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June 07, 2007
A Little Context
I would just like to provide some of the context, and my thinking behind, yesterday's post. The conversation I took part in started as a discussion of Criss Angel, heavy-metal illusionist. Or whatever he calls himself. He's good. Very good. And very entertaining. But he's an illusionist. I was talking to people who thought what they were seeing on his TV show was REAL. People making statements like "I think he must be a witch; not necessarily a satan-worshipper, but a witch." I was trying to explain the long tradition of staged magic, people like Penn and Teller and James Randi who are illusionists, but are on a public mission to debunk superstitious thinking and show how magicians take advantage of how the mind and eye work. I was met with much resistance, as well as the question "So you don't believe in psychics?" posed quite incredulously, as if all reasonable people believe in psychic ability.
In the (probably paraphrased) words of Richard Dawkins, Just because something is nice to believe in and gives us comfort, doesn't make it true.
I think it's not just a matter of science education, it's also a matter of both rigorous thinking and healthy skepticism, media literacy, and so many other things.
Posted by mwashburn at June 7, 2007 01:27 PMPosted to True Stories
Comments
Your choice of tense leads me to believe you were thinking of Penn & Teller too.
I'm right, aren't I? I'm psychic!
Posted by: adam at June 7, 2007 07:33 PM
No, a bad link abridged my entire entry. Now it should read correctly (and make a heck of a lot more sense) and you can re-try your psychic powers.
Posted by: flygrrl at June 7, 2007 07:49 PM
But Criss Angel rocks! He's totally legit. Totally not a fraud. He's so metal!
Also, he would be a warlock, not a witch. Let's try to be gender-correct, here, people. This is the 21st centruy, after all.
Posted by: adam at June 7, 2007 07:58 PM
No, Criss Angel isn't a fraud any more than David Copperfield or Doug Henner are frauds. Thinking what he does is "real" is like thinking that there are really three roommates in New York named Rachel, Monica, and Phoebe who live stylish, fabulous lives working in cafes. That's all I'm saying. As a matter of fact, it's like that episode of Friends where Brooke Shields was the woman dating Joey, who thought he really was the character he played on the soap opera... yes, I really do know way too much about Friends.
Posted by: flygrrl at June 7, 2007 08:25 PM
Um, not to be overly rude, but who the hell are you hanging out with these days?!?
Posted by: leigh at June 7, 2007 09:35 PM
You don't believe in psychics? Oh yeah?
Well I KNEW you were going to say that. Like an hour before you even posted it.
Consider your mind BLOWN.
Posted by: Drew at June 8, 2007 06:50 AM
Wow, how did you find yourself in the middle of that crowd?
Posted by: Susanne Hinson-Rieger at June 8, 2007 04:43 PM
Faith, Morals, Belief, Fears- buddhahinducommunistchristian..
science, absence, presence.. God schmod, I want my monkey man! Jesus was a carpenter, Darwin was publishing a book.. The foundation of one is the building block of another, is yet again the site of destruction.. its whatever. He believes this, she believes that. Whatever gets you through your day. Anyway I dont believe any one true story. I just listen to Oprah.
Posted by: soma at June 10, 2007 01:50 PM
Have you seen the one where he cuts the girl in half, by people pulling on her legs and arms? And the top half runs away.....
Basically, the top half is a woman who was born with only a torso. NOT a woman ripped in half.
And as for the bottom half...well, the top half ran away. Did Criss Angel help the bottom half in his limo to chase down the top half?
This is why people call themselves illusionists, rather than magicians now. Hey, entertainment is entertainment.
Posted by: Hayley at June 12, 2007 08:53 AM