Psychic Methods Revealed: Hot Reading
Detecting psychic scams & debunking mediums is easier when you know how psychic methods like hot reading work. Don’t be fooled by psychic misdirection. Expert mentalists, skeptics, and magicians Penn and Teller, Derren Brown, Paul Zenon, James Randi, and Mark Edward will reveal the secrets of psychics by exposing disgraceful psychic tricks used by psychic Sally Morgan, The Long Island Medium (Theresa Caputo), Rosemary Altea, Peter Popoff, Joe Power, James Van Praagh, and more. Stay skeptical, dare to be curious, but don’t fall for this bullshit, and don’t drink the koolaid.
Principles of Curiosity
Personally, I would give this video 3.5 out of 5 stars. It felt too lengthy (40 minutes) for the amount of information presented, but still very enjoyable.
The ugly side of the “chemtrail” conspiracy
The ugly side of crazed conspiracists has reared it’s ugly head again with death threats to another meteorologist. Read about it below. – MIB
By Meteorologist Eric Sorensen via WQAD.com
Yesterday, a man called local talk radio with a report of chemicals being sprayed by planes overhead. With no credible evidence whatsoever, the report went on the air to anyone who was listening without any discussion on the subject.
As a Meteorologist, I’m conflicted hearing this. On one side, much like climate change, I want to steer clear of such a divisive, political subject. But the other side of me says, as a degreed Meteorologist I owe my viewers and fans accurate science information.
Anyone who knows me understands I am a lighthearted person. I believe you can have fun while doing hard work, even if that means you’re building a deck, driving a truck, or studying the weather. But I struck a nerve when I posted a video on Facebook about the gentleman who called into local talk radio. I reiterated that the “chemtrails” were actually condensation from hot jet engines, ending dramatically with “be afraid, be very afraid.” Because that’s what the alarmists who believe in the conspiracy are hoping more people do.
[ . . . ]
Within minutes, the comments quickly turned hateful and downright angry. One poster wished that my family be poisoned and that a brick be thrown through my head. Outrageous! Especially since the hateful, hurtful words weren’t coming from just one person. There are dozens and dozens of people who believe I am paid by the government, lying when I cast doubt on the conspiracy theory. And a surprising number of people actually wish some sort of harm.
Ten Facebook Pages You Need to Stop Sharing From
By Dawn Pedersen via dawnsbrain.com
A friend of mine shared an eyebrow-raising article on Facebook. The linked story was along the lines of “private planes stolen by terrorists in the Middle East, and an attack is imminent”. 
The sensible people among his friends good-naturedly mocked him. They ribbed him about how ridiculous the prediction was. And all you had to do was consider the source.
My friend had shared the story from a notoriously crackpot Facebook page. The post lacked any merit, save a few tenuous and unrelated pieces of actual news. This behavior was typical of this particular page. Often, these types of pages hook you with a kernel of truth, and then wrap it in layers of idiocy.
When confronted, this friend said, “well, we’ll see who’s right in time.” The prediction by Natural News has failed to become reality almost a year later.
The Facebook fan pages below have a habit of spitting scientific inquiry and reason in the eye. They also have an unreasonably high number of fans who share their inanity. Shares from the following pages deserve a serious eye roll and shaking of one’s head.
#10 Alex Jones
Facebook fans: 856K
What He Says About Himself
“Documentary Filmmaker, Nationally Syndicated Radio Talkshow & Prisonplanet.tv Host – Free video/audio stream”
What He Really Does
Mr. Jones uses a ton of hyperbole, conspiracy theories, and a loose connection to reality, to whip up fear and loathing in his audience.
Recent Ridiculousness
Whatever your feelings are on using legislation to increase vaccination rates, you won’t find any legitimate support for implications that vaccines contain toxic doses of chemical. Nor that there are aborted fetal cells in any of the shots we get.
Sample Fan Comment
World government, population control, fluoride hysteria, GMOs, illegal cancer cures, and chemtrails. This comment has it all.
#9 Food Babe
Facebook fans: 938K
What She Says About Herself
“Vani Hari started FoodBabe.com in April 2011 to spread information about what is really in the American food supply. She teaches people how to make the right purchasing decisions at the grocery store, how to live an organic lifestyle, and how to travel healthfully around the world. The success in her writing and investigative work can be seen in the way food companies react to her uncanny ability to find and expose the truth.”
What She Really Does
Ms. Hari, the “Food Babe”, parrots Dr. Mercola and cobbles together cherry-picked blurbs from questionable studies and Wikipedia. She uses the term “investigation” to excuse the fact that she often gives medical advice without having any education in the life sciences. She picks the weirdest ingredients to go after.
Recent Ridiculousness
This from the woman who claimed to have cured all her allergies with acupuncture and “clean eating”.
Sample Fan Comment
On Facebook, it’s only a matter of time before someone pulls out the EO sales kit.
Mars Hoaxes: Why We Believe
by Stephanie Pappas via Live Science
First, let’s get one thing out of the way: Mars is not going to look as big as the moon in the night sky tonight. Or tomorrow night. Or any other night, barring some sort of unforeseen planetary catastrophe.Continue Reading: Mars Hoaxes: Why We Believe
