Interesting.

After uploading the previous article, google adsense put in an ad for a free psychic reading at sara-freder.com. I wonder which of the words were picked up on. That's actually quite interesting.

-ketil

posted at: 10:48 | path: /2005/06/03 | permanent link to this entry

We're not far enough from stake burnings.

In an article about a horrific incident today, the BBC tells of the convictions of 3 people found guilty of child abuse. They beat an 8 year old girl with belts and shoes, cut her with a knife, rubbed chilli peppers in her eyes, and made her believe she would be drowned. The reason they commited these horrendous acts is no less cause for alarm. They thought the girl was a witch, and thought they would beat it out of her.

It is important to be ever vigilant against nutters like this. Loony ideas of this caliber really have to be nipped in the bud. The solution is education, with a focus on rational thinking. I could rant on about the importance of an understanding scientific methods like the Hypothetico-Deductive method, because it is clear that far too many are ignorant. People fall for all sorts of trickery, some examples being homeopathy, healing, so-called traditional medicines, witchcraft, dowsing, and the list goes on. And as has been shown again by this incident, having crazy beliefs is not harmless.

For more angry rantings, I can recommend (again) James Randi. And when you're done with that, head over to The Skeptic's Dictionary and Quackwatch.

Happy enlightenment.
-ketil

posted at: 10:37 | path: /2005/06/03 | permanent link to this entry