing tests are incredibly simple, because the tests of dowsing abilities and the ability to validate them are incred

    44. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by WNight · · Score: 1

      anything other than a cynical mindset

      Exactly. If you don't look into a field which is obviously (Uri Geller and a ton of other example...) full of fakes and frauds with a cynical eye, you're going to be duped and you results are worthless.

      Experiments used to "prove" a theory to other scientists are expected to be rigorous. As the post below yours mentions, there are some very sensitive non-paranormal experiments. No matter how sure these scientists were about their results, they can't expect anyone else to be convinced until they ruled out all alternatives and got rid of the noise in the signal, to show the actual results.

      There are a few semi-plausible reasons of why limited telepathy might exist. If our brains leak signals strong enough to sense with machinery, it's plausible to imagine that a very sensitive machine or perhaps trained human mind could pick up some of these signals. Being that you can move a light around on a screen by just thinking (even if the sensors are picking up commands to your eye muscles or whatever) it's possible that a sensitive person could tell the difference between you clutching an object in your hands, versus your hands being empty, through a partition.

      If you write a paper talking about "energy" and using a bunch of quantum mechanical terms like "uncertainty principle" and "observer effect" and obviously don't understand them you're not going to get any scientific respect, even if you claim that water is wet. However, if you stay factual, don't wildly speculate, and perform reasonable tests you'll get attention.

      So yes, your "cynical mindset" claim is true. But scientists should be cynical about new claims until they see proof.

    45. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by BobTheLawyer · · Score: 1

      so the probability of something being true is proportionate to the number of people who believe it to be true? This is not our Earth logic.

      And your second paragraph is positively Clintonian. This is not a good sign.

    46. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by TomHandy · · Score: 1
      You have an interesting point about the nature of the contest, but I can assure you, it is not about disproving the paranormal. The AC above calling you an idiot, etc. was uncalled for, but this point was right.

      The nature of the JREF Challenge is to prove the paranormal, not disprove it. The $1 million does serve to bring people in, but I don't think it invalidates the actual challenge itself. It gives people an added incentive to take the challenge. I do agree that there is perhaps an unfortunate tendency to use the challenge itself in unintended ways (i.e. saying "hey, this person would get $1 million if they took the challenge.... since they won't take all that money, it must mean they don't believe they can do what they say they can do").

      You do seem pretty convinced that the real "purpose" of the challenge is to make all paranormal claims look false, but I don't really think that is the case. I haven't really heard James Randi say that the inability for anyone to win the challenge is "proof" that all paranormal claims are false. He has highlighted the inability of many of the kooks and charlatans to pass this test though, but this is more a point about the kooks and charlatans, frankly.

      The non-kooks and non-charlatans are free to try and take the challenge though, and it would be interesting if more of them did.

      Your point that Randi himself has a bias is a valid one, but it's worth noting that his bias doesn't affect the challenge itself. The tests are usually admitted by third parties, the tests are designed to be double or sometimes even triple blind. Everything is done so that Randi doesn't need to be involved unless the claimants want or agree him to be there. Your point that Randi has a bias is notable, but he also makes a strong point in ensuring that his own biases don't affect the larger work of the JREF.

      I can also realize that Randi's attitude about these things is perhaps upsetting..... but it's worth noting that his insults and derision are generally reserved for the charlatans and people who are using their "gifts" to sucker people out of money, to sell things which they know don't do anything to the most vulnerable. His insults and derision are most specifically reserved for those who play on the deepest emotions of people in order to get their money (i.e. by claiming to let them talk to their dead relatives, by selling people junk that they claim will cure them of cancer, etc.).

      Sometimes I think Randi does come across as too abrasive, but it doesn't make some of his fundamental points invalid. I personally share the derision for those who take advantage of the most vulnerable in society, and get people to forego getting serious diseases treated so they can sell them some crystals or something. These are the people that Randi's insults and derision are most reserved for, because they take advantage of the inherent nature of humans to believe in things to make money while at the same time preying on their emotional vulnerability and their love for their departed, or their desperation at having a serious disease.

      I find these people contemptable, and these are the people that the JREF wants most to "challenge", to have them back up their claims by proving them.

      -Tom

    47. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by TomHandy · · Score: 1
      One thing you should really note....... you compare the $1 million prize to gambling.

      This would be an interesting point, in the sense that it would make it seems like the JREF has a financial stake in not accepting any challengers who might actually be able to win the $1 million.

      The problem with this is though, that the $1 million is in a trust, that they don't have access to. This is $1 million that is just sitting there, that has already been dedicated to this claim. It's not like the JREF "loses" $1 million if someone did manage to win it. It would make no difference to them because they have no access to the money, and it makes no difference really if someone were to win it.

      But again though, this is why the tests are agreed to by both parties, why they are designed as double-blind tests (so that even if the people administering the test had some bias, it would be irrelevant, since they couldn't affect the outcome of the test consciously or subconsciously.

      Anyway, it's not a gamble. This money has been alotted solely to this purpose, and it can't be used for anything else. I can understand why people would think that there is a risk that they would hamper the challenge at the risk of "losing $1 million", but that money is already alotted and can't be used for anything else, so that just isn't a real concern.

      -Tom

    48. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I started look at that, and stiopped when I (quite quickly) came upon the following:

      Argument # 1: "It is irrational to believe in anything that hasn't been proven." ...
      1) First of all, just because something hasn't been proven and established in mainstream science doesn't mean it doesn't exist or isn't true. If it did, then nothing would exist until proven or discovered. Bacteria and germs would never have caused illnesses until they were proven and discovered, smoking would not cause cancer until it was proven, the planet Pluto would not have existed until it was discovered, etc.


      Um, the argument says its irrational to BELEIVE in unproven things. The rest of the statement then talks about how things "would not have existed" before they were proven.

      This is a strawman argument. The original argument made no mention of things "not existing" before they were proven, just that it is not rational to beleive in unproven things.

      If 'survivalscience.org' can't do better than that....
    49. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      No, he doesn't examine them. He does not, however, have any qualms about out-and-out insulting those who make purely metaphysical claims.


      Because such claims are unfalsifiable. The exact meaning of that is a bit philosophical in nature, but basically it boils down to this: If there is no possible way to prove something false, then it cannot be proven true, either.

      If there is no possible way to test the "metaphysical claims" some people make, then there is no way to prove them false... or true. Therefore, since they cannot be proven, the claims are worthless. And the people who make worthless claims....

      And perhaps I misused the word random - I meant that the persons involved have absolutely no control over them, and there is no seeming pattern to their occurance

      Like what? A dowser who can only find water at certain 'random' times? Sound suspiciously like guessing to me.
      Guess wrong- "Oh, well, must not be the right time".
      Guess right- "see, I told you I could find water."

      If a dowser could, over the long run produce better-then-randon-guessing results, then they just need to make Randi's challenge rules reflect that.



      But there are ways of predicting the next pseudorandom number. People have tried to cheat casinos who used a computer to select "random" keno numbers, for instance.

    50. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I give up. I don't have the time or inclination to argue with someone who is so closed-minded that he cannot be shifted at all by logic. You have your beliefs, right or wrong, with emphasis on the wrong.

      I hope you do not end up injured as a result of your gullibility. I hope the "nutty" religion you believe in is not a cult which will lead you to any serious physicial, emotional or mental harm.

      Actually, now that I've started typing I can't give up entirely. I have to make one last attempt: Let me leave you with some advice.

      (1) The burden of proof is always on the person who makes the claims. Remember this and your life will be better. If someone claims that crystals will heal your cancer, they have to prove it. You do not need to believe everything you hear just because a claim was made.

      (2) The amount of proof necessary depends on the claim being made. A claim that there is a city in Russia called Korinan requires less proof than the claim that if you commit suicide while the comet is overhead you will be transported to the alien spaceship.

      (3) Every paranormal claim that has been subjected to rigorous double-blind scientific testing has failed the test. Every claim. None of them have survived the test. Not telekinesis, not telepathy, not dowsing, not talking to the dead, not predicting the future, not reading tarot cards, none of it. At some point an intelligent person has to say, 'you know, this whole thing is crap.' Real scientists have given up on a whole field of study before. Does your school have a phrenology department? No?

      (4) Being willing to believe any old crap doesn't make you open-minded. It makes you credulous. Gullible. Foolish.

      (5) A piece of personal advice. You are in school. Take a class in logic, or law. Trust me, you need it.

      I'm not going to reply to your posts any more. I wish I could correct every piece of ignorance I see in the world, but I don't have the time, and some people are happy being ignorant and will resent the help.

    51. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      a man who has no qualms about insulting those who do not actively disbelieve in the 'paranormal'

      Cite?

      "Setting out to prove" the existence of 'paranormal' would be going out and conducting research on the issue.

      And how exactly do you do that? I know, maybe you can set up a situation where people who claim paranormal powers can take a scientific test to see if they really have said powere.

      Oh, wait- that's what he's doing. ...Randi uses the million to lure people in, when you, I, and everyone else knows that a lot of people are kooks who will fail, to give people the impression that anything 'paranormal' is no more true than anything that is demonstrated for his prize.

      And all it would take is one (1) verifiable claim to show that Randi is wrong.

      Where's that one (1) verifiable claim???

      My only point was that Randi has a bias - a bias he freely admits. I didn't claim he was a fraud, or that he doctored trials.

      If the trials are done fairly, the results will be true. Who cares what Randi beleives? And the results of his experiments tend to show that there are no real paranormal abilities. It's not *CERTAIN* that paranormal abilities don't exist, but it is reasonable to beleive they don't exist, based on the lack of evidence that they do exist. (And, yes, I do know that absense of evidence is not evidence of absence. But use your common sense, people! If no one in the entire history of the world has ever seen a pink unicorn, then it's pretty likely they don't exist. Not *CERTAIN*, but pretty likely.)

    52. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      How sad, a victim.

      Impartial scientists HAVE studied the paranormal. They've said it was a load of bunk. Cope.

      When I'm wrong and people tell me I'm wrong I don't accuse them of groupthink. YMMV.

    53. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I land on the "probably doesn't exist" on the idea of a giant invisible space hamster that wants me to send it $100, though, since I have met no one who sincerely believes in such a creature.

      What about turning the lens of science at this problem?

      A few things to consider:
      "Giant" creatures can't exist due to the square-cube law.
      Space has no atmosphere, therefore no oxygen. Animals like hamsters need oxygen to live.
      Invisibility is impossible.
      What would a hamster do with $100??

      So, when science ways in on the "Giant Invisible Space Hamster", it pretty conclusivly shows that the 'GISH' can't exist.

      The same reasoning can be applied to the idea of a god. (ALthough obviously, different specific arguments are used.)

      The circumstantial, non-scientific, evidence comes down against you, I'm afraid. Sorry, no $100 for you.


      Add to it the scientific evidence, and there you go- GISH's don't exist.

    54. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by Anonvmous+Cowrad · · Score: 1

      Some claim that they merely disbelieve in God, and are not claiming that God does not exist. I'm not entirely sure how you can "not believe" in something without recognizing a possibility that it exists.

      Puh-leaze. I don't "believe in" Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy

      Oops. Am I actually saying the possibility exists because I don't believe the nonsense?

      The "by saying you don't believe you are really saying he exists" is by far the weakest argument the deluded make against athiests.

    55. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      3. Thus, colors must be inherently visible.

      Infrared and ultraviolet are considered colours.

    56. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by Sri+Lumpa · · Score: 1


      "The only reasonable action to take is to act as if a claim like this isn't true unless you can get proof."

      No, it's not. It is merely an undecidable matter (at least until such a proof or proof of the opposite exist, but we might have to wait for one of these for a while).

      If you were adopting the same approach to computer science then you would treat the hating problem as such:

      halts (program)
      1 I can prove it halts so I return true.
      2 I can prove it doesn't halts so I return false.
      3 I can't prove it halts so it isn't true it halts so it doesn't halt so I return false.

      And if you did that you would be laughed in the face by any clueful computer scientist.

      --
      "The obvious mathematical breakthrough would be development of an easy way to factor large prime numbers." Bill Gates,
    57. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by WNight · · Score: 1

      I didn't say "... to believe that the claim is false until you can get proof."

      I said, and note the difference, "...to act as if the claim is false..."

      You can never know, in a mathematically precise way, if an untestable claim is true. That means that we'll never have an answer to the god question. There's no test for the existance of god, you can't know if a god exists or not.

      What you can do is choose not to act as if there is a god.

      Saying that you should accept Pascal's wager and act as if there is a god, despite lack of proof, is like saying that you should act as if all unverified claims are true. Do you worship all the possible gods, just because some people believe in them? Do you wear a tinfoil hat because the illuminati might be listening in on your thoughts? Do you leave a bowl of milk out for the fairies, and cookies for santa?

    58. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by Sri+Lumpa · · Score: 1

      "I didn't say "... to believe that the claim is false until you can get proof."

      I said, and note the difference, "...to act as if the claim is false...""

      But you shouldn't act like the claim is false, you should act like the claim is undecided.

      In my halting problem example the guy acted like the claim was false whereas it was undecided and that was a mistake.

      For example personally, I believe in God for various small and big reasons and things that happened throughout my life. However, I refuse to let my life be guided strictly by the Bible or any other sacred text or religion.

      Why? Because I think that somebody that does the right thing for the wrong reason (because he is bound to by faith, not because he believes and understand that it it the right thing) is worse than the guy that makes the wrong thing for the right reason (makes a mistake because he thought it was the right thing to do) because the latter is probably more willing to change and amend when you explain to him that he was wrong than the former that even if he is wrong will cling to his religious belief no matter what.

      In other word, there are many religions and I make my own decisions so that if I am damned then at least it is for my own mistakes, not because I blindly follow somebody else's.

      I don't act like God doesn't exist and I don't act like God's existence is a given. I act like it doesn't matter wether he exist or not, like it is undecided.

      Sorry for the long rant, I hope you understand my point of view: For me, acting like God doesn't exist is just another religious belief; acting like it is undecided (and therefore not caring given that you can't prove one way or another) is refusing to follow a religious belief.

      Bye

      --
      "The obvious mathematical breakthrough would be development of an easy way to factor large prime numbers." Bill Gates,
    59. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by WNight · · Score: 1

      Well, say it however you wish. What I mean by "act as if the claim is false" is to ignore it. Don't dance through the streets laughing about the nonexistance of god, just live your life as if the claim was never made.

    60. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by CentrX · · Score: 1

      Well, technically speaking, he would have the vantage point that anything paranormal must be false because if something holds up to scientific testing, then it's not really a paranormal phenomenon, but rather a normal one.

      --

      "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." - Thomas Jefferson
    61. Re:James Randy debunking paranormal claims by TomHandy · · Score: 1
      Well, something could hold up to scientific testing (i.e. by being able to repeat the phenomenon, etc.) without being able to be explained scientifically. That is the main criteria of a paranormal or supernatural phenomenon. All someone has to do for the challenge is demonstrate some sort of supernatural or paranormal ability. For example, if there was someone who was truly psychic, they might be able to, for example, read someone's mind, and this could be tested, verified, etc. scientifically without being able to explain how the phenomenon works. So, if someone was able to demonstrate this ability, it could still win the challenge, and still be paranormal or supernatural because the action or ability would be scientifically unexplainable.

      But yes, something that could be explained or understood scientifically would inherently not be paranormal or supernatural, and it wouldn't be something that would qualify for the challenge. I.e. I couldn't just go up and say "I can count the number of balls in a bag just by feeling around the bag without looking at it" and win the challenge. I would have to go up with a claim that would be clearly supernatural or paranormal, and both of us would agree that it was supernatural or paranormal, and we would determine and agree on what would be a scientifically valid test of it and a criteria that both parties would agree on for it to be successful.... i.e. for psychic claims, to make sure that whatever the results are would be significant, not just the results that one would expect by chance.... which is the general idea behind most of the tests of psychic, ESP, dowsing, etc. claims.

      -Tom

  28. Follow-up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There is an interesting follow-up thread in the Smoke Tech Center's message boards. Check it out.

  29. Re:Hunting for Bambi. Hoax? Reality? Does it Matte by loucura! · · Score: 1

    Granted, but those who would be psychologically scarred by watching the video aren't the target audience, and would be turned off from the video just by the cover--not to mention website, title, et cetera.

    I don't think his viewpoint is as valuable as you do, if he were arguing against it rather than arguing against its being published, then perhaps I could see some value in it, but knee-jerk reactions like his (even PhDs can have knee-jerk reactions) don't help the argument. His viewpoint is more likely to create more people who are interested in it than people who want to avoid it. Just like the Holocaust-revisionists in the 1970s.

    --
    Black and grey are both shades of white.
  30. Re:Hunting for Bambi. Hoax? Reality? Does it Matte by KiahZero · · Score: 1

    What about leftist egalitarians?

    My interpretation is that this man was simply hoping to get reactions from people like this man. I've heard rumor that it's actually an unliscened escort service, but I'd like to see more evidence of that before I decide either way.

    I figure he was trying to get people to be enraged, a la a shock jock. He seems to have succeeded.

    --
    I'm a lawyer, but not yours. I wouldn't represent someone who thinks taking legal advice from Slashdot is a good idea.
  31. Yeah, you try it by _randy_64 · · Score: 1
    Let your wife cut off a toe of yours, and see if you can walk without a limp. I broke a toe a few years ago and couldn't walk without limping for at least a week or two. Hurt like hell.


    If she won't cut it off, I'll be happy to drop a 25 pound weight on it - that's how I broke mine.

    --
    I mod down all the "free iPod"-sig losers.
    1. Re:Yeah, you try it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are a fucking idiot. I leave it as an exercise to the reader to decide why exactly you are an idiot.

    2. Re:Yeah, you try it by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 1

      I already covered that. You were in pain and trying to avoid putting pressure on that toe. That's not in any way similar to not having a toe at all.

      --
      Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
    3. Re:Yeah, you try it by _randy_64 · · Score: 1

      You don't think you'd be in pain if you had a toe cut off? Like I said, try it sometime.

      --
      I mod down all the "free iPod"-sig losers.
    4. Re:Yeah, you try it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The toe that was cut off will obviously not feel pain.

      Duh.

  32. Message board is interesting as well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Seems to be where new legends are discussed before they create a page for them.

    Some of the other material is interesting as well.

  33. I did by roystgnr · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I've been playing on the Foresight Exchange for a couple months now, and while it's no crystal ball it's an interesting way of making public polls that are weighted both towards how successful a prognosticator a respondant is and how strongly he feels about a particular issue. I'd expect that adding money to the mix in the case of terrorism forecasts would both make the game "more serious" and allow it to act as a sort of anti-terrorism insurance.

    What I couldn't believe was that this was the mistake that forced Poindexter to resign! The man waded through Iran-Contra, tried to create Big Brother, but now he's finally getting pensioned off because he wanted to start an idea futures market? That's just weird.

  34. Re:Article Text for those too lazy to follow links by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Mod this guy down. Read the "article" posted here carefully enough and it will become obvious what his true intention was in posting.

  35. the 809 scam by spike+it · · Score: 1

    I found snopes.com very helpful in determining the validity of the 809 area code scam. See, that site isn't worthless after all!

  36. Re:Even though their website is somewhat outdated. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I like snopes. If they haven't debunked a story, then it certainly must be true!

  37. Re:Debunking snopes.com by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    what is remarkable is the top one (ironically, the 'bottom') has tan lines. Perhaps he tans while wearing women's bikinis?

    And, the bottom one (the 'top') is wearing a condom -- either to protect from stds, or to keep the shit of his dick.

  38. Re:Hunting for Bambi. Hoax? Reality? Does it Matte by mr100percent · · Score: 1

    What's priceless was that Fox News ran a sensational story on their channel, asking women rights groups and showing video footage of these hunts. Boy, they sure got egg on their faces when this emerged to be phony. I remember it being shown as an outfit conducting hunts for men who pay "thousands of dollars" to participate.

  39. Pictures and Scientific American by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    This topic is covered in an article in the August edition of Scientific American, Demistifying the Digital Divide.

    I found a site on the "hole in the wall" computers. Enjoy the site while it lasts, it doesn't look too promising.

    1. Re:Pictures and Scientific American by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'll snip the text jic.

      The Kalkaji Experiment

      The first experiment of teaching computing skills to underprivileged children was done at Kalkaji, New Delhi. In January 1999, a hole was made in the boundary wall of NIIT office at Kalkaji and a computer kiosk was installed. As the computer was accessible from the outside through the opening in the boundary wall, the experiment was named as "Hole-In-The-Wall.

      The objective of this experiment was to check if people would be interested in using an unmanned Internet based kiosk out in the open, without any instructions. It also aimed at ascertaining if an unmanned kiosk can be operational without any supervision in an outdoor location.

      The boundary wall of the NIIT office where the computer was placed is adjacent to a slum, which has a lot of children from 0-18 years of age. Some of these children do not go to school and a few, who do, go to government schools that lack resources, good teachers and student motivation. These children are not particularly familiar with the English language.

      The results of the experiment have been quite exciting. Within three months of opening up of the Internet kiosk, it was found that the children, mostly from the slum, had achieved a certain level of computer skills without any planned instructional intervention. They were able to browse the Internet, download songs, go to cartoon sites, work on MS Paint. They even invented their own vocabulary to define terms on the computer, for example, "sui" (needle) for the cursor, "channels" for websites and "damru" (Shiva's drum) for the hourglass (busy) symbol. By the fourth month, the children were able to discover and accomplish tasks like creating folders, cutting and pasting, creating shortcuts, moving/resizing windows and using MS Word to create short messages that too in the absence of keyboard. When the issue of whether the kiosk should be removed from the boundary wall arose, the children strongly opposed to the idea. The parents also felt that the computer was good for their children. The kiosk continues to be operational till today with approximately eighty children are using it per day.

      [pictures]

      Kalkaji photos - 6th March 2002

      Photos courtesy of Professor Ronald Lee, Director, Erasmus University Research Institute for Decision and Information Systems (EURIDIS), Rotterdam, Netherlands.

      - - - - - - -

      The Madangir Experiment

      The Government of Delhi in partnership with NIIT Ltd. and with the support of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) has initiated the Bhagidaari project for the setting up of 6 Internet Kiosks - each Kiosk having 5 computers - in Ambedkar Nagar.

      Ambedkar Nagar, earlier known as Madangir, is a residential colony (and not a slum) in South Delhi which houses people from lower socio-economic strata. Unlike Kalkaji, the residents of Madangir are relatively better off. Most of the children are aware of computers and a few of them have even used it in their schools.

      Each of these kiosks is connected to the Internet through an ISDN line. The computers allow access only to the Internet and not any applications resident on the computer itself. The reason being that the kiosks are not manned, so it is possible that the users may knowingly/unknowingly delete certain vital applications/programs leading to a non-functioning computer. However, certain security measures are being worked out to resolve this issue and access to computer-based application will be provided in due course.

      A customised web interface has been developed and deployed to facilitate the ease of surfing the Internet. The interface focuses on a variety of areas including educational contents, and caters to a wide variety of audiences. The major areas covered are education, edutainment, entertainment, news, information about Delhi and India. But the web interface in no way restricts the users from accessing any other kind of information.

      Currently, the estimated number of users per day range from 40-60. M

  40. Snopes rocks by mnemonic_ · · Score: 1

    Snopes rocks. I was particularly impressed by the explanation of the "police radar causes missile to be launched at it" urban legend. Where I've seen mainstream media utterly fail at describing the details modern weaponry (vagueness, flat-out inaccuracies or both), snopes.com provided a refreshingly detailed explanation that I found no errors in. It's nice that the author chosen for it was very informed in the subject.

    1. Re:Snopes rocks by Animats · · Score: 3, Interesting
      "police radar causes missile to be launched at it"

      The closest I know to this was a radar system that used to sit on top of the Ford Aeroneutronic building in Newport Beach, CA in the 1980s. This was the development test unit for the DIVAD gun system (a disappointing weapon), and it had a powered gun mount, but no gun. Instead of a gun, the test system had a telescope and a TV camera, and would produce good pictures of aircraft flying into LAX.

      The DIVAD was supposed to engage low-flying helicopters, so the system could look down to the horizon. where it could see a freeway. It was usually set to ignore ground traffic below 100mph, but occasionally at night, some speeder would exceed the threshold and be identified as a possible target.

      I heard that once the system picked up a speeding car and identified it as hostile. Apparently the car had a "radar jammer" to fool police radar. To a military radar, that helps mark the target better; it's like waving a flashlight around.

      But that test system couldn't do anything more than videotape cars; it had no weapons whatsoever.

  41. Bias and laziness by gad_zuki! · · Score: 1

    I think the AC more or less nails it. The snopes people have very limited expertise and limited funding, and as it seems from the above email limited patience.

    >That said, they are doing a good job at a herculean task.

    This is spot-on. Any site that deals with countering disinformation on a wide scale has to contend with its own bias, laziness, and limitations. Look at the skeptdic or straightdope.com, they often revise after someone presents them with more information and some of the conclusions reached can be best described as "dunno."

  42. Holy fsck! posted to wrong story! srry. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    asd

  43. Site is IE incompatible by BinBoy · · Score: 1

    www.snopes.com


    Internet Explorer 6.0 shows just the background color of each page. No text. Mozilla displays the site correctly. Weird.

    1. Re:Site is IE incompatible by sowellfan · · Score: 1

      Hmmm, well my IE 6.0 sees it just fine. Though on one page I looked at, it looked like the background color painted first, and then the test overlaid it 0.5 seconds later. Maybe check your settings or something.

    2. Re:Site is IE incompatible by Mikey-San · · Score: 1

      It's broken in IE, but fine in Mozilla.

      So you're saying there's no problem, then, right?

      --
      Mikey-San
      Karma: +Eleventy billion (mostly affected by watching Celebrity Jeopardy)
  44. I love that site. by dtfinch · · Score: 2, Funny

    I visit it every few days to see what's new.

    Though I was startled to find that there's a transsexual model out there who appeared in a James Bond film and is married to someone who has the same name as I do. I hope that if I ever become famous nobody will look back on that article and draw the wrong conclusions.

  45. Maybe I'll have to retry snopes.com by CactusCritter · · Score: 1

    When I first started getting serous about Internet stuff, I signed up for the urban legends list server, but found that it was almost entirely folks commenting about what other folks had said. Dropped out. Did I miss something?

  46. SNOPES Dopes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Many of snopes.com conclusions are unsubstantiated and highly dubious.

    One hilarious example:
    In one claim they referred to a Slate.com article as the proof, while that Slate.com article referred to Snopes.com as the proof (!?).

    They did remove that reference after I (repeatedly) pointed out the sillines of such "proof", but they still maintain that same conclusion -- now without any proof.

    Sounds like an opportunity for yet another site (dopesofsnopes.com ?).

  47. Hunt for Bambi - business opportunity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What with all the publicity, it's a great business opportunity. It wouldn't be that hard to put together. I know some SF bondage models who'd go for it.

  48. Worst. Moderation. Ever. by 0WaitState · · Score: 1

    This is funny; not insightful, informative, or troll. Dumbass moderators, should be automatic one-year banishment from slashmod.

    --

    Remain calm! All is well!
  49. Good point was Re:A matter of trust by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Snopes and the Skeptics seem to take a position, in most cases, that there are no conspiracies. They do have a little 9/11 info on snopes.com, though, that is counter to the government's claims.

    Fight the power. Question everything.

  50. Reality check by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 1

    That is not one of Nostradamus' predictions. Some student wrote it in an attempt to show how easy vague predictions are to make. Also, as another poster noted, the alleged prediciton is credited to have happened after Nostradamus died.

  51. you know what amuses me... by Montag2k · · Score: 5, Funny

    I don't know how many times I have referred my friends to snopes.com after hearing them recite to me an urban legend. Their response to me is "you believe this crap? You can't believe everything you read on the internet!"

  52. Bizarre coincidence by Sydney+Weidman · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I stumbled upon snopes.com for the first time while trying to determint whether the Peter Lynds story above was a hoax. I was searching for info about his publicist Brooke Jones, an Independent Communications Consultant. The google search leads to numerous links about urban legends. One site in particular http://www.truthminers.com/truth/jones.htm has a further link to snopes. Cool, eh? 6 degrees of internet separation.

  53. Re:Article Text for those too lazy to follow links by nordicfrost · · Score: 1
    A publicity stunt, yes. An hoax, not really.


    Exactly what I was taking into consideration when I wrote this article for my employer. I read up on the subject, watched the KLAS-TV broadcasts and concluded that this was probably some promotion deal for their video deal.


    However, I also understood that if someone would cough up USD 10 000, they would do it. That's why I wrote the article.

  54. Snopes gets it wrong at least once by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    The Snopes entry about Gore taking credit for creating the Internet gets it wrong.

    The guy gets hung up on a false semantic difference between "create" and "invent", and ignores the fact that the Internet existed for several years before Gore got involved with it.

  55. Christian and Muslims = different Gods by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    "Christians and Muslims both believe in the same God, just disagree in the nature of Jesus Christ. Chrisitians believe he was the Messiah. Muslims believe he was just another prophet. The two, combined with Judaism, are referred to Abrahamic, because they all worship the God of Abraham."

    The Gods are different, the religions are different. They are logically contradictory. The Muslim god has a prophet Mohammed, the Christian god does not. The Christian god is in a trinity with his only Son Jesus. The Muslim god, of course, is not.

    They cannot be the same, as they contradict each other.

    1. Re:Christian and Muslims = different Gods by Daniel+Dvorkin · · Score: 1
      The Gods are different, the religions are different. They are logically contradictory. The Muslim god has a prophet Mohammed, the Christian god does not. The Christian god is in a trinity with his only Son Jesus. The Muslim god, of course, is not.

      They cannot be the same, as they contradict each other.
      By that logic (always a tricky thing to apply logic to religion, since it's inherently based on faith, not logic) the Christian God and the Jewish God are different too, since the Christian God has a Son, Who is the Messiah; and the Jewish God doesn't, and the Messiah according to Jewish belief has not yet come. And yet Christians have no problem claiming the Jewish God, along with His long collection of prophets found in the Old Testament, as their own. And most Jews acknowledge that the Christians worship the same God they do, even if they believe the Christians were wrong about Jesus being the Messiah.

      The fact that so many Christians refuse to acknowledge that the God of Islam and the God of Christianity are the same entity has to do with politics, not theology. Interestingly, a lot of Jews -- f'rinstance, my grandfather, an Orthodox rabbi who is about as reflexively pro-Israel as anyone except Ariel Sharon -- are not nearly so dogmatic on the issue, despite the history of conflict.
      --
      The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
    2. Re:Christian and Muslims = different Gods by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      By your reasoning -- The Christian God != The Christian God.

      The Christian religion and the Bible are chocked full of contradictions.

    3. Re:Christian and Muslims = different Gods by MsGeek · · Score: 1
      By that logic (always a tricky thing to apply logic to religion, since it's inherently based on faith, not logic) the Christian God and the Jewish God are different too, since the Christian God has a Son, Who is the Messiah; and the Jewish God doesn't, and the Messiah according to Jewish belief has not yet come. And yet Christians have no problem claiming the Jewish God, along with His long collection of prophets found in the Old Testament, as their own. And most Jews acknowledge that the Christians worship the same God they do, even if they believe the Christians were wrong about Jesus being the Messiah.

      An interesting point about Judaism is that the whole concept of the Messiah has changed from that which you find in the Tanach (Torah+Prophets+Psalms...the whole of the Jewish "bible") and that which you find in Judaism today.

      The classic Jewish concept of the Messiah is that of a human "touched by God" and sent forth as a political liberator. The name Moses does not appear in Egyptian texts. There are many Egyptian royal names like Tuthmose and Ahmose but not Moses. However, in Hebrew, the name Moses is actually Mosheh. Not too far removed from moshiach, the Messiah-liberator.

      There have been many moshiach figures in Jewish history. Moses, definitely, as was his successor Joshua. David defeating the corrupt King Saul put him in the category of moshiach. Yehuda the Maccabee could arguably be given the title moshiach if looked upon in this more modest definition. Even Kouroush Shah, known to us as Cyrus the King of Persia, was considered a minor moshiach for freeing the Jews from their bondage in Babylon.

      The concept of moshiach as God-man or as at least someone supernatural and sacred is an alien concept that found its way into Judaism by way of Christianity. The Jewish God, like the Muslim Allah, has no sons or co-deities. Islam basically was Judaism made palatable for the Arab tribes. It could also be argued that Christianity (which diverges from Judaism far more than Islam does) was Judaism made more palatable for Romans and Greeks.

      --
      Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
    4. Re:Christian and Muslims = different Gods by KiahZero · · Score: 1

      You and I are both talking about a man named Joe. I say that Joe is married and has a kid. You swear up and down that Joe is still a swinging bachelor. Are we talking about the same man?

      Arguably, yes. One or the other (or possibly both) of us could be mistaken on the details of his life, but that doesn't mean that since our stories don't match, we aren't discussing the same man.

      A quote from ReligiousTolerance.org (an excellent site for information about just about every religion) -
      Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are three closely related religions. Because they all revere Abraham and certain other patriarchs mentioned in the Bible as their spiritual ancestors, they are called Abramic religions. (The Baha'i world faith is sometimes also included in this grouping.)

      --
      I'm a lawyer, but not yours. I wouldn't represent someone who thinks taking legal advice from Slashdot is a good idea.
    5. Re:Christian and Muslims = different Gods by stephanruby · · Score: 1

      ReligiousTolerance.com was a hoax. It was debunked by snopes.com years ago.

  56. Urban Myth by wadam · · Score: 1, Informative

    Snopes.com is the work of the husband-and-wife team of David and Barbara Mikkelson, who have taken their passion for urban myths to the Web since 1995."

    As A Folklorist, I really cringe when people use the term "Urban Myth." In a folkloristic sense (and this would require a folkloristic sense, I suppose, as Snopes.com is a sight about folklore, used by folklorists quite a bit) a myth is a narrative told about pre-historical times that pretains to the way in which the world as we know it was formed. So for something to be an "Urban Myth," it would have to be a contemporary narrative that describes the way that the world as we know it was formed. Perhaps the big bang qualifies? I really hate the term "Urban Legend" too (I use the term "Contemporary Legend" instead), as most of what falls into this category is not exclusively urban at all, but it, at least, is an acceptable term. Please, please, please, can't we be as precise with humanities and social sciences terminology as we are with technological terminology here?

    Wadam
    http://wadam.blogspot.com

    1. Re:Urban Myth by TomHandy · · Score: 2, Interesting
      I can't help but think this seems like nitpicking a bit...... the word "myth" has long since extended to a more modern usage beyond just stories about the origins of the world. There are multiple definitions of myth, and although snopes deals with folklore, it deals with other things as well. Clearly though, an "urban myth" doesn't have to refer to myth in the sense of a story about the way the world was formed.

      -Tom

  57. Before Snopes, there was "Straight Dope" by cwolfsheep · · Score: 2, Informative

    Before I was introduced to Snopes by my humanities teacher 2 years ago, I had found a "Straight Dope" book that had some questions like those addressed by Snopes: urban legends & "my friend said" kind-of-stuff. Cecil Adams (no relation) and his crew publish their stuff online @ http://www.straightdope.com By the way, I've also been known to my friends to send them to Snopes on a regular basis for the "crap" they love to fill my email box with. There's a lot of disinformation floating around out there.

    --

    Life is irony, and nothing ever goes as planned.
  58. Re:Christian and Jews = different Gods by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "By that logic (always a tricky thing to apply logic to religion, since it's inherently based on faith, not logic) the Christian God and the Jewish God are different too, "

    Absolutely. Sorry, I did not bring that up before. The Jewish god has not seen fit to send the Messiah yet.

    "And yet Christians have no problem claiming the Jewish God, along with His long collection of prophets found in the Old Testament, as their own."

    Just as the Muslims claim that the God of the Christians and Jews before Mohammed was their God as well. This does not make it true, however, due to the contradictions.

    "The fact that so many Christians refuse to acknowledge that the God of Islam and the God of Christianity are the same entity "

    They refuse if they realize that the deities contradict each other.

    "And most Jews acknowledge that the Christians worship the same God they do,"

    A mistaken belief, borne out if ignorance. The God of the Jews is clearly not the truine being that includes Jesus (God of the Christians)

  59. False perception of contradictions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "The Christian religion and the Bible are chocked full of contradictions"

    Only to those who have the most superficial (or nonexistent) knowledge of the matters.

    1. Re:False perception of contradictions by mfrank · · Score: 1

      What were Christ's last words on the cross? Depends on which gospel you read.

      You'd think they'd at least get *that* right.

  60. Snopes got it wrong about Al Gore by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is not a troll. Snopes got it wrong.

    Snopes claim that it is a myth that Gore created the internet.

    They explain it by saying that he did not invent it, he created it and that is a big difference.

    In fact, there is not a big difference between create and invent in this context, and Gore did not create it. Snopes is nothing but wrong.

    Snopes then goes down the wrong path by using Gore helping the Internet long after it was created as evidence that Gore created the thing in the first place.

    (i.e. Howard Hughes created the airplane and Henry Ford created the automobile and Bill Gates created the GUI).

    Mod that parent informative, not troll.

    I just wonder why Snopes gets this one so wrong. Political bias? Just plain sloppiness?

    1. Re:Snopes got it wrong about Al Gore by TomHandy · · Score: 1
      Why not try and actually read the Snopes entry: http://www.snopes.com/quotes/internet.htm What they say is that the claim that Al Gore claimed to have invented the Internet is false, and they explain why, by showing the original quote.

      Snopes also does not say that Gore created it either. Quite the opposite, they explain that even validating the claim is iffy, and they explain why.

      Your characterization of Snopes' entry on this subject and accusation of them getting it wrong is in itself wrong, if you would read the actual entry:

      "...it's hard to find any specific action of Gore's (such as his sponsoring a Congressional bill or championing a particular piece of legislation) that one could claim helped bring the Internet into being, much less validate Gore's statement of having taken the "initiative in creating the Internet."

      It's true that Gore was popularizing the term "information superhighway" in the early 1990s (when few people outside academia or the computer/defense industries had heard of the Internet) and has introduced a few bills dealing with education and the Internet, but even though Congressman, Senator, and Vice-President Gore may always have been interested in and well-informed about information technology issues, that's a far cry from having taken an active, vital leadership role in bringing about those technologies. Even if Al Gore had never entered the political arena, we'd probably still be reading web pages via the Internet today."

      Nowhere in this entry does Snopes say that he created the Internet, or that even the claim he made is necessarily true. From their research, they find that even Al Gore's original claim is probably not true.

      So, seriously.... read that entry and tell me exactly where Snopes got anything wrong? Do you just have some bone to pick with Snopes, and don't care about the accuracy of your accusations against them?

      All I can think is that perhaps you are confusing the listing of their entry as False? Note that the entry is about whether it's true that Al Gore claimed to have invented the Internet. If you read the entry, they start off showing that that claim that has been attributed to him is false. But they they go on to research the actual quote and point out that whatever role he might have played, they don't find any evidence to support even the notion that he helped to create it in any way by supporting legislation, etc. since much of the legislation and work had happened before his time anyway.

      -Tom

  61. Amputation is not the same as pain! by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 1
    Is she REALLY saying that there is no pain, no limping, no observable problems after the removal of an anatomically complete sixth toe?

    No. You said that. She said that the recovery time is short, and that you can walk perfectly well, post healing, after having a toe amputated.

    Hell, people limp after having a toenail removed.

    Dammit, would people please read what I wrote? Favoring something because it is painful is not the same as being used to its absence. To go back to my dental analogy, you can eat perfectly well, post healing, after having a tooth pulled. You cannot eat perfectly well while having a toothache. In one case, you're adjusting to a part of your anatomy being removed. In the other case, you're avoiding a part of your anatomy that is in pain.

    Toes are nice to have. I like mine. My wife likes hers. But losing one will not prevent you from walking normally.

    --
    Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
  62. Same here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I also found erroneous information in one of the articles about the "Children's tattoos laced with Acid/LSD" myth. There was a mention of the deadly nature of GHB which propelled the myth that GHB is odorless, tasteless, and deadly.

    Being a responsible user of illicit drugs, I reported that GHB is by no means tasteless (unless you think seawater is tasteless) and is only deadly when mixed with alchohol. So the claim that an innocent bystander could have their glass of water or soda spiked with a deadly dosage of GHB without them ever knowing is ludicrous.

    I received the same dismissive respnse from Mr. Mikkelson.

  63. Drug abuse is irresponsible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Being a responsible user of illicit drugs"

    There is nothing responsible about injesting toxins that cause brain damage (even if the brain damage is temporary).

    Responsible drug abuse is an oxymoron.

    1. Re:Drug abuse is irresponsible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And you're just a moron. I said I USE drugs responsibly. In case you didn't catch the subtlety there, I'm saying that I do no ABUSE drugs. I agree that drug abuse is irresponsible. That's why I USE them and don't ABUSE them.

      Anyway, to be consistent with your logic, drinking beer is irresponsible....such a position is just gay.

    2. Re:Drug abuse is irresponsible by dvdeug · · Score: 1

      There is nothing responsible about injesting toxins that cause brain damage (even if the brain damage is temporary).

      Everything is a toxin. Unless you subside on a precisely controlled diet of low fat organic foods, you're doing more damage to your body then you need to be. A responsible person can chose how and when to use toxins - like alcohol, aspirin, fatty meats and mercury-heavy fish - reasonably.

  64. It is still logic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "By that logic (always a tricky thing to apply logic to religion, since it's inherently based on faith, not logic"

    It is still logic. Theology is a rigorous and logical field. Just because you might not agree with it does not mean it is not logic.

    1. Re:It is still logic by dvdeug · · Score: 1

      It is still logic. Theology is a rigorous and logical field. Just because you might not agree with it does not mean it is not logic.

      It has no formal basis, nor does it use formal means to arrive at its conclusions, so it's not a branch of logic. It uses no experiments, or any other tests or proofs, so it's not rigorous.

  65. Atheists by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "This is the misunderstanding. Athiests don't make the claim because to make a claim requires something with which to prove the claim. Athiests, at least those like me..."

    Many, if not most, of the Atheist faith that I encounter do in fact make such claims as "There is no form of divinity whatsoever."

    "....simply say that because of the total lack of evidence for the existance of a god, there's no reason to believe in one"

    That is your faith decision.

    1. Re:Atheists by WNight · · Score: 1

      So you believe in a invisible pink unicorn, just on the off chance?

      Keep your faith to yourself.

  66. DNA evidence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "And your second paragraph is positively Clintonian. This is not a good sign"

    In other words, he has left white stain on the blue dress of logic.

  67. Giant creatures can exist by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ""Giant" creatures can't exist due to the square-cube law"

    Yes, they can. The square-cube law does not preclude them in the least. The only thing the square-cube law does is outline certain realities that the design of such creatures have to deal with (and overcome).

    You forget that square-cube problems are much less in space to begin with. A giant hamster (1 foot long is giant for a hamster!) would have little problem getting by.

    "Space has no atmosphere, therefore no oxygen. Animals like hamsters need oxygen to live."

    Yet, men (and women and chimps and dogs) have gone into space, and survived. Amazing! (Psst. ever hear of space suits? oxygen tanks? If you have not, since you are watching cartoons all day, look at Sandy the Squirrel, the air-breathing rodent who lives under the sea with Sponge-bob)

    "Invisibility is impossible."

    It is not only possible, it is prevalent and quite common. Do you see the air between yourself and the monitor?

    "So, when science ways in on the "Giant Invisible Space Hamster", it pretty conclusivly shows that the 'GISH' can't exist."

    None of your arguments were valid.

    "Add to it the scientific evidence, and there you go- GISH's don't exist."

    While they are pretty silly, you are going out on a limb to say that there are absolutely none.

    1. Re:Giant creatures can exist by dvdeug · · Score: 1

      It is not only possible, it is prevalent and quite common. Do you see the air between yourself and the monitor?

      Of course, air's not a dense ordered substance. There's a big difference between air and a living thing, and the compounds that make up living things are not transparent or even translucent.

  68. The zealous faith of the atheist. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Puh-leaze. I don't "believe in" Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy"

    "Please" has only one syllabil. Also, the person asked about God. By asking about these others, you care changing the subject.

    "...is by far the weakest argument the deluded make against athiests."

    Of course anyone who does not share your faith is "Deluded". Zealots of all faiths love to say this about non-believers. It is something you and ayatollah's have in common.

    1. Re:The zealous faith of the atheist. by Anonvmous+Cowrad · · Score: 1

      "Please" has only one syllabil.

      Yeah? And "syllable" doesn't have an i.
      It was easier than attaching an animation of me rolling my "i"s

      Of course anyone who does not share your faith is "Deluded".

      No, someone is "deluded" when the opening statement, that "I don't agree with you" is twisted into meaning that, somehow, you really do.

      Show me ANY kind of proof, and I would reconsider my world view. Whereas, there is no amount of contrary evidence that would sway a delusional person.

    2. Re:The zealous faith of the atheist. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Show me ANY kind of proof, and I would reconsider my world view"

      Yet, you have your faith, which also lacks proof. You have it even though no one has shown you proof.

      And, of course, your faith is the only true one, and everyone else is deluded.

  69. Re:Even though their website is somewhat outdated. by uncoveror · · Score: 1
    --
    The Uncoveror: It's the real news.
  70. Nosty was just lucky by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    " but Nostradamus quatrains are B.S. whether they are authentically his or not. "

    The guy was just lucky since he almost named Hitler.

    There is such thing as a psychic, but it is just another disreputable occupation like lawyer, politician, or Mannatech salesman. ....still waiting for the name of just one of them who predicted 9/11.

  71. A Man Named Joe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Are we talking about the same man?"

    It is probably two different Joe's. Expecially since one is triplets, and the other is not. The one who is not triplets has a PR guy named Moe. The triplet guy does not. There's a third Joe, who is neither triplets nor has a PR guy.

    "but that doesn't mean that since our stories don't match, we aren't discussing the same man.
    "


    Oh yes it does, as (thinking of those God's) they are very different.

  72. Transparent living tissue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "and the compounds that make up living things are not transparent or even translucent."

    Look again at your monitor. Not only can you see through the invisible air (better revise the "invisibility is impossible" claim), you can see through your corneas too (and those are living).

    If you turn away from the monitor, and go back to the cartoons, SpongeBob comes again to the rescue. Consider the jellyfish when you claim "compounds that make up living things are not transparent or even translucent. "

  73. Colors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Infrared and ultraviolet are considered colours."

    No, they are not colors (the better spelling has no U, as the U is never pronounced. The O is not pronounced either: one unused letter is not perfect, but when you have more than one things start to get downright French). The only reason they have "red" and "violet" in their names is because in the electromagnetic spectrum, they are near those colors, even though they are not colors. They are not present in any color wheel or color system.

    Please check this site click here for some color wheel information.

    These two types of radiation are not colors any more than AM radio or microwaves are.

    1. Re:Colors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the better spelling has no U, as the U is never pronounced.

      You claim to choose a 'better' spelling as an excuse for your butchering of the English language?

      A country that chooses a nonsensical date format and measurement system in the face of far better alternatives has no place dictating spelling to those who invented it.

    2. Re:Colors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Meanwhile, the imperial measuring system is becoming malignant, and your behaviour toward the world is simply cancer itself.

  74. Colors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "You claim to choose a 'better' spelling as an excuse for your butchering of the English language?"

    It is not butchering. It is much more akin to cutting off a tumor.

  75. Caliphate of Death - CLITORIS CHOPPING TERROR by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Terrorist supportin fucking clit chopping maniac with SUPRESSED HOMOSEXUAL OVERDRIVE. You secretly fuck boys in Thailand but play the good muslim. You are like muhammed atta. you fucking fake ass jihad fucker.

    CLITORIS CHOPPERS. Hi there you fucking Islamic career clerics, doctors of death, Waffen Schutzstaffel doctor Josef Mengele is a patron saint compared to you fucking ragheads. You suck. You aide and abet terror and death. You are partially responsible for the deaths of other fellow men. For this fratricide you shall pay dearly. Your soul is black with the stains of inaction, ineptitude and sympathies to those who walk the dark side. Your foul life is full of sins, not religious, just heinous, your karma is low, you don't confess, and you aren't in prison where you belong. You are your own dark, kept secret. I see through you, the worthless academic, the pseudo intellectual, the unproven unpublished un patented WASTE OF FUCKING FLESH. You are a drain on society, you are a member of the 1st world but pretend to not be. I hate you, you are a stained man.

    Hi clitoris chopper, ISLAM supports clitoris carving. You are Islamic, and of course are a fucking animal. I hate you you pull-start camel jockey lover. Towelheads, Camel Jockies, Sand Niggers, Ackmids, Abeebs, Carpet Flyers, Dune Coons, Rag Heads, Sand Scratchers, Habeebs, Abba-Dabbas, Camel-Humpers, Demi-niggers, Fig-Gobblers, Hucka-luckas (hucka hlacka ghalcka ghugh), Lefties (If you steal, you lose the right hand so, since they are thieves...) Ocnods, Pull-Start-ables (imagine pull starting Ossama's dirty rag like a Briggs and Stratton), Roach-Ranchers (habibs cant kill roaches by a tenant of Is-slum), Sand Moolies.

    Shut up all you dirty fucking Islamic pigfucking swinehundts and the pigs, the communist fuckin Islamic terrorist supporter.

    Take your fucking Koran and cram it up your ass. The sooner the earth sees Islam leave it, the better off it will be. Your Koran is Goat Piss.

    I hope if there is a God and a Hell, you have to drink the liquidy shit from a Pig's ass, and Jewish Rabbis defecate on you.

    I hate the stupid ISLAM fucks who read into the trash they come up with. Saddam Hussein [who needs to take a dirt nap] is higher on my sanity list than fucking Muslim "clerics." In fact, I like Saddam more than most of the other Arab leaders because he is secular. We should fucking nuke the Saudis and Mecca and Medina and turn it into rubble, then tell Saddam to remove the heads of all the buttfucking "royalty" in the area.

    I want to wipe my ass with Mohammad's shroud. I want to grind his body up into bone meal and fertilize my garden with it.

    Our tortured dead scream out in HORROR, asking for vengeance:
    1. Kill all Camel Jockeys.
    2. Kill all Mohammedans.
    3. Kill all Dune Coons.
    4. Kill all Rag Heads.
    5. Kill all Towelheads.
    6. Kill all Arabs.
    7. Kill all Camel Rooters.
    8. Kill all Osama Bin Laden supporters.

    Nuke their countries to hell.

    Nuke them again.

    Death to Islam.

    I piss on Mecca. I wipe my ass with the Koran. I shit upon Mohammed. I wipe the cum for a freshly fucked pussy with Mohammed's shroud then throw it in the pig sty so it can mire in pig shit as it decomposes.
  76. Re:Hunting for Bambi. Hoax? Realit caliphate death by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fox news made a mistake for taking an urban legend to be the truth. Honest mistake. Corrected.

    There was no mistake when your brothers bombed Bali. Jakarta. Ripped out the WTC. Murdered Olypians. Executed Innocents. Your Religion. Your brother races. Your fucking farce.

    Go ahead, and perpetuate your propaganda, you fucker. Ripping down the institution which you fucking leech off of. Go live in tent you fucking sand nigger? Oh? You dont like the fucked shit quality of life in shithole Muslim states?

    You fucking bastard hypocrite leech. Your death will result in you joining your brother in hell, being skewered by Satan, youd "GOD", triton you FUCKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!