Today, I finished a book (FLIM-FLAM by James Randi)
YIPPEE! I have so many books, most partly read, but some also 100% not read. And a few completely read.
Not too many days ago, my son Joe sent me a video clip of my grandson Oliver taking some of his first steps. He turned 1 on August 12.
Now, because I'm "converted" to James Randi's thinking and sense of humor, I'm ready to tackle the world - MY world - sort of. And since Randi's a humanist, I want to know more about that. I'm still a believer in Creator-God, and I talk to CG every morning, soon after I realize that I've lived to greet another day.
So, humanism. I'm in 9th Grade, sort of, and my teacher uses the word "humanism" and asks if anyone knows what it means. No hands go up. So she asks, "What do you THINK it means?"
I'm giving my "what I think it means" below. Don't laugh. After I've written what I think it means, I'll search for the meaning, and then decide if I want to be one.
Taylor's initial definition/guess on HUMANISM: The philosophy/thinking that human beings are a product of evolution, and are capable of becoming something unique through their own devices; while there might be a creator, a human being acts independently of that creator, and is responsible for what he becomes.
Hmmm.... I'm not particularly happy with that. But I'm curious.
So I'll first consult Wikipedia:
Humanism is a philosophical and ethical stance that emphasizes the value and agency of human beings, individually and collectively, and generally prefers critical thinking and evidence (rationalism, empiricism) over established doctrine or faith (fideism). The meaning of the term humanism has fluctuated, according to the successive intellectual movements which have identified with it.[1] Generally, however, humanism refers to a perspective that affirms some notion of a "human nature" (sometimes contrasted with antihumanism).
In modern times, humanist movements are typically aligned with secularism and with non-theistic religions.[2] Historically however, this was not always the case.
OK. So maybe I was a bit close by saying that a Humanist still might believe in a creator. But the striking difference I noticed (between my initial stab at it, and Wikipedia) is that I spoke from a point that asks what I will DO with my human existence. Wiki defines Humanism as merely a state of being defined by evidence and rational thinking and not by established doctrine. So..... doing v being. NOT mutually exclusive. But it points out where my thinking sort of comes from (i.e., the Plan of Salvation taught in Mormonism; iow, what are you DOING with your life?)
Well, my brain is the place I think things. At least I THINK it is. And it's filled with a bunch of anecdotal evidences presented by HUMANIST Randi, that show there is no "supernatural" or "paranormal" force - as far as he knows - acting within our human environment.
If I follow my life-long pattern of "learn-possibly assimilate-forget," all this will likely fade away. Especially at my age of 64. Some might say "why should it?" but I say it's what happens to me in most cases. I can recall some stuff, and I forget some other stuff. Because I'm also a procrastinator (and lazy, too), I'm not going to try to evaluate what I recall, and what I forget. I'm going to hope........ HOPE -- that I will retain the important stuff of the book, and move forward with evaluating (and remembering, I hope) what I learn about Humanism.
But not now. Now I'm going to turn on the TV and watch some mindless advertising, sprinkled with what America calls news/entertainment. Feed me.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Thursday, September 4, 2014
SLEEPING READING THINKING FRUSTRATIONS, and FLIM-FLAM by Randi
Reading always - ALMOST always - puts me to sleep. Perhaps it's because I do it lying down on my bed, or in a comfortable chair.
But I've decided that I WANT to finish a book, and the book I'm reading is "FLIM-FLAM" by James Randi. It's already 30+ years old, but it germane to my life today.
I often tune in to Coast2Coast radio (George Noori) on KFI AM 640, sometime after 10pm when his program starts. I suppose, over the past several years, I've done this to see if anything he or his guests talk about is really real. As the show has become more and more popular, the number of ads have noticably increased. So I've begun to distance myself from this "ritual." Also, I hardly ever remember what I've heard, unless it's from some more frequent guest, and even then, I only remember it because I'm hearing it a second time - not because it made an impact in my life.
So, yesterday, when I experienced that "coincidence" (picking a random book from my bookshelf, that turned out to be "FLIM-FLAM" by Randi, and then receiving an email from SKEPTOID which had as its most recent article, a discussion about the disintigrating friendship between Doyle and Houdini, and having JUST read Randi's first chapter which addresses that very friendship)...... I have sort of "plowed through" the reading experience. I've fallen asleep several times this morning, and I've napped, awakened and begun to read again.... several times.
I'm prone to complain about my poor state as a human being who at least SOMEtimes wants to learn something new. I wish I could focus more, and longer, and assimilate messages, and actually GET to the point of deciding if I agree, or if I believe whatever is presented.
That's fairly reactionary, I know. But it's where I am. I've rarely if ever come up with an original thought or idea. Not true, of course. But combined with my poor memory, I don't recall what they were, and certainly do not know if they were significant. I'll often say, "it's all been done before, so why bother?" The mark of a truly lazy person, I know. But knowing I'm lazy hasn't so far resulted in any significant or long-term change in my behavior in the arean of "living life as a human being on planet Earth." So far.
Coupled with the idea that my memory is what I consider to be fairly useless is the idea that much of the common sense presented by Randi in "FLIM-FLAM" can be readily applied to Mormonism, which is and has been for MANY years, an albatross of frustration and obsession and neglect and just about anything else negative you might want to call it.
So, rather than release Randi's words to the abyss of my forgetfulness, I thought I'd record the phrases and ideas that stand out to me in general, and as I see they apply to Mormonism. I'm doing this whether or not the act of recording the phrases and ideas will have any lasting significane for me or for whoever might (-MIGHT-) read this at some future time.
WOW. OK, here we go:
This list might also be titled, "Things I'd really like to at least REMEMBER"
(this note, highlighted in blue, is added on 20140905. As I was reading chapter 7, I actually DID remember having read something about parapsychologists at the beginning of the book.
0. p. xiii In the book's Introduction, Randi describes a news conference at which a perpetual motion device was debunked. One reporter stated that since it didn't work, it was excitement over nothing. Another reporter commented, "Oh, well, what harm does it do? The newspeople are merely reporting a claim and, if it doesn't work, so what? No one is damaged!"
To which Randi replies,
"You really don't see the harm it does? The world has now been plunged into an energy crisis. The availability of energy is going down year by year, and the price is going up year by year, and the underpinnings of civilization are growing weaker as a result, year by year.
"If civilization is to survive, humanity is going to have to make hard decisions and take strenuous action, and as soon as possible. We cannot continue to waste energy. We must develop alternate sources. We dare not continue to be heedless of the problem.
"And then some newsman tells tens of millions of people of a claim that energy can be obtained out of nowhere and feels no responsibility at all for telling them that the claim is undoubtedly mistaken. He leaves the public with the feeling that there is no energy crisis since we can get energy out of nowhere, and that therefore no hard decisions need be made and no strenuous action need be taken.
"That might just add the necessary amount of heedlessness that will keep humanity from solving this life-and-death problem and will therefore send civilization crashing. And YOU ask what harm will it do!"
I'm led to think of the LDS church's perpetuation of lies. Perhaps there's a lie within Mormonism that parallels the lie of "perpetual energy."
Teresa (my ex-wife) recently stated that EVEN IF Brigham Young said the moon was inhabited by people wearing Quaker-like clothes, he nevertheless did a lot of really good things. She also stated some months earlier that the LDS Church is "a good place to raise kids" (or words to that effect).
I was quite surprised that she'd say that, since in "my day" of being a TBM, both she and I would have said something like "It's not a just a good place to raise kids. The church is 100% true, and that's why we follow it."
But now, in 2014, I know that the LDS Church is a fraud, and it perpetuates lies. So what is the harm done by the press (LDS Inc included) printing the lies as if they were true? Are they merely reporting a claim, and if it's not really all 100% true, so what? No one is damaged, and many people are helped, right?
I don't think so. This becomes quite personal for me. Somewhere in my early childhood, I realized that if I didn't say something, or if I lied about something, it would often get me through a difficult situation. I'm sorry to report that there are too many examples to list them all, so I'll pick one. I recall vividly an incident what I was about 8. I appeared at home with a black hula-hoop which I'd actually stolen from a neighborhood girl; she accused me of theft in front of my father. I lied and said my older brother Jack had given it to me. Jack was conveniently not at home at the time. My father said we'd settle this when he got home. Hours later, Jack arrived, denied any knowledge of the hula-hoop, and so I was caught, and humiliated and severely punished (soap in the mouth for telling a lie) in front of my whole family. I'm sure my father thought he had in some measure helped me to not lie in the future, and perhaps he was right. But what it also did is impress on me the importance of being more careful about any future theft and lying.
So my neighborhood friend was damaged, Jack was damaged (I, his younger brother was now both a thief and a liar), and of course I was damaged (I now knew better how to lie).
Similarly, Joseph Smith lied about a TON of things, but the most obvious one is marriage law. He'd married Emma (older and not that pretty) when he was young (22?), and before he realized that he much preferred younger prettier women. So he lied to her and introduced polygamy as being a "new divine law." He lied to the younger prettier girls. He stole their virginity. He virtually raped one of them, telling her that he was commanded by God to marry her, and that in order to avoid destruction, she'd better agree. And THEN...... when confronted by the people & press of his town that he was a polygamist, he lied about it publicly. And he convinced others to lie about it as well. It's impossible to account for ALL of the damage done by JS' polygamy doctrine, but here are a few examples: Young Mormon girls were prevented from falling in love with young boys. As polygamous wives, they could (and did) find themselves alone, poor and pregnant. Their families were devastated seeing their young girls so unhappy. Following JS' example, many Mormons learned how to lie, whether overtly or by omission. Somewhere along the timeline of LDS history, the leaders decided to present Mormonism as an openly honest religion with nothing to hide. They even wrote a song, "An Honest Mormon Boy."
Today's LDS leaders continued to preach JS' doctrine, claiming that he was a prophet, and therefore must also have been an honest man. Thankfully, the PRACTICE of polygamy was ended by most of the Mormon sects, although the PRINCIPLE/DOCTRINE of polygamy continues to be taught.
.
The "so what" approach: "So what" if there's a discrepancy here or there? So what if he lied, as long as it was for God? So what if Emma caught Joseph with one of his extra wives in the barn. So what if families were ripped apart? So what if what the history presents isn't EXACTLY true? So what if gay Mormons commit suicide? So what if Mormon women are oppressed? So what if non-whites are treated as inferior?
It's still a good place to raise a family.
And any reporters who deliver only "softballs" about Mormonism, or who avoid the ugliness, or who say they're just reporting on a religious claim, when they know the truth, are themselves participating in the perpetuation of the lies of Mormonism.
1. p. 2 Quoting Leon Jaroff (senior editor ot TIME magazine): "There has not been a single properly designed, properly conducted experiment that has proven the existence of any paranormal power."
2. p. 2 "I cannot prove that these [paranormal] powers do not exist."
3. p. 10 "To possess specific and specialized information about any aspect of human behavior or of the environment and fail to put that knowledge to valuable use is to my mind a major failure of integrity. I have had no choice. At an early age I was driven to investigate and expose the hoaxers and their disciples, seeing clearly the emotional and physical harm they wreak upon their victims. The adage 'The sleep of reason brings forth monsters' has stuck in my mind for several decades now, and I have manned the claxon to arouse that sleeper."
My note: I'm regretting that I, in contrast, did not have that drive Randi had at an early age. I had no clearly defined drive in my early life. But not, I do like and identify with the need to "man the claxon" to arouse reason in my life, and the lives of those I love. One of those monsters is the LDS Church. We'll see how this develops.
4. p. 12 My note: The chapter on the Cottingly Glen fairies photographs continuously reminded me of significant lapses of reason with regard to the LDS Church. One of the most notable is a comparison between the Fairy Photos, and the Mormon's Book of Abraham papyrii. Both were said to be authentic, both were subject to several modifications by several people, both were subjected to authentication and failed the tests, and both were (are) fakes. Both were (are) nevertheless still believed to be authentic (or at least "of God" - "of Nature") by large groups of people.
**********
Randi lists 20 points that can be applied to almost every example of supernatural claims. I will list (a) the point, (b) the Fairy claim & associated comments, (c) Randi's other example, and (d) my note regarding the LDS Church which I believe corresponds to each point:
1. (a) It is claimed that the subject does not seek any money or fame, and thus no motive to deceive exists.
(b) The 2 girls did not seek financial gain, and therefore are credible.
(c) The Fox sisters innocently had fun cracking their toe bones, which led to the founding of Spiritualism, a major crackpot religion which grew quickly.
(d) Joseph Smith had fun tricking others into giving him money to find burried treasure, which he could not really do. Initially, his motive was to have fun, but he soon learned that he could make money deceiving others, and was motivated to continue his charade in order to help his poor parents financially.
2. (a) The subject (a child, peasant, or sweet little old lady) is said to be incapable of the techniques required; lack of sophistication precludes deception.
(b) The 2 girls were young (10 and 16), and therefore not expected to be able to use a camera at all, let alone deceptively, or to produce believable paper cutouts of fairies.
(c) Russian parapsychologists can't explain a Mrs. Kulagina who deceives them with common conjurer's tricks.
(d) The LDS Church presents Joseph Smith as an "uneducated farm boy" who at a very young age (20something) dictated the Book of Mormon by putting a stone in a hat and covering his face; they then claim that it would be impossible for him to have made up such a complex and spiritual book.
3. (a) It is said that the subject has failed to pass tests designed to determine if the necessary skill is present.
(b) Mr. Gardner tested Elsie's powers of drawing and found she could not draw anything like the images in the photographs.
(c) In France, a M. Girard, who was purported to have the ability to bend metal bars using psychic powers, was tested by his mentor on his ability to do so physically, and was found unable to do so, and therefore honest, and therefore credible.
(d) JS, after having conned several people out of their money with his claims that he could find burried treasure, eventually confessed to his father-in-law that he could not do it, and never could. Since he was honest about it, JS has greater credibility among Mormons.
4. (a) Faults discovered in the story or performance tend to prove the phenomenon real, it is agreed, since a clever trickster would not make such basic errors.
(b) It is said that Elsie, if determined to make a good fake, would have posed Frances looking at the fairies, not at the camera. But if she HAD posed Frances looking at the fairies it would have been expected - so either way, the girls win.
(c) Jeanne Dixon, when proven wrong in predicting things, is accepted as an honest person for being falible.
(d) LDS people are quick to point out that their prophets, when shown to be wrong or contradictory to each other, are sometimes fallibly speaking as "men," and not as "inspired prophets."
(to be continued)
(after a quick break, I'm at it again)
5. (a) If a phenomenon is consistent with previously reported ones, this is cited as strong evidence that it is genuine.
(b) The fairies photographed were consistent with others found in storybooks, and therefore were accepted as the real thing.
(c) The illusionist Uri Geller was rejected by SOME parapsychologists because there was no precedent for metal-bending in any literature, the implication being that if there WERE precedent, they WOULD accept him.
(d) JS was rejected by many religious people because he claimed to see God and Jesus face to face. If any prophet in history had ever claimed such, JS would have been accepted by those people. As it is, LDS people accept him because his Book of Mormon "sounds like" the Bible, and can be interpreted as consistent with the Bible's teachings.
6. (a) It is claimed that critics give poor or insufficient reasons for doubting reported paranormal events and are therefore not to be taken seriously.
(b) Some skeptics explained that the fairy photos must have been taken in a studio (they were not), so believers pounced on them & discredited them with further photographic proof of the location.
(c) Some skeptics remark that Uri Geller could have bent metals with chemicals, magnets or lasar beams; all nonsense, and all hurt their cause for truth.
(d) The LDS Church has recently stopped publicly and directly defending itself from the arrows of criticism, and has generally relied on the "you gotta have faith" approach when confronted with troubling contradictions in their doctrine & history. Some critics have jumped on them with all kinds of theories about how JS and his successors tricked their followers into believing in them. Some well-meaning critics blast Mormonism with untrue rumors or half-truths about their history and doctrine, and publish same openly on the internet. This only hurts their cause, and Mormons will often not take the information seriously enough to properly investigate it.
7. (a) Prominent personalities lend their support to the claims and are considered unassailable because of prestige, academic background, and so on.
(b) Arthur Conan Doyle believed the "Fairy Story" - so many claimed it "must be true."
(c) Laser physicists, political figures, astronauts and authors are accepted as experts on paranormal matters, when they are not.
(d) LDS church members and leaders use politicians (Mitt Romney) and entertainers (Gladys Knight) to imply that "if THEY believe it, there must be something to it."
8. (a) Similarly, supposed experts are called in to verify the claims.
(b) A C Doyle selected Snelling, Gardner and Hodson as "experts" who accepted the miracle of the fairies.
(c) Metallurgist Wilbur Franklin (Kent State U) judged Uri Geller's metal bending as a valid paranormal event, and was widely quoted. HOWEVER, he later admitted he had been wrong (not as widely quoted on that).
(d) Charles Anthon, an American classical scholar, (from Wikipedia) "... is famous in connection with the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as Mormons) because of his interactions with Martin Harris concerning a fragment of Joseph Smith's translation of the Book of Mormon. The fragment was later known as the Anthon Transcript. According to Harris, Anthon wrote Harris a letter of authenticity declaring the fragment to contain true Egyptian characters. Anthon was also reported to have confirmed the translation of these characters as correct. When informed that an angel of God had revealed the characters to Joseph Smith, Anthon reportedly tore up the authentication. Anthon himself stated in a letter to a Mr. E.D. Howe on February 17, 1834, that the story of Anthon's authentication was false, that Anthon had identified the writings as a hoax, and that Anthon had told Harris that the writings were part of "a scheme to cheat the farmer [Martin Harris] of his money...."[2] ."
9. (a) The findings of experts who are critical are minimized or ignored.
(b) The experts at Kodak (London) refused to authenticate the fairy photos.
(c) Conjurers qualified to judge paranormal events are ignored if they won't validate a given paranormal event.
(d) LDS leaders, apologists and members have virtually ignored the statements of qualified scholars who have soundly debunked JS' claim that the Egyptian papyrii (in the possession of the LDS Church and in part published in their book of scripture titled "Pearl of Great Price") which he supposedly translated and which supposedly are the source of The Book of Abraham, contained the personally hand-written records of the biblical Abraham. This claim is false or is in serious question on almost every level.
10. (a) Those who allege paranormal events are equivocal and evasive, allowing investigators to assume facts and fill in details in support of their claims.
(b) Over the years since the photos were taken, the fairy girls have introduced half-truths and dropped hints leading to unjustified assumptions.
(c) Psychic astral tripper "went" to Jupiter and made incorrect observations about the planet; he then allowed others to select aspects of his account THEY thought sounded convincing, thus letting the public believe that he COULD have actually taken the trip.
(d) The LDS experience (mine included) is replete with "missionary stories" about how it's so very important to teach the candidate the basics, and to get him/her to agree to baptism as early as possible; giving them too much information (meat) too early will make them question too much. In other words, for example, teach the people from the KJV of the Bible, and let them think Mormons believe in it; just don't tell them JS re-translated it, changing some of the wording and doctrine.
11. (a) Conflicting versions or details of a paranormal event are ignored.
(b) Reports of the cameras used, the people present as the fairy photos were produced, are not consistent.
(c) Reports of the ships that vanished, the size of the ships, the weather at the time they vanished, etc. in the Bermuda Triangle are not consistent.
(d) LDS teachings include the accounts of 11 people who supposedly saw and handled the gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was supposedly translated by JS. Each account is slightly different as they describe how, when & what they saw and touched. Similarly, there are more than 9 versions of JS' "First Vision" in which he received heavenly instruction on how he would become the new prophet of the "latter days." Each account differs from the others, often in substantial details.
12. (a) A subject's ability to perform trickery is de-emphasized or ignored.
(b) Elsie's artistic ability, job experience, opportunity to create fake photo are circumstantial evidence of a hoax, but are ignored.
(c) M. Girard and Uri Geller are both expert magicians, but modern-day believers would rather ignore that and focus on the paranormal.
(d) JS was known for his imaginative stories, his money digging in his early life, and his "hat trick" to translate the Book of Mormon, but the LDS Church today ignores these "talents" and would rather explain his paranormal activities as "inspired by God."
13. (a) Any controls that seem scientific are used to provide authentication, whether applicable or not.
(b) Gardner secretly marked 24 photographic plates to provide clear evidence of the authenticity of the photos, but only 3 were used and the others conveniently disappeared.
(c) Stanford Research Institute experimented with psychics confined to a cage that prevented radio waves; although the experiment was inconclusive, it "SOUNDED" just fine on paper.
(d) The LDS Church has sought in vain for evidences of the ancient civilizations and events described in the Book of Mormon. There have been a few insignificant and minor "hits" here and there, over the years, and they "SOUND" good, but remain nonetheless inconclusive.
14. (a) It is said that the subject cannot produce phenomena on command or on a regular basis, since such abilities are ephemeral and sporadic.
(b) The girls were asked to take 24 more photos, but only produced 3, and the empty plates were "lost," but they were excused.
(c) Ted Serios was supposed to be able to produce "thought photographs" but when asked to do so, spent hours & tried hundreds of times before he could make only one.
(d) JS readily translated plates & papyrii without hesitation (the circumstances under which he did so are suspect); he had trouble, however, in his proclamations and prophecies, of which only _____ % proved accurate. Neither could he obtain the gold plates from the angel Moroni at his own will, since, he claimed, "the time was not right."
15. (a) It is claimed that the conditions that make deception possible are also those that allow the miracles to take place, and miracles are the more probable explanation.
(b) The girls got photos only when they were alone, unobserved, able to make several attempts.
(c) Prof. Hasted (Birkbeck College, London) has psychic children who do the best work when they're alone; their best work is easily done by ordinary means.
(d) JS is purported to have done miracles in adversarial conditions, but all of them could have been done by ordinary means. For example, he is said to have escaped his enemies while carrying 100 lbs of gold plates for an hour through the woods. That would be a miracle for any man, unless he didn't really have any plates, or if he did, they were of lighter metal.
16. (a) Unless the critics can explain away all the reported details, the residue is considered an irreducible basis for validation.
(b) Doyle hung his belief on the good character of the girls' family, rather than addressing the annoying details including the obvious opportunity of faking the photos, and the failure to find any cutouts.
(c) Jeanne Dixon lied about her age and was wrong on scores of predictions, but was nonetheless accepted as a prophet because she got one (rare) event right, and was accepted by her believers.
(d) JS lied about polygamy and countless other irritating facts, but because he did a few things correctly, he was/is accepted by his believers as a true prophet. Similarly, Brigham Young made many obviously false statements, but was a successful leader and governor in Utah's early history, and was/is still accepted by his believers as a true prophet. All of their successors have done "good works" for which they are revered, and their foibles for which, are excused. The most grevious "foible" in my opinion, is the perpetuation of the basic lies of their subtle cult.
17. (a) We are told that subjects do not do well when persons with "negative vibrations" are nearby.
(b) The girls would not take photos when any adults were present, since the fairies would supposedly not appear.
(c) Today, parapsychologists will not "perform" with unsympathetic persons present; Uri Geller refused to "perform" with James Randi (the author) present.
(d) JS and his 3 associates (the Three Witnesses) went to the woods to get a vision of the gold plates, but pray as they might, nothing appeared to them. Eventually, ________ spoke up and said it was probably he who was preventing the event to occur, and therefore he withdrew, after which the appearance of the plates happened. A more modern-day example is when _________, an LDS Church representative, agreed to appear in a televised interview, but upon learning that a certain well-spoken former Mormon would be present, cancelled the appearance. This isn't a paranormal event, but it illustrates how Mormons tend to be very selective about the circumstances under which they make public statements about the paranormal aspects of their religion.
18. (a) It is claimed that when money is paid for the services of a psychic, or the psychic powers are used to earn money, the powers are defeated. On the other hand---since parapsychologists like to have it both ways---money rewards, they also claim, tend to encourage performance.
(b) Doyle and Gardner said paying the girls for the photos would spoil the whole phenomenon.
(c) Dr. Rhine (Duke University) says the reward system has great merit; psychics rarely win at the race track.
(d) The most simple and earliest example of this in Mormonism is when JS was told that he could not translate the gold plates if in any way it was to "get gain." Later, JS approached Martin Harris (a farmer of some means), telling him that the Lord had a great work for him to perform, and he gladly accepted Harris' $3K for the first publication of the Book of Mormon. And still later, JS would send an emissary to Canada in an attempt to sell the copyright of the Book of Mormon, to get gain. And also, in Ohio, JS readily appropriated the land and houses of his followers to set up a phoney bank in Kirkland (?)
19. (a) It is argued that too many controls on an experiment cause negative results.
(b) Gardner did not want to "crowd" the girls and was willing to accept the photos by mail, rather than impose on them.
(c) Professors Hasted and Taylor (England) state that "nothing happened" because the subjects were watched too closely; relax, and miracles happen!
(d) Today, LDS members will often advise doubting people to "pray in secret" to get a personal revelation from God about the truthfulness of Mormonism; in other words, have a talk with God, but don't tempt or try him too much, or the spirit will withdraw, and you won't get anything.
20. (a) Any trickery detected by the investigators may be attributed to the subject's desire to please, and therefore is a compulsion to cheat.
(b) There is no evidence that the girls tricked anyone; they were not caught red-handed at any point. But if they were, it would have likely been attributed to their desire to please everyone, and therefore would have compelled them to cheat.
(c) Geller, Girard and other "psychic stars" have been thoroughly exposed, and yet they are forgiven by their believers.
(d) The trickery of LDS leaders through the years has been thoroughly exposed. They desire to please God, each other, and their believers. They therefore feel compelled to cheat (i.e., perpetuate the lies of Mormonism). In spite of being thus exposed, they are still forgiven, and accepted by their believers as honest people.
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(done! YAY!! I feel good about this, but will still review later; the yellow parts are statements I'm not 100% sure about.)
(continuing with my notes on words & phrases & ideas in this book that "sing to me."
5. p. 106 In discussing TM (rather, in debunking TM), Randi quotes Dr. Ray Hyman, who makes this statement:
"Once an individual, especially a fairly bright one, latches onto a belief system that offers comfort and universal answers, then nature has provided him with innumberable mechanisms to avoid facing up to discomforting challenges to that belief."
Herein lies the answer to why there are so many intelligent active Mormons in this world.
20140905
Added the following:
6. p 159 Randi discusses Yuri Geller and Geller's associate, Katz, and describes how Geller and Katz interacted. Many of the descriptions Randi gives make me think of **JS and his colleagues who dupped the public** and **Today's LDS leaders who have dupped each other and the membership** and **LDS members who have dupped themselves** Quoting one of Randi's statements:
But the question arises, Why did Katz go along with Geller's cheating despite feeling that it was wrong? Easily answered. As Katz himself said, he believes in Geller's powers in spite of everything---and just because it's not ALL real doesn't mean the rest isn't. It's that simple. He has chosen to believe in a chimera, and he accepts whatever he cannot explain as the real thing and as proof of his preferred belief.
Definition of chimera: a thing that is hoped or wished for but in fact is illusory or impossible to achieve. E.g., "the economic sovereignty you claim to defend is a chimera"
Similarly, "why do educated Mormons go along with Mormonism's lies despite feeling that it's wrong to do so? Easily answered. As educated Mormons have sometimes said, they believe in Mormonism's power in spite of everything---and just because it's not ALL true doesn't mean the rest isn't. It's that simple. They have chosen to believe in a chimera, and they accept whatever they cannot explain as the real thing and as proof of their preferred belief."
(this comparison doens't quite work in every detail, but it works in general)
7. p 166 I had to put the book down and allow an unrelenting cycle of laughter pass when I read about Viennese Dr. Fliess, who administered cocaine to his patients' noses, in an effort to stimulate genital cells he supposed were lurking in their nasal passages. Randi says he was quite popular and prospered. :-)
8. p.
But I've decided that I WANT to finish a book, and the book I'm reading is "FLIM-FLAM" by James Randi. It's already 30+ years old, but it germane to my life today.
I often tune in to Coast2Coast radio (George Noori) on KFI AM 640, sometime after 10pm when his program starts. I suppose, over the past several years, I've done this to see if anything he or his guests talk about is really real. As the show has become more and more popular, the number of ads have noticably increased. So I've begun to distance myself from this "ritual." Also, I hardly ever remember what I've heard, unless it's from some more frequent guest, and even then, I only remember it because I'm hearing it a second time - not because it made an impact in my life.
So, yesterday, when I experienced that "coincidence" (picking a random book from my bookshelf, that turned out to be "FLIM-FLAM" by Randi, and then receiving an email from SKEPTOID which had as its most recent article, a discussion about the disintigrating friendship between Doyle and Houdini, and having JUST read Randi's first chapter which addresses that very friendship)...... I have sort of "plowed through" the reading experience. I've fallen asleep several times this morning, and I've napped, awakened and begun to read again.... several times.
I'm prone to complain about my poor state as a human being who at least SOMEtimes wants to learn something new. I wish I could focus more, and longer, and assimilate messages, and actually GET to the point of deciding if I agree, or if I believe whatever is presented.
That's fairly reactionary, I know. But it's where I am. I've rarely if ever come up with an original thought or idea. Not true, of course. But combined with my poor memory, I don't recall what they were, and certainly do not know if they were significant. I'll often say, "it's all been done before, so why bother?" The mark of a truly lazy person, I know. But knowing I'm lazy hasn't so far resulted in any significant or long-term change in my behavior in the arean of "living life as a human being on planet Earth." So far.
Coupled with the idea that my memory is what I consider to be fairly useless is the idea that much of the common sense presented by Randi in "FLIM-FLAM" can be readily applied to Mormonism, which is and has been for MANY years, an albatross of frustration and obsession and neglect and just about anything else negative you might want to call it.
So, rather than release Randi's words to the abyss of my forgetfulness, I thought I'd record the phrases and ideas that stand out to me in general, and as I see they apply to Mormonism. I'm doing this whether or not the act of recording the phrases and ideas will have any lasting significane for me or for whoever might (-MIGHT-) read this at some future time.
WOW. OK, here we go:
This list might also be titled, "Things I'd really like to at least REMEMBER"
(this note, highlighted in blue, is added on 20140905. As I was reading chapter 7, I actually DID remember having read something about parapsychologists at the beginning of the book.
0. p. xiii In the book's Introduction, Randi describes a news conference at which a perpetual motion device was debunked. One reporter stated that since it didn't work, it was excitement over nothing. Another reporter commented, "Oh, well, what harm does it do? The newspeople are merely reporting a claim and, if it doesn't work, so what? No one is damaged!"
To which Randi replies,
"You really don't see the harm it does? The world has now been plunged into an energy crisis. The availability of energy is going down year by year, and the price is going up year by year, and the underpinnings of civilization are growing weaker as a result, year by year.
"If civilization is to survive, humanity is going to have to make hard decisions and take strenuous action, and as soon as possible. We cannot continue to waste energy. We must develop alternate sources. We dare not continue to be heedless of the problem.
"And then some newsman tells tens of millions of people of a claim that energy can be obtained out of nowhere and feels no responsibility at all for telling them that the claim is undoubtedly mistaken. He leaves the public with the feeling that there is no energy crisis since we can get energy out of nowhere, and that therefore no hard decisions need be made and no strenuous action need be taken.
"That might just add the necessary amount of heedlessness that will keep humanity from solving this life-and-death problem and will therefore send civilization crashing. And YOU ask what harm will it do!"
I'm led to think of the LDS church's perpetuation of lies. Perhaps there's a lie within Mormonism that parallels the lie of "perpetual energy."
Teresa (my ex-wife) recently stated that EVEN IF Brigham Young said the moon was inhabited by people wearing Quaker-like clothes, he nevertheless did a lot of really good things. She also stated some months earlier that the LDS Church is "a good place to raise kids" (or words to that effect).
I was quite surprised that she'd say that, since in "my day" of being a TBM, both she and I would have said something like "It's not a just a good place to raise kids. The church is 100% true, and that's why we follow it."
But now, in 2014, I know that the LDS Church is a fraud, and it perpetuates lies. So what is the harm done by the press (LDS Inc included) printing the lies as if they were true? Are they merely reporting a claim, and if it's not really all 100% true, so what? No one is damaged, and many people are helped, right?
I don't think so. This becomes quite personal for me. Somewhere in my early childhood, I realized that if I didn't say something, or if I lied about something, it would often get me through a difficult situation. I'm sorry to report that there are too many examples to list them all, so I'll pick one. I recall vividly an incident what I was about 8. I appeared at home with a black hula-hoop which I'd actually stolen from a neighborhood girl; she accused me of theft in front of my father. I lied and said my older brother Jack had given it to me. Jack was conveniently not at home at the time. My father said we'd settle this when he got home. Hours later, Jack arrived, denied any knowledge of the hula-hoop, and so I was caught, and humiliated and severely punished (soap in the mouth for telling a lie) in front of my whole family. I'm sure my father thought he had in some measure helped me to not lie in the future, and perhaps he was right. But what it also did is impress on me the importance of being more careful about any future theft and lying.
So my neighborhood friend was damaged, Jack was damaged (I, his younger brother was now both a thief and a liar), and of course I was damaged (I now knew better how to lie).
Similarly, Joseph Smith lied about a TON of things, but the most obvious one is marriage law. He'd married Emma (older and not that pretty) when he was young (22?), and before he realized that he much preferred younger prettier women. So he lied to her and introduced polygamy as being a "new divine law." He lied to the younger prettier girls. He stole their virginity. He virtually raped one of them, telling her that he was commanded by God to marry her, and that in order to avoid destruction, she'd better agree. And THEN...... when confronted by the people & press of his town that he was a polygamist, he lied about it publicly. And he convinced others to lie about it as well. It's impossible to account for ALL of the damage done by JS' polygamy doctrine, but here are a few examples: Young Mormon girls were prevented from falling in love with young boys. As polygamous wives, they could (and did) find themselves alone, poor and pregnant. Their families were devastated seeing their young girls so unhappy. Following JS' example, many Mormons learned how to lie, whether overtly or by omission. Somewhere along the timeline of LDS history, the leaders decided to present Mormonism as an openly honest religion with nothing to hide. They even wrote a song, "An Honest Mormon Boy."
Today's LDS leaders continued to preach JS' doctrine, claiming that he was a prophet, and therefore must also have been an honest man. Thankfully, the PRACTICE of polygamy was ended by most of the Mormon sects, although the PRINCIPLE/DOCTRINE of polygamy continues to be taught.
.
The "so what" approach: "So what" if there's a discrepancy here or there? So what if he lied, as long as it was for God? So what if Emma caught Joseph with one of his extra wives in the barn. So what if families were ripped apart? So what if what the history presents isn't EXACTLY true? So what if gay Mormons commit suicide? So what if Mormon women are oppressed? So what if non-whites are treated as inferior?
It's still a good place to raise a family.
And any reporters who deliver only "softballs" about Mormonism, or who avoid the ugliness, or who say they're just reporting on a religious claim, when they know the truth, are themselves participating in the perpetuation of the lies of Mormonism.
1. p. 2 Quoting Leon Jaroff (senior editor ot TIME magazine): "There has not been a single properly designed, properly conducted experiment that has proven the existence of any paranormal power."
2. p. 2 "I cannot prove that these [paranormal] powers do not exist."
3. p. 10 "To possess specific and specialized information about any aspect of human behavior or of the environment and fail to put that knowledge to valuable use is to my mind a major failure of integrity. I have had no choice. At an early age I was driven to investigate and expose the hoaxers and their disciples, seeing clearly the emotional and physical harm they wreak upon their victims. The adage 'The sleep of reason brings forth monsters' has stuck in my mind for several decades now, and I have manned the claxon to arouse that sleeper."
My note: I'm regretting that I, in contrast, did not have that drive Randi had at an early age. I had no clearly defined drive in my early life. But not, I do like and identify with the need to "man the claxon" to arouse reason in my life, and the lives of those I love. One of those monsters is the LDS Church. We'll see how this develops.
4. p. 12 My note: The chapter on the Cottingly Glen fairies photographs continuously reminded me of significant lapses of reason with regard to the LDS Church. One of the most notable is a comparison between the Fairy Photos, and the Mormon's Book of Abraham papyrii. Both were said to be authentic, both were subject to several modifications by several people, both were subjected to authentication and failed the tests, and both were (are) fakes. Both were (are) nevertheless still believed to be authentic (or at least "of God" - "of Nature") by large groups of people.
**********
Randi lists 20 points that can be applied to almost every example of supernatural claims. I will list (a) the point, (b) the Fairy claim & associated comments, (c) Randi's other example, and (d) my note regarding the LDS Church which I believe corresponds to each point:
1. (a) It is claimed that the subject does not seek any money or fame, and thus no motive to deceive exists.
(b) The 2 girls did not seek financial gain, and therefore are credible.
(c) The Fox sisters innocently had fun cracking their toe bones, which led to the founding of Spiritualism, a major crackpot religion which grew quickly.
(d) Joseph Smith had fun tricking others into giving him money to find burried treasure, which he could not really do. Initially, his motive was to have fun, but he soon learned that he could make money deceiving others, and was motivated to continue his charade in order to help his poor parents financially.
2. (a) The subject (a child, peasant, or sweet little old lady) is said to be incapable of the techniques required; lack of sophistication precludes deception.
(b) The 2 girls were young (10 and 16), and therefore not expected to be able to use a camera at all, let alone deceptively, or to produce believable paper cutouts of fairies.
(c) Russian parapsychologists can't explain a Mrs. Kulagina who deceives them with common conjurer's tricks.
(d) The LDS Church presents Joseph Smith as an "uneducated farm boy" who at a very young age (20something) dictated the Book of Mormon by putting a stone in a hat and covering his face; they then claim that it would be impossible for him to have made up such a complex and spiritual book.
3. (a) It is said that the subject has failed to pass tests designed to determine if the necessary skill is present.
(b) Mr. Gardner tested Elsie's powers of drawing and found she could not draw anything like the images in the photographs.
(c) In France, a M. Girard, who was purported to have the ability to bend metal bars using psychic powers, was tested by his mentor on his ability to do so physically, and was found unable to do so, and therefore honest, and therefore credible.
(d) JS, after having conned several people out of their money with his claims that he could find burried treasure, eventually confessed to his father-in-law that he could not do it, and never could. Since he was honest about it, JS has greater credibility among Mormons.
4. (a) Faults discovered in the story or performance tend to prove the phenomenon real, it is agreed, since a clever trickster would not make such basic errors.
(b) It is said that Elsie, if determined to make a good fake, would have posed Frances looking at the fairies, not at the camera. But if she HAD posed Frances looking at the fairies it would have been expected - so either way, the girls win.
(c) Jeanne Dixon, when proven wrong in predicting things, is accepted as an honest person for being falible.
(d) LDS people are quick to point out that their prophets, when shown to be wrong or contradictory to each other, are sometimes fallibly speaking as "men," and not as "inspired prophets."
(to be continued)
(after a quick break, I'm at it again)
5. (a) If a phenomenon is consistent with previously reported ones, this is cited as strong evidence that it is genuine.
(b) The fairies photographed were consistent with others found in storybooks, and therefore were accepted as the real thing.
(c) The illusionist Uri Geller was rejected by SOME parapsychologists because there was no precedent for metal-bending in any literature, the implication being that if there WERE precedent, they WOULD accept him.
(d) JS was rejected by many religious people because he claimed to see God and Jesus face to face. If any prophet in history had ever claimed such, JS would have been accepted by those people. As it is, LDS people accept him because his Book of Mormon "sounds like" the Bible, and can be interpreted as consistent with the Bible's teachings.
6. (a) It is claimed that critics give poor or insufficient reasons for doubting reported paranormal events and are therefore not to be taken seriously.
(b) Some skeptics explained that the fairy photos must have been taken in a studio (they were not), so believers pounced on them & discredited them with further photographic proof of the location.
(c) Some skeptics remark that Uri Geller could have bent metals with chemicals, magnets or lasar beams; all nonsense, and all hurt their cause for truth.
(d) The LDS Church has recently stopped publicly and directly defending itself from the arrows of criticism, and has generally relied on the "you gotta have faith" approach when confronted with troubling contradictions in their doctrine & history. Some critics have jumped on them with all kinds of theories about how JS and his successors tricked their followers into believing in them. Some well-meaning critics blast Mormonism with untrue rumors or half-truths about their history and doctrine, and publish same openly on the internet. This only hurts their cause, and Mormons will often not take the information seriously enough to properly investigate it.
7. (a) Prominent personalities lend their support to the claims and are considered unassailable because of prestige, academic background, and so on.
(b) Arthur Conan Doyle believed the "Fairy Story" - so many claimed it "must be true."
(c) Laser physicists, political figures, astronauts and authors are accepted as experts on paranormal matters, when they are not.
(d) LDS church members and leaders use politicians (Mitt Romney) and entertainers (Gladys Knight) to imply that "if THEY believe it, there must be something to it."
8. (a) Similarly, supposed experts are called in to verify the claims.
(b) A C Doyle selected Snelling, Gardner and Hodson as "experts" who accepted the miracle of the fairies.
(c) Metallurgist Wilbur Franklin (Kent State U) judged Uri Geller's metal bending as a valid paranormal event, and was widely quoted. HOWEVER, he later admitted he had been wrong (not as widely quoted on that).
(d) Charles Anthon, an American classical scholar, (from Wikipedia) "... is famous in connection with the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as Mormons) because of his interactions with Martin Harris concerning a fragment of Joseph Smith's translation of the Book of Mormon. The fragment was later known as the Anthon Transcript. According to Harris, Anthon wrote Harris a letter of authenticity declaring the fragment to contain true Egyptian characters. Anthon was also reported to have confirmed the translation of these characters as correct. When informed that an angel of God had revealed the characters to Joseph Smith, Anthon reportedly tore up the authentication. Anthon himself stated in a letter to a Mr. E.D. Howe on February 17, 1834, that the story of Anthon's authentication was false, that Anthon had identified the writings as a hoax, and that Anthon had told Harris that the writings were part of "a scheme to cheat the farmer [Martin Harris] of his money...."[2] ."
9. (a) The findings of experts who are critical are minimized or ignored.
(b) The experts at Kodak (London) refused to authenticate the fairy photos.
(c) Conjurers qualified to judge paranormal events are ignored if they won't validate a given paranormal event.
(d) LDS leaders, apologists and members have virtually ignored the statements of qualified scholars who have soundly debunked JS' claim that the Egyptian papyrii (in the possession of the LDS Church and in part published in their book of scripture titled "Pearl of Great Price") which he supposedly translated and which supposedly are the source of The Book of Abraham, contained the personally hand-written records of the biblical Abraham. This claim is false or is in serious question on almost every level.
10. (a) Those who allege paranormal events are equivocal and evasive, allowing investigators to assume facts and fill in details in support of their claims.
(b) Over the years since the photos were taken, the fairy girls have introduced half-truths and dropped hints leading to unjustified assumptions.
(c) Psychic astral tripper "went" to Jupiter and made incorrect observations about the planet; he then allowed others to select aspects of his account THEY thought sounded convincing, thus letting the public believe that he COULD have actually taken the trip.
(d) The LDS experience (mine included) is replete with "missionary stories" about how it's so very important to teach the candidate the basics, and to get him/her to agree to baptism as early as possible; giving them too much information (meat) too early will make them question too much. In other words, for example, teach the people from the KJV of the Bible, and let them think Mormons believe in it; just don't tell them JS re-translated it, changing some of the wording and doctrine.
11. (a) Conflicting versions or details of a paranormal event are ignored.
(b) Reports of the cameras used, the people present as the fairy photos were produced, are not consistent.
(c) Reports of the ships that vanished, the size of the ships, the weather at the time they vanished, etc. in the Bermuda Triangle are not consistent.
(d) LDS teachings include the accounts of 11 people who supposedly saw and handled the gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was supposedly translated by JS. Each account is slightly different as they describe how, when & what they saw and touched. Similarly, there are more than 9 versions of JS' "First Vision" in which he received heavenly instruction on how he would become the new prophet of the "latter days." Each account differs from the others, often in substantial details.
12. (a) A subject's ability to perform trickery is de-emphasized or ignored.
(b) Elsie's artistic ability, job experience, opportunity to create fake photo are circumstantial evidence of a hoax, but are ignored.
(c) M. Girard and Uri Geller are both expert magicians, but modern-day believers would rather ignore that and focus on the paranormal.
(d) JS was known for his imaginative stories, his money digging in his early life, and his "hat trick" to translate the Book of Mormon, but the LDS Church today ignores these "talents" and would rather explain his paranormal activities as "inspired by God."
13. (a) Any controls that seem scientific are used to provide authentication, whether applicable or not.
(b) Gardner secretly marked 24 photographic plates to provide clear evidence of the authenticity of the photos, but only 3 were used and the others conveniently disappeared.
(c) Stanford Research Institute experimented with psychics confined to a cage that prevented radio waves; although the experiment was inconclusive, it "SOUNDED" just fine on paper.
(d) The LDS Church has sought in vain for evidences of the ancient civilizations and events described in the Book of Mormon. There have been a few insignificant and minor "hits" here and there, over the years, and they "SOUND" good, but remain nonetheless inconclusive.
14. (a) It is said that the subject cannot produce phenomena on command or on a regular basis, since such abilities are ephemeral and sporadic.
(b) The girls were asked to take 24 more photos, but only produced 3, and the empty plates were "lost," but they were excused.
(c) Ted Serios was supposed to be able to produce "thought photographs" but when asked to do so, spent hours & tried hundreds of times before he could make only one.
(d) JS readily translated plates & papyrii without hesitation (the circumstances under which he did so are suspect); he had trouble, however, in his proclamations and prophecies, of which only _____ % proved accurate. Neither could he obtain the gold plates from the angel Moroni at his own will, since, he claimed, "the time was not right."
15. (a) It is claimed that the conditions that make deception possible are also those that allow the miracles to take place, and miracles are the more probable explanation.
(b) The girls got photos only when they were alone, unobserved, able to make several attempts.
(c) Prof. Hasted (Birkbeck College, London) has psychic children who do the best work when they're alone; their best work is easily done by ordinary means.
(d) JS is purported to have done miracles in adversarial conditions, but all of them could have been done by ordinary means. For example, he is said to have escaped his enemies while carrying 100 lbs of gold plates for an hour through the woods. That would be a miracle for any man, unless he didn't really have any plates, or if he did, they were of lighter metal.
16. (a) Unless the critics can explain away all the reported details, the residue is considered an irreducible basis for validation.
(b) Doyle hung his belief on the good character of the girls' family, rather than addressing the annoying details including the obvious opportunity of faking the photos, and the failure to find any cutouts.
(c) Jeanne Dixon lied about her age and was wrong on scores of predictions, but was nonetheless accepted as a prophet because she got one (rare) event right, and was accepted by her believers.
(d) JS lied about polygamy and countless other irritating facts, but because he did a few things correctly, he was/is accepted by his believers as a true prophet. Similarly, Brigham Young made many obviously false statements, but was a successful leader and governor in Utah's early history, and was/is still accepted by his believers as a true prophet. All of their successors have done "good works" for which they are revered, and their foibles for which, are excused. The most grevious "foible" in my opinion, is the perpetuation of the basic lies of their subtle cult.
17. (a) We are told that subjects do not do well when persons with "negative vibrations" are nearby.
(b) The girls would not take photos when any adults were present, since the fairies would supposedly not appear.
(c) Today, parapsychologists will not "perform" with unsympathetic persons present; Uri Geller refused to "perform" with James Randi (the author) present.
(d) JS and his 3 associates (the Three Witnesses) went to the woods to get a vision of the gold plates, but pray as they might, nothing appeared to them. Eventually, ________ spoke up and said it was probably he who was preventing the event to occur, and therefore he withdrew, after which the appearance of the plates happened. A more modern-day example is when _________, an LDS Church representative, agreed to appear in a televised interview, but upon learning that a certain well-spoken former Mormon would be present, cancelled the appearance. This isn't a paranormal event, but it illustrates how Mormons tend to be very selective about the circumstances under which they make public statements about the paranormal aspects of their religion.
18. (a) It is claimed that when money is paid for the services of a psychic, or the psychic powers are used to earn money, the powers are defeated. On the other hand---since parapsychologists like to have it both ways---money rewards, they also claim, tend to encourage performance.
(b) Doyle and Gardner said paying the girls for the photos would spoil the whole phenomenon.
(c) Dr. Rhine (Duke University) says the reward system has great merit; psychics rarely win at the race track.
(d) The most simple and earliest example of this in Mormonism is when JS was told that he could not translate the gold plates if in any way it was to "get gain." Later, JS approached Martin Harris (a farmer of some means), telling him that the Lord had a great work for him to perform, and he gladly accepted Harris' $3K for the first publication of the Book of Mormon. And still later, JS would send an emissary to Canada in an attempt to sell the copyright of the Book of Mormon, to get gain. And also, in Ohio, JS readily appropriated the land and houses of his followers to set up a phoney bank in Kirkland (?)
19. (a) It is argued that too many controls on an experiment cause negative results.
(b) Gardner did not want to "crowd" the girls and was willing to accept the photos by mail, rather than impose on them.
(c) Professors Hasted and Taylor (England) state that "nothing happened" because the subjects were watched too closely; relax, and miracles happen!
(d) Today, LDS members will often advise doubting people to "pray in secret" to get a personal revelation from God about the truthfulness of Mormonism; in other words, have a talk with God, but don't tempt or try him too much, or the spirit will withdraw, and you won't get anything.
20. (a) Any trickery detected by the investigators may be attributed to the subject's desire to please, and therefore is a compulsion to cheat.
(b) There is no evidence that the girls tricked anyone; they were not caught red-handed at any point. But if they were, it would have likely been attributed to their desire to please everyone, and therefore would have compelled them to cheat.
(c) Geller, Girard and other "psychic stars" have been thoroughly exposed, and yet they are forgiven by their believers.
(d) The trickery of LDS leaders through the years has been thoroughly exposed. They desire to please God, each other, and their believers. They therefore feel compelled to cheat (i.e., perpetuate the lies of Mormonism). In spite of being thus exposed, they are still forgiven, and accepted by their believers as honest people.
**********
(done! YAY!! I feel good about this, but will still review later; the yellow parts are statements I'm not 100% sure about.)
(continuing with my notes on words & phrases & ideas in this book that "sing to me."
5. p. 106 In discussing TM (rather, in debunking TM), Randi quotes Dr. Ray Hyman, who makes this statement:
"Once an individual, especially a fairly bright one, latches onto a belief system that offers comfort and universal answers, then nature has provided him with innumberable mechanisms to avoid facing up to discomforting challenges to that belief."
Herein lies the answer to why there are so many intelligent active Mormons in this world.
20140905
Added the following:
6. p 159 Randi discusses Yuri Geller and Geller's associate, Katz, and describes how Geller and Katz interacted. Many of the descriptions Randi gives make me think of **JS and his colleagues who dupped the public** and **Today's LDS leaders who have dupped each other and the membership** and **LDS members who have dupped themselves** Quoting one of Randi's statements:
But the question arises, Why did Katz go along with Geller's cheating despite feeling that it was wrong? Easily answered. As Katz himself said, he believes in Geller's powers in spite of everything---and just because it's not ALL real doesn't mean the rest isn't. It's that simple. He has chosen to believe in a chimera, and he accepts whatever he cannot explain as the real thing and as proof of his preferred belief.
Definition of chimera: a thing that is hoped or wished for but in fact is illusory or impossible to achieve. E.g., "the economic sovereignty you claim to defend is a chimera"
Similarly, "why do educated Mormons go along with Mormonism's lies despite feeling that it's wrong to do so? Easily answered. As educated Mormons have sometimes said, they believe in Mormonism's power in spite of everything---and just because it's not ALL true doesn't mean the rest isn't. It's that simple. They have chosen to believe in a chimera, and they accept whatever they cannot explain as the real thing and as proof of their preferred belief."
(this comparison doens't quite work in every detail, but it works in general)
7. p 166 I had to put the book down and allow an unrelenting cycle of laughter pass when I read about Viennese Dr. Fliess, who administered cocaine to his patients' noses, in an effort to stimulate genital cells he supposed were lurking in their nasal passages. Randi says he was quite popular and prospered. :-)
8. p.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
WHAT HAPPENED TO ME TODAY ABOUT SCIENCE v SPIRITUALISM
This morning, I woke up with the unpleasant task of asking my current roommate, Beau Golden, to move out in 30 days. He was not happy. I'd wrestled with this situation for several weeks, beginning with my agreement with Chad Metcalf that he could become my new roommate on October 1st.
I wrote up a formal notice, but didn't just want to leave it in his mailbox, since it was impersonal & he might not see it. So I waited in the dining room for him as he was leaving for work. (I'd have talked to him yesterday - Labor Day - but he had his 2 kids over until late, and I wanted our talk to be one-on-one.
He began to argue that he was being a better roommate lately, and that he didn't have the money to move right now, and could he have at least 90 days. To all of which I said, "No, sorry." I made the case simply that I was not comfortable with him living here, and that it was no longer working for me.
He was in a bit of a hurry, but he got the message that he'd have to leave in 30 days.
So, because I'm a "fixer of things" in general, and I don't like confrontation, I was at least distracted by this meeting, and I decided to try and read something to get my mind off of it. I wanted a book called "Gay Short Fiction" which I thought would be easy reading, and I've had it for a long time, every time upon seeing it lying there unread, vowing to read it "soon." So today was the day.
I looked in all the likely places, but it just wasn't there. So naturally I concluded that if it didn't "show up" soon, I'd have to select something else. On top of my 3-shelf oak bookcase, I have a row of books that are also in the "read soon" category, and they all have a few layers of dust on them.
At the far left end of the row was a book by James Randi titled "FLIM-FLAM" - and I remember I bought it during a time of speculation about the veracity of paranormal & psychic claims by so-called spiritualists. The debate in my mind has been raging for decades - back in High School I read "The Scientist v. The Humanist" and since then I've never fully resolved what I believe.
At any rate, "FLIM-FLAM" got my attention enough that I lay down on my waterbed and began to read it.
Now, reading is not my preferred passtime. I do have a TON of books (most dusty) and people who see that think I'm "well-read" or something along those lines. But I'm not. In fact, I'm more "bad-read" for several reasons. First, I don't read the books I buy. I've resolved MANY times not to buy another book until I've read the ones I have. Second, I'm not all that interested in the subject once I've gotten the gist of the table of contents. Third, I don't have a place conducive to reading, so I usually lie down and attempt to read - and in short order, I fall asleep. Fourth, when I conceive of a point being made, I begin to analyze it here and there, right and left, often making margin(al) notes so that I can recall what I thought later on. (HA! "Later on" has hardly ever arrived in my life!) And fifth, the most devastating of all the reasons I'm "bad-read," I can hardly recall the book or its title, that I bought the book, when I bought the book, why I bought the book...... let ALONE what the book says, and whether I agree with the author, then or now.
In short, reading is an overwhelmingly awful experience for me.
Nontheless, I began reading "FLIM-FLAM" this morning. It's based on science. It's both gentile and rude to spiritualists. And it describes the friendship between Houdini (scientist) and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (spiritualist). I find this ironic (as does James Randi), since you'd think Houdini, a magician, WOULD believe in supernatural things, and that Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, WOULD NOT.
Wrong again, world. Randi sets us all straight in the first pages of his book. It's the other way around.
But my reason for writing does not end there.
I was quite interested in the subject, but my usual obstacles appeared by the time I got to page 25. So I decided to take a break, and I put the book down.
As most participating people of today's technologically advanced society will do, I picked up my Smart Phone and checked my email.
And there, newly arrived, was a message from Skeptiod Companion, a group of online people who produce both written and oral accounts (mostly short ones) of ways in which we can increase knowledge about the conflict between science and spiritualism. (I use those 2 terms merely because they're generally right, and they both begin with "s.")
So, what was Skeptoid Companion's subject today? It was an essay about the doomed friendship between Houdini and Doyle!
I had a choice: Read, or Listen. I chose Listen, of course. I had no desire to subject my already tired eyes to reading the tiny screen of my Smart Phone. So I listened.
Randi's account is from 1982, so 32 years old. Skeptoid's account is from today (or at least I assume it is). so I was interested in knowing if there were any differences. There were none to speak of. Skeptoid might well have used Randi's book as a resource.
But the main mystery for me is....... what was happening today? I happened to begin reading a book about skeptical magicians & scientists, and then happened to receive an email about the same thing.
So...... what to think? Is "science" sending me a mystical message not to believe in mystical occurances? Or is it a coincidence? Or is my creator trying to tell me to stop considering all the paranormal stuff that has been cluttering my life up (books, mostly), and move on with science once and for all?
Dunno.
I wrote up a formal notice, but didn't just want to leave it in his mailbox, since it was impersonal & he might not see it. So I waited in the dining room for him as he was leaving for work. (I'd have talked to him yesterday - Labor Day - but he had his 2 kids over until late, and I wanted our talk to be one-on-one.
He began to argue that he was being a better roommate lately, and that he didn't have the money to move right now, and could he have at least 90 days. To all of which I said, "No, sorry." I made the case simply that I was not comfortable with him living here, and that it was no longer working for me.
He was in a bit of a hurry, but he got the message that he'd have to leave in 30 days.
So, because I'm a "fixer of things" in general, and I don't like confrontation, I was at least distracted by this meeting, and I decided to try and read something to get my mind off of it. I wanted a book called "Gay Short Fiction" which I thought would be easy reading, and I've had it for a long time, every time upon seeing it lying there unread, vowing to read it "soon." So today was the day.
I looked in all the likely places, but it just wasn't there. So naturally I concluded that if it didn't "show up" soon, I'd have to select something else. On top of my 3-shelf oak bookcase, I have a row of books that are also in the "read soon" category, and they all have a few layers of dust on them.
At the far left end of the row was a book by James Randi titled "FLIM-FLAM" - and I remember I bought it during a time of speculation about the veracity of paranormal & psychic claims by so-called spiritualists. The debate in my mind has been raging for decades - back in High School I read "The Scientist v. The Humanist" and since then I've never fully resolved what I believe.
At any rate, "FLIM-FLAM" got my attention enough that I lay down on my waterbed and began to read it.
Now, reading is not my preferred passtime. I do have a TON of books (most dusty) and people who see that think I'm "well-read" or something along those lines. But I'm not. In fact, I'm more "bad-read" for several reasons. First, I don't read the books I buy. I've resolved MANY times not to buy another book until I've read the ones I have. Second, I'm not all that interested in the subject once I've gotten the gist of the table of contents. Third, I don't have a place conducive to reading, so I usually lie down and attempt to read - and in short order, I fall asleep. Fourth, when I conceive of a point being made, I begin to analyze it here and there, right and left, often making margin(al) notes so that I can recall what I thought later on. (HA! "Later on" has hardly ever arrived in my life!) And fifth, the most devastating of all the reasons I'm "bad-read," I can hardly recall the book or its title, that I bought the book, when I bought the book, why I bought the book...... let ALONE what the book says, and whether I agree with the author, then or now.
In short, reading is an overwhelmingly awful experience for me.
Nontheless, I began reading "FLIM-FLAM" this morning. It's based on science. It's both gentile and rude to spiritualists. And it describes the friendship between Houdini (scientist) and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (spiritualist). I find this ironic (as does James Randi), since you'd think Houdini, a magician, WOULD believe in supernatural things, and that Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, WOULD NOT.
Wrong again, world. Randi sets us all straight in the first pages of his book. It's the other way around.
But my reason for writing does not end there.
I was quite interested in the subject, but my usual obstacles appeared by the time I got to page 25. So I decided to take a break, and I put the book down.
As most participating people of today's technologically advanced society will do, I picked up my Smart Phone and checked my email.
And there, newly arrived, was a message from Skeptiod Companion, a group of online people who produce both written and oral accounts (mostly short ones) of ways in which we can increase knowledge about the conflict between science and spiritualism. (I use those 2 terms merely because they're generally right, and they both begin with "s.")
So, what was Skeptoid Companion's subject today? It was an essay about the doomed friendship between Houdini and Doyle!
I had a choice: Read, or Listen. I chose Listen, of course. I had no desire to subject my already tired eyes to reading the tiny screen of my Smart Phone. So I listened.
Randi's account is from 1982, so 32 years old. Skeptoid's account is from today (or at least I assume it is). so I was interested in knowing if there were any differences. There were none to speak of. Skeptoid might well have used Randi's book as a resource.
But the main mystery for me is....... what was happening today? I happened to begin reading a book about skeptical magicians & scientists, and then happened to receive an email about the same thing.
So...... what to think? Is "science" sending me a mystical message not to believe in mystical occurances? Or is it a coincidence? Or is my creator trying to tell me to stop considering all the paranormal stuff that has been cluttering my life up (books, mostly), and move on with science once and for all?
Dunno.
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