Bob Proctor is at it again.  The Secret, which benefited greatly from “The Oprah Effect” essentially put The Law of Attraction, around which much of Proctor’s shtick is based, on the map. The Law is…
“Essentially, “if you really want something and truly believe it’s possible, you’ll get it”, but putting a lot of attention and thought onto something you don’t want means you’ll probably get that too.”
This claim is entirely fantasy based, with no clinical evidence to back it up AT ALL. Yet The Secret was purchased by over 2 …

Moore’s Law states that the level of technology/computing power available doubles every 18-24 months. This exponential growth has held true the last thirty years and shows no signs of slowing down. There is a physical limitation which will be reach but I have no doubt that by that time we will switch from silicon-based transistors to some other means. E.g. Just the other day scientists announced the world’s first molecular transistor consisting of a single molecule of benzene [LINK].
So what’s next? Well if computers get stronger/smaller/faster you might think we’ll …

“I wonder on what basis anyone can say condoms make AIDS worse. The Pope is either stupid, ignorant or dim.” so says Richard Dawkins, speaking at a the University of Valencia after having been awarded an honorary degree. [LINK]
Dawkins was referring to the Pope’s comments in Africa earlier this year where the Pope said this about HIV/AIDS: “You can’t resolve it with the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, it increases the problem.”
Dawkins loves to stir things up as it were but he’s not alone. The pontiff’s comments have prompted …

Drawing is something most people will claim not to be able to do. “I can’t draw”, “I am no good at drawing” or “I wish I could draw”. The ability to visualize is a foundational piece of our intellect. Drawing is just a physical manifestation of an image in the mind. Just as music encourages us to use different parts of our brains, there is much to be gained by the practice of drawing, even if you’re “no good at drawing”.
In the book “What Do You Care What …

Herb and Dorothy Vogel did something amazing. Together over 50+ years they amassed the greatest collection of contemporary artworks in the world on a postal-worker’s and librarian’s salary. The collection, worth in the millions, was donated to the National Gallery and is currently on display*. They are a very cute couple and I admire them for having pursued their dream and having lived their lives regardless of their constraints.
Having watched the documentary on their lives and collection I couldn’t help but call bullshit on the contemporary art world and the …

Probably the biggest advantage Foolery has is Stealth.  If you’re taking something on face-value without questioning it, just because it “sounds right” chances are you’re being fooled.  Unfortunately the best example of this is in relation to health-care.
The “Complimentary and Alternative Medicine” or CAM movement is big business. It seems the “in-thing” to shun western medicine as being primarily driven by “big pharma”. Big pharma is a conspiracy which holds that there are cures for things like Cancer or Neuro-degenerative diseases like Parkinsons which are being withheld by the evil …

Have you ever looked up at the clouds and thought you could see shapes in them? Did you see the shape of the devil’s face in the smoke from the Twin Towers? Have you ever seen Jesus in a piece of toast? and bought same off of ebay? The brain is very good at detecting patterns in random data, even where there are none. It does this with visual data as well as auditory data. This phenomenon is called “Pareidolia” [LINK].
I’m no expert but it makes sense that we’d be …

It’s unfortunate but there are many folks out there who are knowingly fooling or lying to the public. The best example I could give would be so-called-psychics John Edwards, Sylvia Browne or most recently Lisa Williams. These people generate incredible disgust in me and I will explain why.
James Randi has long offered the princely sum of $1,000,000 to anyone who can submit to clinical testing in a controlled environment (of their choosing) and demonstrate supernatural powers [LINK]. This has been called the “Million Dollar Challenge”. It’d be easy money if …

Sorry, you can always be fooled. In fact the moment you think you can’t is when you’re at the highest risk. That said, there are things we can learn that can help. The mind works in certain unconscious ways and once you know about these they’ll set off your critical thinking red-flags next time you encounter a hoaxer.
I’ve been pondering the universe these past two+ years and trying to research various different aspects of humanity (from my armchair). In this series of blogs I’ll try to share or regurgitate what …

Lena Antaramian is a good friend of mine and has launched her own Photography business: http://livelovelaughphotos.com/.
From her site “For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a passion for photography. On my world travels and adventures I have taken thousands of pictures of landscapes and citiscapes – covering 36 countries on all six continents. But always, my favorite subjects were people. From Buddhist monks in Bhutan, to native Himba of Namibia, to a smiling groom closer to home. After my twin daughters were born, I turned my passion into …