Astrology, Bleep Crap, Etc.
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Astrology    The Secret     The Misuse of Quantum Physics    Alternative Medicine   Crystal Healing     Chariots

The Intelligent Person's Tool Kit:

Rationalism: The doctrine that reason alone is the source of knowledge and is independent of experience

Critical Thinking: The mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach a conclusion or answer

Critical thinkers, or rationalists, do not accept the validity of notions that are not based on reason and scientific inquiry. None of the following are scientific or valid. (This list is thus far incomplete...of course.) Below each item, please link to the discussions and articles that will explain why.
 

SNAP OUT OF IT!
a virtual smack in the face

Astrology

Is Astrology Relevant to Consciousness and Psi?
A scientific study by Geoffrey Dean and Ivan W. Kelly

Bad Astronomy's Astrology page

Astrology at the Skeptic's Dictionary

Your Astrology Defense Kit
The questions at the beginning of this article aren't the best. But continue on to the 'testing astrology' section for better information and debunking. Included in this 'defense kit' is a link to the article Is Astrology Relevant to Consciousness and Psi? I also link to this article above. It is a scientific report on a legitimate test of the validity of astrology.

 

The Secret

I've got the Secret: What happened when I followed the best-selling book's advice for two months by Emily Yoffe

Self Help's Slimy Secret by Tim Watkin

Law of Attraction at the Skeptic's Dictionary

The Secret Behind the Secret at eSekptic

Oprah's Ugly Secret by Peter Birkenhead

 

Nonsense from the movie What the bleep do we know?

Misusing Quantum Physics

Quantum Metaphysics by Victor Stenger

Quantum Quackery by Victor Stenger

A little on the lighter side, but still very informational:

Bleep Bleep

What the Bleep does Ramtha Know?

"Bleep" of Faith

What the (bleep) were they thinking?

Bull@$#*%

On Dr. Masaru Emoto and his water crystals:

Stop the Bleeping Pseudoscience
Includes Emoto's bunk in a general discussion of the film. The author states, "But a moviegoer doesn't have to be an expert in scientific protocols to spot the flapdoodle." Maybe not, but apparently she has to be an excellent critical thinker because most of my acquaintance fell for it all hook, line, and sinker.

Water pseudoscience, nostrums, and snake oil
Fabulous page by a chemist on all sorts of water bunk. You'll find Emoto mentioned at the bottom with a very brief explanation of why he's just a huckster.

Chiropractic Crackup, Talking to Water, ....
In this article by James Randi, the important point to note is that it is common knowledge that Emoto refuses to subject his studies to double-blind testing. Randi says, "If he [Emoto] were to be blind to which words were being used to influence the water crystals, his search through the results looking for confirmation, would be inconclusive." But Emoto refuses to do blind studies on his water. Gee, I wonder why?


Alternative Medicine

The Physics of 'Alternative Medicine': Bioenergetic Fields
Includes some discussion of the misuse of Quantum Physics



Crystal Healing

Recursivity: Debunking Crystal Healing

 

Von Daniken's Chariots of the Gods

A Primer in the Art of Crooked Science

Ancient Astronauts from the Skeptic's Dictionary

Chariots of Lies

Erich Von Daniken from the Skeptic Wiki

Erich Von Daniken's Chariots of the Gods: Science or Charlatanism?