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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle argued that the fakery of some spiritualists did not mean that all of them were frauds. " There is nothing that is scientifically impossible, so far as I can see, in some people being able to see what is invisible to others." I know that I can not see spirits, but I do believe that some people can.
As I understand it, for a time Doyle & Houdini were friends. After beginning his cynical phase, Houdini tried to convince Doyle that Spiritualists were fakes, which led to their falling out. Doyle was also certain that Houdini himself had mystical powers, which Houdini tried, and failed, to demonstrate & convince him were just tricks he employed in his art.
Something else of interest about Doyle, thought you might find it amusing... If true, what a trickster he was! He sure got the last laugh on the scientific world.
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The most famous name linked to the Piltdown forgery is that of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the fictitious sleuth Sherlock Holmes. Conan Doyle lived near to Piltdown, and was a member of the same archaeological society as Charles Dawson.
As a doctor and fossil collector he had the relevant knowledge to pull off the hoax. He may also have left some intriguing clues to the Piltdown hoax in one of his most famous novels, The Lost World, published the same years as Piltdown was found. The book treated in colourful detail the supposed survival into modern times of dinosaurs and ape-men - and included a tantalising line about bones being as easy to fake as a photograph.
Most revealing of all is a possible motive. Conan Doyle spent the last decade of his life advancing the cause of spiritualism - he believed that it was possible to communicate with the dead. His beliefs were mocked by fellow scientists, so what better way to shake the arrogance of the scientific establishment than to fake Piltdown and expose their fallibility?
Penn Jilette has a good take on so-called mediums that I found refreshing:
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Before we bust up this party- and god dammit we're gonna bust it up- we have to make it very clear where our hearts are. We have nothing but empathy for the people who are experiencing the loss and grief of the death of a loved one. That guy who lost his mom rips my heart out. I'm a momma's boy whose mom died a couple of years ago, and I'll never get over it, and my dad died at around the same time, and I was very close to both of them. I loved them so much there isn't a moment that goes by that I don't miss them. Houdini didn't really go nuts busting these mediums until he lost his mom. Once you've felt that pure grief, seeing it exploited can take away your sense of humor. Once a loved one has died, all we have is our memories of them. There is nothing more precious to me than my memories of my mom and dad. We don't give a rat's ass about the money these bastards are taking from the grief stricken; what we do care about deeply is the desecration of memories. These "performance artists" are, in a very real sense, mother-****ers. That poor guy's grieving memories of his mother are now all ****ed up by somebody else's images. All he will ever have left of his mom are memories, and this pig has pissed on those for a buck and a little un-earned fame. I'm sure these lame ****s tell themselves that they're easing the grief, but skits for money can not replace loving memories. How low do you have to be to exploit someone's true grief to sell some bull**** book?
IF this is not a fully scripted show with actors pretending to be amazed "clients" and "strangers in the supermarket" alike, then I would say she delivers and she has a gift. I also think she seems like a pretty nice lady overall. The people also seemed grateful for the information.
I don't see anything wrong with believing something I cannot sense myself. Look at all the things that have been scientifically proven that we cannot sense out there with our sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Radio and TV transmission (we just turn on the radio or TV), electricity (we just switch on the light), the fact that dogs have a much keener sense of smell than we do (would you bring a brick of cocaine to the airport just because YOU cannot smell it through your suitcase?), the earth is not flat (even though it can appear that way to us on it), all the advances by scientists such as Hawking when it comes to studying the universe, etc. I don't see why there cannot be another dimension for the realm of spirits that most people cannot sense. As time goes on, perhaps science will be able to document it.
Some beliefs are so absurd they just invite mockery. This is one of them
That's your opinion. Some people don't think it's absurd. They're entitled to express their opinion without being mocked for it. I still say I don't understand why this topic can't be discussed without snide comments.
That's your opinion. Some people don't think it's absurd. They're entitled to express their opinion without being mocked for it. I still say I don't understand why this topic can't be discussed without snide comments.
Pay no attention to the OP I am with you on this
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I finally watched reruns of this show
