Time to tackle the woo

It's been a while since I addressed the issue of woo. So let's start with ghosties and ghoulies.

First of all, let us get this dead right. There's no such thing. Ghosts do not exist. Disembodied spirits do not haunt anywhere. There is no such thing as a poltergeist, an evil spirit or anything like it. I repeat my generous offer - anyone who can show me a ghost or credible evidence of one (no, not a photo of an 'orb') will receive a shedload of dosh to their nominated charity. It's safe because it will never happen.

But there is no convincing those who throw science in the dustbin and are incapable of thinking something through. To them, ghosts or whatever are real, because they WANT them to be real. The greatest gift that god has given us (that was irony, by the way) is the gift of intelligence and the ability to reason. It is a sin not to use it. There is ALWAYS an explanation for the shadowy figure or the woman standing next to your bed when you wake up in the middle of the night. There is always a reason for the creaking floorboard. There is always a natural explanation for the weird noise heard in the small hours. By not thinking it through, the witness is guilty of reverting back to stone age mentality, when everything that was not immediately understood was asigned a supernatural explanation. These people are doing exactly the same thing.

So what is the harm? Probably very little in most cases, apart from the person themselves subjecting themselves to a life of fear, dread and superstition. Get on with it, if they want to live like that, super dooper. But the hidden side is the big business, the frauds and the idiots who try to convince impressionable and vulnerable people that there is something in this nonsense. When it comes to ghosties, well, most of the rather simple folk who pay to be scared out of their wits are welcome to it. Fools and money are easily parted, thats what I say. But belief in claptrap like this leads to belief in all things woo, and that when it gets to be dangerous. New age stupidity. Homeopathy, reiki, mediums, psychics, clairvoyants and other pond life all come creeping around, desperate to indoctrinate the feeble minded and take their cash, to the detriment in many cases of their families and loved ones.

So what about the catch phrases that alway surface as a defence to stupid beliefs? Eg. There are more things in heaven etc. OK, So what does that mean? It's a cliche. Yes, there are more things. Science discovers new things every day, so it does. But ghosts aren't on the agenda I'm afraid. Cliches dont win arguments and they certainly don't provide evidence for the existence of woo. When it is realised that there is actually NO evidence whatsoever for any of this crap, resorting to catch phrases is the standard procedure for reasons to believe.

So come on, all those people who claim to have proof positive of the existence of ghosties and ghoulies, share it and earn a Nobel prize. Or maybe Randi's million dollar award. But I'm not holding my breath.

:-)