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5 Things I’ve noticed about… The New Age Movement

Posted by Mason I. Bilderberg (MIB) on February 26, 2013
Posted in: Alternative Medicine, Astrology, Homeopathy, Magic, Metaphysics, Out of Body/Near Death, Pseudoscientific, Psychics, Quackery, Superstition. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

via The Soap Box

I’ve made some observations about people in the New Age Movement, and that there are certain things that tend to be a common trend amongst New Agers.

Here are five things that I’ve noticed about the New Age Movement:

5. They love energy.

Poder-de-la-mente_250px_200pxNew Agers tend to believe that energy (in one form or another) is all around them, and that somehow they can somehow control this energy, and that they can somehow convert it and use it for their own personal means (such as healing, or some type of food source), or that they can use it to gain knowledge, rather than gaining knowledge the old fashion way, by reading.

Some New Agers even believe that you don’t even need food, that all you need is to absorb sun light, or breathing clean air.

It should noted that last one is very dangerous and has resulted in the deaths of several people.

4. They’re obsessed with crystals.

NEW AGE_200pxMost New Agers seriously believe that crystals are more then just pretty objects that make for nice coffee table or mantle decorations. Apparently they believe that crystals can be used for dowsing (which has not been proven to work), healing, and warding off negative energy, which apparently a small crystal being in your pocket, or hanging around your neck, is suppose to protect your entire body from all sides from negative energy that’s suppose to be bombarding you from everywhere…

3. They believe they don’t have to do much to alter their lives.

Apparently New Agers believe that if you just do a few good things, or if you rearrange the furniture in your house in a certain way, or you carry around some good luck charms, or if you put some plants in your house, or even if you have just positive thoughts, that you can dramatically alter your life for the better, rather than actually working hard and putting some real effort into changing their lives, which has been proven to be much more effective.

MORE . . . .

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SLIders & the Streetlight Phenomenon

Posted by Mason I. Bilderberg (MIB) on September 16, 2012
Posted in: Bizarre, Paranormal, Story Telling, supernatural. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Street Light Interference or SLI

By , About.com Guide

Do streetlights go out when you pass beneath them? Perhaps you are a SLIder

A reader writes:

Around five years ago, I have noticed that at times while I am driving down the road at night a street light will go out as I am passing below it. It happens frequently and seems to be happening more.

It has been giving me the creeps. If it happened only once or on very rare occasions, I don’t think I would have given it a thought. However, it happens about once or twice a week. Could it be some electronic thing or could it be something less explainable?

The phenomenon is known as street lamp interference, or SLI, and it possibly is a psychic event that is just beginning to be recognized and studied. Like most phenomena of this type, the evidence is almost exclusively anecdotal. I have received several stories like the one above from readers.

Typically, a person who has this effect on streetlights – also known as a SLIder – finds that the light switches on or off when he or she walks or drives beneath it. Obviously, this could happen occasionally by chance with a faulty streetlight (you’ve probably noticed that it’s happened to you once in a while), but SLIders claim that it happens to them on a regular basis. It doesn’t happen every time with every streetlight, but it occurs often enough to make these people suspect that something unusual is going on.

Very often, SLIders also report that they tend to have an odd effect on other electronic devices. In letters I’ve received, these people claim such effects as:

  • Appliances such as lamps and TVs go on and off without being touched.
  • Lightbulbs constantly blow when the SLIder tries to turn them off or on.
  • Volume levels change on TVs, radios, and CD players.
  • Watches stop working.
  • Children’s electronic toys start by themselves when the SLIder is present.
  • Credit cards and other magnetically encoded cards are damaged or erased when in their possession.

WHAT’S THE CAUSE?

Keep Reading:  SLIders & the Streetlight Phenomenon – Street Light Interference or SLI.

More Illumination on SLI

Streetlights are blinking off all over the place. But what’s the cause? Some weird psychic phenomenon? Or is there a simpler explanation for this ubiquitous occurrence?

Apparently, the street lamp interference (SLI) phenomenon is quite widespread. Last week’s article on SLI elicited more responses from readers than any other article appearing at this site. People all over the country are reporting that they are affecting streetlights. Some are saying that they are also affecting their house lights, watches, TVs, and other appliances. Others, however, suggest that there’s nothing to SLI – that its apparent effects are due merely to coincidence or explainable mechanical reasons.

Many of the responses received included the following:

Keep Reading: More Illuminations on SLI.

magic jewelry

Posted by Mason I. Bilderberg (MIB) on September 3, 2012
Posted in: Human Perception, Superstition. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

via Skeptic’s Dictionary for Kids

In a nutshell: Magic jewelry gives you power and protects you from harm. It brings you health and keeps you from tipping over. Or maybe not.

The Placebo Band braceletMagic jewelry is any jewelry worn to make you better or to protect you from harm. A bracelet won’t make you healthier or bring you good luck. A necklace won’t make you stronger or bounce back evil rays. That only happens in stories. Pieces of metal, cloth, paper, rubber, or plastic that are made into jewelry might look nice, but they aren’t magical. Yet, many people spend a lot of money on such jewelry. Why?

People buy and wear magic jewelry because they believe it works. They may have seen advertisements where a famous person says that a rubber band with a fancy name like PowerBalance gave them more energy and made them a better golfer or basketball player. A friend might have told them that her luck has been great since she began wearing her Q-Ray bracelet. Besides, she’s seen on TV where it is “ionized” and “balances your yin and yang,” so it must work. Ads say it has been tested by scientists, so it must be ok!

Keep reading: magic jewelry – Skeptic’s Dictionary for Kids.

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Experimenter Effect

Posted by Mason I. Bilderberg (MIB) on August 14, 2012
Posted in: Brain Works, Educational, Human Perception, Paranormal, Psychics, Psychology. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

via The Skeptic’s Dictionary – Skepdic.com

The experimenter effect is a term used to describe any of a number of subtle cues or signals from an experimenter that affect the performance or response of subjects in the experiment. The cues may be unconscious nonverbal cues, such as muscular tension or gestures. They may be vocal cues, such as tone of voice. Research has demonstrated that the expectations and biases of an experimenter can be communicated to experimental subjects in subtle, unintentional ways, and that these cues can significantly affect the outcome of the experiment (Rosenthal 1998).

Robert Rosenthal has found that even slight differences in instructions given to control and experimental groups can affect the outcome of an experiment. Different vocal intonations, subtle gestures, even slight changes in posture, might influence the subjects.

[...]

The experimenter effect may explain why many experiments can be conducted successfully only by one person or one group of persons, while others repeatedly fail in their attempts to replicate the results. Of course, there are other reasons why studies cannot be replicated. The original experimenter may have committed errors in design, controls, or calculations. Or he may have committed fraud.

Keep Reading: experimenter effect – The Skeptic’s Dictionary – Skepdic.com.

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Spontaneous Human Combustion

Posted by Mason I. Bilderberg (MIB) on August 8, 2012
Posted in: Bizarre. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Published by (2009)

On a recent episode of Fringe (a rather mediocre, in my opinion, series on the supernatural), the investigators come across apparent cases of spontaneous human combustion (SHC).  Popular Mechanics decided to write an article about the science behind SHC (it turns out there isn’t any) and luckily contacted me to give them the skinny. You can read the article here.

SHC is a fun pseudoscience in that there is nothing concrete at stake – no health claims, no products, no concerns about squandering limited research funds. It’s purely a scientific question, one highly amenable to skeptical analysis.

In order to understand SHC imagine the following scene: An elderly woman who lives alone is found dead in her apartment. She is the victim of fire; her body is mostly reduced to ash, and only the ends of her arms and legs remain. The ashen outline of her head lies upon the hearth of her fireplace, the iron grill of which has been knocked to the side. There are signs that a fire recently was burning in the fireplace. A brown greasy substance coats the walls and ceiling near the body, but otherwise the room is unharmed.

Now set aside all common sense and reason, and you’ll have a typical case of spontaneous human combustion.

The idea that people can suddenly and spontaneously burst into flames … (keep reading) NeuroLogica Blog » Spontaneous Human Combustion.

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5 Weapons People Think are Great for Fighting Zombies, but Really Aren’t

Posted by Mason I. Bilderberg (MIB) on August 5, 2012
Posted in: Creatures, Fun Stuff, Science Fiction. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 comments

Thanks to the movies, there are a lot of weapons that most people think are great for killing zombies, but in reality, they really aren’t that useful for killing zombies at all.

So now, here is a list of five weapons that people think are great for fighting zombies with, but really are not:

5. Shotgun

While most people believe that the shotgun is the best gun to use against a horde of zombies, in reality, it actually isn’t.

A shotgun might be effective at close range, but at a distance, or if you’re using bird shot, it isn’t that effective.

Shotguns have a more limited range then rifles, plus, shot scatters, so if a friend is a middle of a zombie horde, you could hit them and either kill them, or cause them to get eaten. Also, because of the scattering effect of shotgun shot, you might not even hit the brain or brain stem of a zombie. Then of course there’s bird shot, which might not even be effective at all against a zombie.

4. Axe

A lot of people might think that an axe is a good weapon to use against a zombie, but because the best way to kill a zombie with an axe is either with an over head swing, or a side swing to the head, it might not be the most effective melee weapon you can use.
Beside the fact that you could easily injure yourself if you miss hitting a zombie with an axe, you could also get your axe stuck in a zombie’s head, costing precious seconds, and if you’re battling a zombie horde, you may not have that much time. Also, because you have to swing an axe, you can leave yourself open to attack.

Keep Reading:  The Soap Box: 5 Weapons People Think are Great for Fighting Zombies, but Really Aren’t.

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A Spiritualist Ghostbuster’s Crystal Skull

Posted by Mason I. Bilderberg (MIB) on July 29, 2012
Posted in: Bizarre, Mayans, Spirits, supernatural, Superstition. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

A Canadian spiritualist ghostbusting actor walks into a bar wearing New Age crystals and a crystal skull around his neck, goes up to the bartender, and orders a vodka. . . . No, this weird mashup is not the setup to a joke (certainly not a funny one) but instead more or less describes one of the strangest intersections of Hollywood, New Age paranormal belief, ghost hunting, and alcohol.

This story involves crystal skulls. There are many skulls in the world carved out of quartz crystal of varying sizes and designs. I’ve seen them in a lot of places, especially in South and Central America, where they are sold as tourist trinkets. The ones you can buy for a few dollars are rather plain, but the big ones (life-size or so) are steeped in myth and romance. There are only a handful of the life-size skulls in existence, and they have inspired awe for generations. They are said to be hundreds of years old and possibly of Mayan or Aztec origin.

Continue reading: CSI | A Spiritualist Ghostbuster’s Crystal Skull.

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