@sailornaruto39 No, it's not you. I am talking extra-quickly. I condensed the recording of this video to get this under the (then) time limit of 10mins. I'm going to redo this video, slowing down the recording, updating the graphics and bumping it up to Hi Def.
If God exist and prayers only work when they agree with the will of that God and that will is unknown and defies expectation then praying to a God that exists is no more reliable than praying to a God that does not exist.
@Kabitu1 "you might want to slow down for your audience."
You're right. I condensed the recording of this video to get this under the (then) time limit of 10mins. I've decided I'm going to redo this video. As well as slowing down the recording, it'll be a good opportunity to update the graphics, add a few extra items and bump it up to Hi Def.
Oh and also as combat veteran of the Marine Corps infantry, I have a personal anecdote similar to the creator of the video. I didn't change my mind or scramble for repentance in the moment I thought I would die, I simply felt a huge wave of relief and accepted death, no god involved.
I hear about the superstition experiments a lot in my studies, I'm a psych major with a 3.7 GPA over 55 credits (high honors for the associates degree). He pretty much summed this up correctly. Superstitious behavior, aka magical thinking, is very interesting to study if any of you wanna pick up a book on it, just check out the psychology section of your local bookstore.
does the first part of the video, the pigeon and human dancing, in order to receive a reward or future "blessing", remind anybody else of worship, a service, a mess?
I'm my country people believe that cutting your fingernails at night brings very very bad luck. My grandma explained to me that this is true because a neighbor she knew had cut her fingernails at night and several years later she was hit by a car. -.-
She honestly believes this... I started cutting them specifically at night so i can prove a point. Still alive as you all see. Those goddamn superstitions.
You know what's even more hilarious about homeopathy? Most of the potable water in the industrial world is treated community water. It has the remnants of whatever gets flushed or rinsed down the drain.
Water analyses have revealed that most "city water" has enough of the active ingredients of actual drugs (aspirin, prescription meds, stashes) to be of concern to sensitive individuals.
The water they use to dilute their "medicine" already has a bunch of drugs in it. Not memories of drugs. Drugs.
The maker of this video is a pompus tool. Bro you are going to cry for jesus when you take your last breathe on this earth you can make qs many videos as you want to sound tough and smart but there is no such thing as an atheist in a fox hole. Try and prove that wrong Albert. You are the quint essential ombodyment of what is wrong with godless socialst europe.
@jspecaspec23 How is "when people get scared of death they start making up imaginary friends to protect them" a good argument for your side? I'm confused here.
@jspecaspec23 I was also an atheist in a foxhole with 7.62 mm rounds flying over my head, your claims are ill-informed or purposeful lies. Also, if you're god is real and you are right that everyone will squeal for forgiveness with their last breath, then we will all be in heaven in the end, won't we?
@jspecaspec23 I was also an atheist in a foxhole with 7.62 mm rounds flying over my head, your claims are ill-informed or purposeful lies. Also, if you're god is real and you are right that everyone will squeal for forgiveness with their last breath, then we will all be in heaven in the end, won't we?
I put magicians and mediums in the same category too hehe. Its fun to pick the tricks apart and see how they work but serve no other function in my life.
You should have mentioned the partial reinforcement effect where variable reinforcement schedules produce behavior that is much more resistant to extinction. Skinner once used it to train a rat to press a lever 700 times for a pellet of food. It's the reason why superstitious beliefs are so hard to extinguish. It's also why gambling is so addictive.
Hope I'll be able to face death with your serenity when it comes; that's an impressive recovery story by the way ;o)
Do you know of Alan Watts? I could see some interesting overlaps between people like you coming from a critical thought/scientific perspective and ppl like him who come from spirituality and meet them half-way on ethics, life, love, death, etc. Anyway, I suppose you've heard of him, but if not I recommend it ;o)
Oh, and of course, keep on making these amazing videos! Respect.
I remember when our english teacher was baffled in his first days here, by people opening umbrellas indoors. For us, it's the logical thing to do: an open umbrella will dry better. It wasn't until much later that we found out that there is a superstition connected with this in some parts of the world and he himself admited that in hindsight it seems quite silly.
Even though most of Homeopathy is bullshit, it actually works in some instances. I have seen it working with my pets. One case being a case of wet tail, a bacterial infection, with my hamster, and the hamster apparently seemed to fight of the infection after one day. Even though this could be a coincidence, it has worked with some of my other pets, some not as cures, but merely as a dosage to make them sleep. It is probably a coincidence, but I have an open mind and I will investigate...
It works, but not pharmacologically... there's a funny phenomenon called the placebo effect. You may have noticed this taking a Tylenol (paracetamol) and feeling better right away, while the medicine hasn't even entered your system yet. In order for it to work, though, I think the animals must have had previously been administered pills or medication to understand it will make them better.
If it actually works, I'd probably save my money by trying out candy instead!
@phector2004 I am aware of the probability of a placebo affect. That is why I said that I am keeping an open mind, not accpeting homeopathy. But then again, the placebo affect works with expected results, but this has come after 5 trails, so I have a feeling that there may be something to do with it. Also, the method that I used was not pure homeopathy, but it was also a mixture of some other medication types, like ayrveda.
@1234yersiman Are you saying that it is impossible for a hamster to recover from "wet tail" by itself? If it is not impossible, then how do you distinguish between a recovery of its own, and a recovery based on homeopathy? And for the sleeping, i know it is possible for pets to go to sleep on their own. How do you distinguish? Try only giving it to them ten minutes after they wake up and measure times until they fall asleep. Then 1 hour, then 2, 3, 4, 5, ...
@1234yersiman Do several test at each timepoint for each animal. atleast 10 test, with as many animals as possible. Then redo everything, all the tests at all the timepoints for every animal atleast 3 times. Ofcourse, half the animals should get tapwater. choose randomly which animals for each set.
H0 = assume no difference between tapwater and medicin. Do chi square test to see if you can reject H0. If you can, then there is an effect.
@N3CR1S I will when I have the time. And wet-tail is a tape-worm that is a serious problem for hamsters. This can lead to death in 24 hours if not treated, so it is as likely that it recovered itself as a human would to the black plague. It is possible, but extremely unlikely.
Some time when i was in Jr. High I had a severe allergic reaction and had to go to the hospital. I thought for sure I was going to die but I didn't turn to god or anything. I just started thinking about the world with out me, and I I felt a bit of that calm acceptance you were talking about, but then I fell asleep XD they had me on so many antihistamines I couldn't stay awake.
I understand where you're coming from, but isn't the bit about the 25 foot fall all anecdotal? And trying to give evidence that you for some reason were not hindered by illusion or bias would be hypocritical. I would appreciate explanation, but I do not demand it.
@QualiaSoup He is trying to ask whether or not there is the possibility that your experience was different than others. The experience that you have described is anecdotal, and could have been hindered by your experiences and memory (memory can be distorted). So what he is trying to say is that when you are constantly saying in your videos that mere experiences are not evidence, that how is your belief different from others when they say they have supernatural experiences. Just a question.
@QualiaSoup I agree with you, but I think what ThirteenPeeps is trying to say is that, as you yourself have said, anecdotes cannot be used as evidence. I would argue that in this case, you're already referring to a subjective experience (i.e. whether or not people embrace God when they think they are going to die). What is there to use other than anecdotes?
@QualiaSoup Why do you think that so often a theist makes a point they think is a valid argument but they never make any sense. When i say makes no sense i mean we can't even understand what the point is, it might as well not be the language we are communicating in. People who are generally intelligent in their lives do this often like ThirteenPeeps did. He clearly knows he can't reply to your response but he most likely still thinks he is right.
@QualiaSoup I believe he is referring to your video "The problem with anecdotes". I'm not entirely sure, but that may be it. By the way, I love your videos, they are a great way to get my thoughts rolling. I am a big fan.
I'm showed this to my OCD friend; so much of it applies. All the rituals he partakes in are an extreme form of superstition: "If I don't do X then Y will occur".
wow, falling out of a building that high! damn, you are a survivor! i'm really glad you made it alive! (like i would have been seriously depressed and wouldn't want to go on - and a wuss towards the pain) and you're taking your time to bring out a message :)
...Which means that an experienced dowser can find water through experience and intuition and his ideomotor effect could be letting me know? I'm surprised that dowsing doesn't work more often.
Or am I seizing on the wrong point?
(More seriously - we aren't always responsible - there are broader forces in the world - such as social structure, pathology etc. - still a minor point). Thanks for the soup.
Instead of reciting your own personal experience of nearly dying, which is anecdotal at any rate, you might have mentioned the psychological reason why death bed confessions are particularly unimpressive: people generally do not want to die, and so you would only expect a lot of dying persons to cling to life any way they can. If not this life, then perhaps the next: the desire to survive death is the core reason for religion in the first place. Death bed conversions are only evidence of fear.
Religion look like a kind of compulsive obsessional disorder at some level, lots of similarites between both... And i find more in searching on COD... Also lots of common features with superstition and fanatism...
Compulsive obsessional disorder is an anxious disorder, wich major symptome is the frequency of obsessions and compulsions...
Firstly, thoughts, impulses or representations recurring and persistent wich, at certain moments of the affection, are felt like intrusive and unappropriate and which involve an anxiety or major distress...
Thirdly, those compulsions wich the subject tend to reproduce are an answer to an obsession or inflexible set of rules... For exemple ritual thoughts or actions like to silently pray, count, repeat words...
Fourthly, those comportments are here to decrease or neutralise the distress feeling or to impeach a feared event... However these acts have no realist relation with what they try to neutralise or prevent, that is to say excessive...
@mynameisjonas45 : It's a popular "medicine" in Britian in which a substance that causes a symptom will be ritualistically diluted into non-existence and given to someone to "cure" them of the same symptom. It was invented in the era of bloodletting with leeches so a placebo was probably much safer than real medicine at the time, but it should have died with the humoral theory of disease.
There are superstitions associated with religious icons / tokens. Crucifixes, candle burning, even the Bible that grandmother carried. As if grandmother's faith would somehow be instilled through the pages of her favorite Bible. Never missing a Sunday morning service. Always taking the same place on the same pew. I knew one man that would be in his pew regardless of any family emergency, claiming that he needed to be there to pray for his family.
@TheBookSnake Actually one the fingers that appears to be on the left hand is actually a finger on the right, but because of the angle we are viewing the silhouette, this is hard to see.
you present sensible logic. however amongst the disinfo from others there are things beyond human 5 sense perception. don't get too caught up in left brain thinking.
I had a quite similar experience as a child of about 9. It was a drowning experience that had begun when i decided to jump into my uncles pool without the knoledge of its depth. Regardless of being a theist at the time, i did not conjure a single spiritual thought, only "i should have learned to swim before jumping in". I find it funny when my mother states that i would ask god to save me if I were to die. I appreciate your work QualiaSoup.
Hey man, dat echinacea shit is bomb, yo. i was havin' me a sore throat that wouldn't go away and dat shit made it hit da road faster than a dropped b-ball, ya dig?
Sorry, but one person's anecdote means nothing. In controlled clinical trials, echinacea had no effect on the duration or severity of symptoms of a cold.
If you want to waste your money on worthless treatments, that's your right. But don't try to sell me on the benefits of your placebo.
@middlekk No worries dawg I was just sayin' ya know it worked for me but it won't work for everyone. Maybe dat shit was placebo, but nigga I didn't believe it either, but a few drops of dat shit in my water and it was BOMB nigga, bomb.
Well, if that's true, then they might need that crutch. For example, if you can't bring modern medicine to the jungle, why would you take folk medicine out of it? Meaning, there's no value in taking away the only hope a parent has of seeing their kid cured - even if it's to sacrifice frogs to a tree, if you can't offer anything else in return. So be wary - you may need a crutch some day, and realise they have more value than you might think.
Secondly, I know people who live their lives according to omens whose mental strength would almost literally wither you, just to share time and a space with them. You're weak to them... *irony*...
The pigeons weren't being 'superstitious' of course - they were actually displaying the ancestor of 'reason' - making connections between events. Anyway, some South American brujos believe that other brujos are out to harm them by magic, and live everyday completely under the 'spell' of that belief. Naive rationalism sees that as 'superstition', whereas real anthropology sees the powerful significance that every aspect of life has for those people - a life enriching significance, actually.
I'm not really superstitious, but I've experienced that it's very easy to feel a correlation and behave in superstititious ways. For instance, back in school, I had a half broken red pen for 4 years, and used it only for exams. I didnt believe it was actually helping me, but it somehow still felt nice to have it (I dont anymore though).
I had a near-death experience once as well. I passed out on a running track in the woods due to dehydration (around 90 degrees). The track was so far out of the way that it was nearly impossible for anyone to find me. Luckily, a highschool group practiced there every day, and eventually found me. The doctors who gave me the water transfusions said that if I were out in the sun for another half an hour, I would have surely died. I feel this was a pivotal point in my atheism/agnosticism.
Responsibility - I think it's the keyword. A mythological mind is like a mind of a child who doesn't want to be responsible for important things and difficult decisions.
It is very compelling logic, however, both you and I know that the superstitious won't be swayed by mere blatant and accurate thought processes which point to obvious delusion and ignorance. It's a pity.
Brilliant video! I was thinking about sharing this with my closest friend just at the moment when you gave the prayer example. My name is Alan and her name is Sara :D I like that kind of magic coincidence because it's laced with love and it's ok to imagine magical moments on that level :) Your fall reminds me of a joke: Paddy fell 25 feet out of a window. His friend said "ooh, did the fall hurt much?" and Paddy said "no, the fall was quite pleasant, it was the landing that hurt really"
this is one of my favourite clips on youtube by far. great job! I couldn't have said it better myself! seriously though, you are extremely good at formulating your sentences to make as much sense as possible with the words you use. this was entertaining and educational!
Homeopathic remedies are prepared including a process called succussion.The dilution is shaken in a specific manner.Succussion "activates the vital energy" of the diluted substance,thus establishing the "memory".It is a bad argument to say water has come in contact with so many substances and tap water should be as good.I absolutely deny there is any validity to this absurd practice.I just think we had best get the info right so as not to allow opportunities on the other side.
@marsCubed I agree. I think. At least with your last sentence. I am not sure what it is you are trying to say with your after shave analogy. To be clear, my point was if we are going to speak out on issues like homeopathy or acupuncture or whatever nonsense it is, we need to get the info correct. By opportunities I mean, if we make a mistake like the tap water thing, they will jump all over it and say "AH HA! You just don't understand how it works" I mean future, not past opportunities.
ALL they have ever done is scam people eh? So you've looked into every case and documented it all like a good science buff then?
First of all, even accepted treatments from mainline med only work on a % of subjects. The rest are scammed then?
I hope someday you get to see a broken bone mended on the spot with energy channeling, or perhaps see parasites removed from animals (confirmed by vet fecal test) using herbal tonics. So-called "alternative" healing has helped many people. (cont.)
(cont.) If just baffles me how science would say to the experiencer, "no - you're wrong, you weren't healed because there is no charted data to prove it". This is like religion telling me I can't have real inner peace without accepting their god.
If I'm thirsty, have a drink, then no longer feel thirsty, I make the concession that my drink helped. If a bone is broken in two pieces, then after on-the-spot treatment is mended and strong, I concede treatment worked, without need of peer review.
Well, let me make sure I know what you mean by "on the spot". If you mean that the faith healer is brought in before x rays can be taken to decide the severity of the break... Then whoopdy doo.
If you are trying to concede that some with bones broken and sticking out have been mended, then I call bullshit. If it is a hairline fracture in the right place, then a strong enough placebo could be enough to get them through it.
Just because you went through it and perceived it to work...
Doesn't mean it really did, or that it was the alt. medicine that did the trick. ESPECIALLY if you aren't a medical expert.
The thing is, alternative medicine has never, EVER been proven to work, there's just personal anecdotes... You know who don't get to tell their personal anecdotes? Those who died from it. And, of course, those who get alt. meds that didn't heal are thrown out in favor of those who did amongst believers in it.
testable results and being accurate in making predictions off of experimentation.
Your analogy does nothing to back up alt. meds because we can scientifically test the validity of water quenching our thirst, so it is MORE similar to ACTUAL meds then alt. meds.
A better example would have been sand. If you are thirsty, swallow a glass of sand and perceive to no longer be thirsty, that would be a good example. It isn't backed by science at all but you can still feel the effects. And you can die
@VarykGerai It works by making up a fancy sounding word that gullible people will find impressive and not be bother to do what you did. Ask questions. I have no idea how shaking water is supposed to instill some "memory". That's the claim. It's utter bullshit. It's also a multi-billion dollar industry.
@VarykGerai Yeah, I guess it is funny until some one takes a homeopathic remedy to protect themselves from malaria on a trip, contracts it and then dies. They would have been protected to a fairly high degree had they been on a chemoprophylaxis program. It happens WAY more than you would think. This is why Alt remedies have a real body count. That's not so funny.
You realize that tap water ain't exactly still either? We'd have much worse things to worry about if it was then some con-artists making money off fools. Mosquito larva amongst other things.
The "forer effect" experiment is constructed in such a way so as to achieve the desired result. Horoscopes are written to have universal applicability. So the students were asked to judge how well some universally applicable statements apply to them. The result of the experiment is inevitable and proves nothing. If the students should also have been asked how well they thought the personality analysis could be applied to anyone.
Hey qualia, you said praying to a god that exists is no more reliable than a god that doesnt exist, what did you mean by this exactly? I showed some of my theist friends the 4.33 part about prayer, they said that asking for something through prayer is like asking a parent or friend for something. The request might be granted, but if you dont ask at all, you have a much less chance of that wish coming true simply by chance.
Is there something wrong with their reasoning? I couldnt answer them.
only that any legitimate study has shown that prayer has little to no effect on outcomes. The best that can be said is it give a placebo effect. A lot of prayers are self fulfilled prophecy as well. Most people pray for something they really want to happen so they make that happen. The problem is when this is studied in events they have no control over the outcome the prayer has been shown to be just chance.
Scientists have tried to test prayer and no benefit was found in prayer. In other words any prayer granted coincides with expected luck.
As no prayer works, praying to a pretend god is as good as prayeing to the real god. This can be shown by the fact that all religions pray, and none get a response from god.
Asking a friend for something does vastly increase the chance of recieving something. However it is not what happens by prayer and its 100% by chance.
yeah i have heard about the scientific studies on prayer, but have trouble getting any theist to take them seriously. They say that their god can't be tested like that (lol i wonder whether they would change their tune if the prayer experiments backed them up?).
I'm looking for some kind of logical flaw in prayer, as that seems to be the most convincing argument. They (theists) don't seem to buy any arguments based on coincidences, placebos, or self fulfilling propecies
George Carlin pointed out whats the point of a divine plan, when any fool with a prayer book can, ruin it?
If god takes care of religion X via prayer, why does prayer work exactly the same in religions Y, and Z?
Theists are convinced that what they want to be true, trumps reality. They will discard any evidence. They need to get themselves into a search for the truth frame of mind, before any arguments will work. Unfortunately we cannot get them to decide truth is good.
@801alias Of course I am not qualia, but I will try to answer. Anytime you ask a god for something, the "answer" is always either "yes", "no", or "not yet". Using that as a model, I can pray to my cell phone and ask for a job and get the same result. I will either get the job (yes) or not (no) or the job will eventually come later (not yet). Ask "god" for anything and you will get one of the three "answers" no matter how "faithful" you've been or how "sinful" you've been. Make sense?
so basically: 1. the very definition of prayer means the person praying will see some kind of sign no matter what happens
2. other religions see the same 'effects' of their own prayers - whos prayers are actually being answered and whos are just superstition?
@adolthilter: i'm not sure about the 'fools messing with the divine plan' argument. I imagine theists would say that anyone praying for something that disagreed with the divine plan would simply be denied
@801alias: While I find nothing wrong with people who use prayer as a source of affirmation, some could argue that prayer, by its very nature, established some of the precepts of a deity (aka God)
If God does not know you need assistance without prayer, he can not be omniscient.
If God knows you need assistance and chooses that He will not aid you, what use is prayer?
If God requires prayer in order to assist you, then God is not all loving.
Please reread my previous posts. I already pointed out that I was making a joke in my earlier post. Besides in the post you responded to I never claimed anything was homeopathic. I was further explaining the joke I made in the first case. Also the case is not homeopathic, placebo or medicine but PHYSICAL ADDICTION SYMPTOMS.
Actually it is caffeine addiction. If I don't have my tea in the morning I will later on go through caffeine withdrawal, the main symptom of which is headaches. I was trying to make a tongue in cheek post, but it apparently went over your head.
I think it's unfair to say your post went over Adenoid's head. There's nothing obviously tongue in cheek about it so there's no reason he should have assumed you weren't being sincere, especially as you could be anyone in the world. I thought his comment was reasonable in the circs. To people who don't know you and your humor you're just another stranger on the internet and plenty of them believe in homeopathy.
You are right in criticizing me for saying that it went over his head. I thought the fact that describing the course of consuming caffeine and its effects would at the very least sound like a person who has confused addiction with homeopathy, preferably seem to be serious.
Some ignorant person could potentially think the camellia leaves themselves are helping stop headaches. It's sad there are people like this, but your OP was convincing, lol.
One of the best short videos on the net. Doug, you have an ability to combine academic knowledge with humor and an uncanny nack for making connections between each of the points and subplots in your vids that flow as logically and seamlessly from one to another as a firing synapse. Have you ever thought about - or been offered the chance to - create actual documentaries or adds or shows? . May I ask what you do for a day job too? Please excuse my ignorance if you've answered these in the past :)
thank you for posting this epic of logic. I will show it to my girlfriend in the hopes that it will make her realise that on-line astrology and homeopathic consultations are merely a means of making her poorer, financially and in spirit.
@QualiaSoup Do you reside in the united states? cause im thinking of migrating there...Is racism perpetrated by the citizens of the united states, as im not a white
is it me or are you talking fast in this one?
sailornaruto39 6 months ago
@sailornaruto39 No, it's not you. I am talking extra-quickly. I condensed the recording of this video to get this under the (then) time limit of 10mins. I'm going to redo this video, slowing down the recording, updating the graphics and bumping it up to Hi Def.
QualiaSoup 6 months ago
If God exist and prayers only work when they agree with the will of that God and that will is unknown and defies expectation then praying to a God that exists is no more reliable than praying to a God that does not exist.
- Priceless
GuruEvi 6 months ago
I had to watch 06:04 like 5 times before it made sense.
You are brilliant, but you might want to slow down for your slower audience.
Kabitu1 7 months ago
@Kabitu1 "you might want to slow down for your audience."
You're right. I condensed the recording of this video to get this under the (then) time limit of 10mins. I've decided I'm going to redo this video. As well as slowing down the recording, it'll be a good opportunity to update the graphics, add a few extra items and bump it up to Hi Def.
QualiaSoup 6 months ago
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I like the idea behind your experience with almost dying. It sounds incredibly peaceful.
MrMattHerndon 7 months ago
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MrMattHerndon 7 months ago
Oh and also as combat veteran of the Marine Corps infantry, I have a personal anecdote similar to the creator of the video. I didn't change my mind or scramble for repentance in the moment I thought I would die, I simply felt a huge wave of relief and accepted death, no god involved.
MrMonteroMA 7 months ago
I hear about the superstition experiments a lot in my studies, I'm a psych major with a 3.7 GPA over 55 credits (high honors for the associates degree). He pretty much summed this up correctly. Superstitious behavior, aka magical thinking, is very interesting to study if any of you wanna pick up a book on it, just check out the psychology section of your local bookstore.
MrMonteroMA 7 months ago
does the first part of the video, the pigeon and human dancing, in order to receive a reward or future "blessing", remind anybody else of worship, a service, a mess?
robertgaudlitz 7 months ago
@robertgaudlitz That's the point. Good job.
shagoosty 6 months ago
Oooh, this video is exactly 10 minutes long ! This HAS to be a sign of good luck. I should probably buy a lotery ticket.
SolDeSaBelle 8 months ago
I'm my country people believe that cutting your fingernails at night brings very very bad luck. My grandma explained to me that this is true because a neighbor she knew had cut her fingernails at night and several years later she was hit by a car. -.-
She honestly believes this... I started cutting them specifically at night so i can prove a point. Still alive as you all see. Those goddamn superstitions.
Pentagon1311 9 months ago
1:56 Spongefinger??
c0linaf 9 months ago
@c0linaf Ha haa ! Why yes, of course Spongefinger! Know you not the name of thy Lord, the great and mighty Spongefinger?
SolDeSaBelle 8 months ago
Anybody else catch Derren Brown torturing a handful of people with this bit of science?
I felt bad for them, but they kind of deserved it.
zEropoint68 10 months ago
You know what's even more hilarious about homeopathy? Most of the potable water in the industrial world is treated community water. It has the remnants of whatever gets flushed or rinsed down the drain.
Water analyses have revealed that most "city water" has enough of the active ingredients of actual drugs (aspirin, prescription meds, stashes) to be of concern to sensitive individuals.
The water they use to dilute their "medicine" already has a bunch of drugs in it. Not memories of drugs. Drugs.
zEropoint68 10 months ago
I'm so glad you survived your fall :)
HeyRuka 10 months ago
What does sponge finger mean?
jbz3 10 months ago
@jbz3 "Sponge Finger" is either a magical incantation that gives you power over water or
... they're just two random words that just popped into QualiaSoup's mind while constructing the video.
You get to decide which, but I recommend watching the complete video again.
ShallowThoughts 10 months ago
The maker of this video is a pompus tool. Bro you are going to cry for jesus when you take your last breathe on this earth you can make qs many videos as you want to sound tough and smart but there is no such thing as an atheist in a fox hole. Try and prove that wrong Albert. You are the quint essential ombodyment of what is wrong with godless socialst europe.
jspecaspec23 10 months ago
@jspecaspec23 Go back to your troll cave and eat some troll porridge. I'm an atheist in a foxhole, by the way.
tpmooney1 10 months ago
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@jspecaspec23 bro you are going to cry for thor when you take your last breathe on this earth
-exactly quoted ur comment, changed god. now repent and convert to thor!
OmfgItsHenu 10 months ago
@jspecaspec23 How is "when people get scared of death they start making up imaginary friends to protect them" a good argument for your side? I'm confused here.
masonkiller666 10 months ago
@jspecaspec23 I was also an atheist in a foxhole with 7.62 mm rounds flying over my head, your claims are ill-informed or purposeful lies. Also, if you're god is real and you are right that everyone will squeal for forgiveness with their last breath, then we will all be in heaven in the end, won't we?
beavisishere 10 months ago
@jspecaspec23 I was also an atheist in a foxhole with 7.62 mm rounds flying over my head, your claims are ill-informed or purposeful lies. Also, if you're god is real and you are right that everyone will squeal for forgiveness with their last breath, then we will all be in heaven in the end, won't we?
beavisishere 10 months ago
@jspecaspec23 "You are the quint essential ombodyment of what is wrong with godless socialst europe."
And you're the embodiment of what's wrong with Christianity.
KayBeeEee1983 8 months ago
I put magicians and mediums in the same category too hehe. Its fun to pick the tricks apart and see how they work but serve no other function in my life.
andysim232 10 months ago
three words 4 u. OCD
dragonmaster613 10 months ago
You should have mentioned the partial reinforcement effect where variable reinforcement schedules produce behavior that is much more resistant to extinction. Skinner once used it to train a rat to press a lever 700 times for a pellet of food. It's the reason why superstitious beliefs are so hard to extinguish. It's also why gambling is so addictive.
KingOfMadCows 11 months ago
4:45 When you see it, you'll shit bricks.
3rogue 11 months ago
@3rogue
???
SevastianCampos 11 months ago
@SevastianCampos The kid has 6 fingers on each hand
3rogue 11 months ago
When I die I think my last words will be something like "Oh damn".
Ramiel4 11 months ago
I like the ending! :D
loup9003 11 months ago
lol @ 0:30
superstitious people look exactly that stupid when they're doing their strange stuff :D
CaptainObvious0000 1 year ago
oh good logic, how i have missed you so!
"your subscription to Qualiasoup has been added"
whatheduck97 1 year ago
4:34 WHEN I WAS BACK THERE IN SEMINARY SCHOOL, THERE WAS A PERSON THERE WHO PUT FORTH THE PROPOSITION, THAT YOU CAN PETITION THE LORD WITH PRAYER....
YOU CANNOT PETITION THE LORD WITH PRAYER!
tinthaninja 1 year ago
If God defies your expectations he must not exist.
Very sound.
bloodrunsclear 1 year ago
Your arguments are nothing new. There have always been scoffers.
whitediver45 1 year ago
@whitediver45 you mean ppl who think for themselves?
FlyinSpaghettiMnstr7 1 year ago
I love this video, it's fucking brilliant!!!!
TheLacedaemonian300 1 year ago
Hope I'll be able to face death with your serenity when it comes; that's an impressive recovery story by the way ;o)
Do you know of Alan Watts? I could see some interesting overlaps between people like you coming from a critical thought/scientific perspective and ppl like him who come from spirituality and meet them half-way on ethics, life, love, death, etc. Anyway, I suppose you've heard of him, but if not I recommend it ;o)
Oh, and of course, keep on making these amazing videos! Respect.
ajpbrunet 1 year ago
It's bad luck to be superstitious.
wallstreetatheist 1 year ago
dude ive played the wedgie board and it kept moving wile no one was holding the cup how is that an ideomotor effect? if its even a word.
ultrawariorzero 1 year ago
How long did people let you lie on the stairs outside that you "came to"?
Venaloid 1 year ago
i love this... some amazing quotes here. hope you dont mind if i quote ya on facebook <3
Mrducky78 1 year ago
Spongefinger...?
Singemeister 1 year ago
I just read the email you sent. I apoligize. i misunderstood.
ThirteenPeeps 1 year ago
lol i loved the human poses at the beginning
Pelonetillo 1 year ago
IT SPELLED SPONGE FINGER!!!!!!!!
Sokkiekat 1 year ago
I remember when our english teacher was baffled in his first days here, by people opening umbrellas indoors. For us, it's the logical thing to do: an open umbrella will dry better. It wasn't until much later that we found out that there is a superstition connected with this in some parts of the world and he himself admited that in hindsight it seems quite silly.
DuncanDDante 1 year ago
Even though most of Homeopathy is bullshit, it actually works in some instances. I have seen it working with my pets. One case being a case of wet tail, a bacterial infection, with my hamster, and the hamster apparently seemed to fight of the infection after one day. Even though this could be a coincidence, it has worked with some of my other pets, some not as cures, but merely as a dosage to make them sleep. It is probably a coincidence, but I have an open mind and I will investigate...
1234yersiman 1 year ago
@1234yersiman
It works, but not pharmacologically... there's a funny phenomenon called the placebo effect. You may have noticed this taking a Tylenol (paracetamol) and feeling better right away, while the medicine hasn't even entered your system yet. In order for it to work, though, I think the animals must have had previously been administered pills or medication to understand it will make them better.
If it actually works, I'd probably save my money by trying out candy instead!
phector2004 1 year ago
@phector2004 I am aware of the probability of a placebo affect. That is why I said that I am keeping an open mind, not accpeting homeopathy. But then again, the placebo affect works with expected results, but this has come after 5 trails, so I have a feeling that there may be something to do with it. Also, the method that I used was not pure homeopathy, but it was also a mixture of some other medication types, like ayrveda.
1234yersiman 1 year ago
@1234yersiman Are you saying that it is impossible for a hamster to recover from "wet tail" by itself? If it is not impossible, then how do you distinguish between a recovery of its own, and a recovery based on homeopathy? And for the sleeping, i know it is possible for pets to go to sleep on their own. How do you distinguish? Try only giving it to them ten minutes after they wake up and measure times until they fall asleep. Then 1 hour, then 2, 3, 4, 5, ...
N3CR1S 1 year ago
Comment removed
N3CR1S 1 year ago
@1234yersiman Do several test at each timepoint for each animal. atleast 10 test, with as many animals as possible. Then redo everything, all the tests at all the timepoints for every animal atleast 3 times. Ofcourse, half the animals should get tapwater. choose randomly which animals for each set.
H0 = assume no difference between tapwater and medicin. Do chi square test to see if you can reject H0. If you can, then there is an effect.
Feel free to post here, or submit to Nature ;)
N3CR1S 1 year ago
@N3CR1S I will when I have the time. And wet-tail is a tape-worm that is a serious problem for hamsters. This can lead to death in 24 hours if not treated, so it is as likely that it recovered itself as a human would to the black plague. It is possible, but extremely unlikely.
1234yersiman 1 year ago
Some time when i was in Jr. High I had a severe allergic reaction and had to go to the hospital. I thought for sure I was going to die but I didn't turn to god or anything. I just started thinking about the world with out me, and I I felt a bit of that calm acceptance you were talking about, but then I fell asleep XD they had me on so many antihistamines I couldn't stay awake.
Also, Why cant there be more humans like you?
gingergiggles 1 year ago
Sponge finger haha 1:56
Mystrymeat 1 year ago
this white boy is deep
RottenPeachState706 1 year ago
lol sponge finger
TMOMFXD 1 year ago
I understand where you're coming from, but isn't the bit about the 25 foot fall all anecdotal? And trying to give evidence that you for some reason were not hindered by illusion or bias would be hypocritical. I would appreciate explanation, but I do not demand it.
ThirteenPeeps 1 year ago
@ThirteenPeeps "isn't the bit about the 25 foot fall all anecdotal?"
What's your point? That my personal experience is irrelevant?
"And trying to give evidence that you for some reason were not hindered by illusion or bias would be hypocritical."
What on earth are you talking about? Where did I make that claim? I want specific quotes if you're going to accuse me of hypocrisy.
QualiaSoup 1 year ago
@QualiaSoup He is trying to ask whether or not there is the possibility that your experience was different than others. The experience that you have described is anecdotal, and could have been hindered by your experiences and memory (memory can be distorted). So what he is trying to say is that when you are constantly saying in your videos that mere experiences are not evidence, that how is your belief different from others when they say they have supernatural experiences. Just a question.
1234yersiman 1 year ago
@QualiaSoup Still, do not take it as an offense. I am still a large fan of yours.
1234yersiman 1 year ago
@QualiaSoup I agree with you, but I think what ThirteenPeeps is trying to say is that, as you yourself have said, anecdotes cannot be used as evidence. I would argue that in this case, you're already referring to a subjective experience (i.e. whether or not people embrace God when they think they are going to die). What is there to use other than anecdotes?
VannahWilson 1 year ago
@QualiaSoup I can voucher that you did not say anything hypocritical.
DvineGaming 11 months ago
@QualiaSoup Why do you think that so often a theist makes a point they think is a valid argument but they never make any sense. When i say makes no sense i mean we can't even understand what the point is, it might as well not be the language we are communicating in. People who are generally intelligent in their lives do this often like ThirteenPeeps did. He clearly knows he can't reply to your response but he most likely still thinks he is right.
rex786 8 months ago
@QualiaSoup I believe he is referring to your video "The problem with anecdotes". I'm not entirely sure, but that may be it. By the way, I love your videos, they are a great way to get my thoughts rolling. I am a big fan.
BokuwaFdesu 6 months ago
I'm showed this to my OCD friend; so much of it applies. All the rituals he partakes in are an extreme form of superstition: "If I don't do X then Y will occur".
lindiemoon 1 year ago
Where does hypnosis fall? I once heard that being more intelligent lends one to a more intense hypnotic state or whatever they call it.
dookiecheez 1 year ago
Elegant, beautiful, concise and complete. All the main points are here, and the conclusion is simply profound. Well Done Sir!
On the lighter side...
"Religion" rhymes with "Pigeon." Coincidence?!
OldSchoolSkill 1 year ago
@OldSchoolSkill It is a coincidence, incidentally.
superchef78 1 year ago
i found this video because i was looking for pigeons behaving superstitously in order to get food.
JIIIAIIIIMIIIIEIIIS 1 year ago
wow, falling out of a building that high! damn, you are a survivor! i'm really glad you made it alive! (like i would have been seriously depressed and wouldn't want to go on - and a wuss towards the pain) and you're taking your time to bring out a message :)
Mortalvis 1 year ago
spongefinger
Bzeager 1 year ago
@Bzeager Caught that too--not quite sure what it is supposed to be...
Konraden 1 year ago
QualiaSoup, you are my idol.
ChuckZombie 1 year ago
...Which means that an experienced dowser can find water through experience and intuition and his ideomotor effect could be letting me know? I'm surprised that dowsing doesn't work more often.
Or am I seizing on the wrong point?
(More seriously - we aren't always responsible - there are broader forces in the world - such as social structure, pathology etc. - still a minor point). Thanks for the soup.
Hrimpurstala 1 year ago
Instead of reciting your own personal experience of nearly dying, which is anecdotal at any rate, you might have mentioned the psychological reason why death bed confessions are particularly unimpressive: people generally do not want to die, and so you would only expect a lot of dying persons to cling to life any way they can. If not this life, then perhaps the next: the desire to survive death is the core reason for religion in the first place. Death bed conversions are only evidence of fear.
Gilmaris 1 year ago
Religion look like a kind of compulsive obsessional disorder at some level, lots of similarites between both... And i find more in searching on COD... Also lots of common features with superstition and fanatism...
Acrimonator 1 year ago
Compulsive obsessional disorder is an anxious disorder, wich major symptome is the frequency of obsessions and compulsions...
Firstly, thoughts, impulses or representations recurring and persistent wich, at certain moments of the affection, are felt like intrusive and unappropriate and which involve an anxiety or major distress...
Acrimonator 1 year ago
Secondly, thoughts, impulses or representations wich aren't simply excessive concerns about the problems of the real life...
Acrimonator 1 year ago
Thirdly, those compulsions wich the subject tend to reproduce are an answer to an obsession or inflexible set of rules... For exemple ritual thoughts or actions like to silently pray, count, repeat words...
Acrimonator 1 year ago
Fourthly, those comportments are here to decrease or neutralise the distress feeling or to impeach a feared event... However these acts have no realist relation with what they try to neutralise or prevent, that is to say excessive...
Acrimonator 1 year ago
What is homeopathy?
mynameisjonas45 1 year ago
@mynameisjonas45 : It's a popular "medicine" in Britian in which a substance that causes a symptom will be ritualistically diluted into non-existence and given to someone to "cure" them of the same symptom. It was invented in the era of bloodletting with leeches so a placebo was probably much safer than real medicine at the time, but it should have died with the humoral theory of disease.
Ironysandwich 1 year ago
6 people must have missed the 'like' button...
simeon94 1 year ago
are those your shoes baby?? lol
KerriLuvsTyler 1 year ago
There are superstitions associated with religious icons / tokens. Crucifixes, candle burning, even the Bible that grandmother carried. As if grandmother's faith would somehow be instilled through the pages of her favorite Bible. Never missing a Sunday morning service. Always taking the same place on the same pew. I knew one man that would be in his pew regardless of any family emergency, claiming that he needed to be there to pray for his family.
SpartanCaver 1 year ago
child at 4:41 has six fingers...
TheBookSnake 1 year ago
@TheBookSnake Actually one the fingers that appears to be on the left hand is actually a finger on the right, but because of the angle we are viewing the silhouette, this is hard to see.
RuskePerson 1 year ago
you present sensible logic. however amongst the disinfo from others there are things beyond human 5 sense perception. don't get too caught up in left brain thinking.
es0wave 1 year ago
I had a quite similar experience as a child of about 9. It was a drowning experience that had begun when i decided to jump into my uncles pool without the knoledge of its depth. Regardless of being a theist at the time, i did not conjure a single spiritual thought, only "i should have learned to swim before jumping in". I find it funny when my mother states that i would ask god to save me if I were to die. I appreciate your work QualiaSoup.
watchman16 1 year ago
Hey man, dat echinacea shit is bomb, yo. i was havin' me a sore throat that wouldn't go away and dat shit made it hit da road faster than a dropped b-ball, ya dig?
Nitronimor 1 year ago
@Nitronimor
Sorry, but one person's anecdote means nothing. In controlled clinical trials, echinacea had no effect on the duration or severity of symptoms of a cold.
If you want to waste your money on worthless treatments, that's your right. But don't try to sell me on the benefits of your placebo.
middlekk 1 year ago
@middlekk No worries dawg I was just sayin' ya know it worked for me but it won't work for everyone. Maybe dat shit was placebo, but nigga I didn't believe it either, but a few drops of dat shit in my water and it was BOMB nigga, bomb.
Nitronimor 1 year ago
1:56 Sponge Finger?
bobplatypus 1 year ago
geddan!
skeeterhmcr 1 year ago
So these pills I ordered won't make my penis grow in 2 weeks or my money back?
bobplatypus 1 year ago
@bobplatypus It's a con - what they actually do is make the rest of you shrink.
Thimbledunk 1 year ago
@Thimbledunk Well played...
bobplatypus 1 year ago
Clear and brilliant presentation of superstition for what it is - a crutch for the fearful and weak.
bongolongo 1 year ago
Well, if that's true, then they might need that crutch. For example, if you can't bring modern medicine to the jungle, why would you take folk medicine out of it? Meaning, there's no value in taking away the only hope a parent has of seeing their kid cured - even if it's to sacrifice frogs to a tree, if you can't offer anything else in return. So be wary - you may need a crutch some day, and realise they have more value than you might think.
AnElfrisk 1 year ago
Secondly, I know people who live their lives according to omens whose mental strength would almost literally wither you, just to share time and a space with them. You're weak to them... *irony*...
AnElfrisk 1 year ago
The pigeons weren't being 'superstitious' of course - they were actually displaying the ancestor of 'reason' - making connections between events. Anyway, some South American brujos believe that other brujos are out to harm them by magic, and live everyday completely under the 'spell' of that belief. Naive rationalism sees that as 'superstition', whereas real anthropology sees the powerful significance that every aspect of life has for those people - a life enriching significance, actually.
AnElfrisk 1 year ago
I'm not really superstitious, but I've experienced that it's very easy to feel a correlation and behave in superstititious ways. For instance, back in school, I had a half broken red pen for 4 years, and used it only for exams. I didnt believe it was actually helping me, but it somehow still felt nice to have it (I dont anymore though).
narsil1984 1 year ago
Thank you for this video. It's great.
ot44eto 1 year ago
That was one of the most well-reasoned and thought-provoking videos I've seen on Youtube in ages. Thank you for posting.
drgregsgurl 1 year ago
I had a near-death experience once as well. I passed out on a running track in the woods due to dehydration (around 90 degrees). The track was so far out of the way that it was nearly impossible for anyone to find me. Luckily, a highschool group practiced there every day, and eventually found me. The doctors who gave me the water transfusions said that if I were out in the sun for another half an hour, I would have surely died. I feel this was a pivotal point in my atheism/agnosticism.
FlyingSpahghettiMan 1 year ago
Hey, bloody fantastic Video mate, :P however nice use of your own anecdote !
Donal88 1 year ago
I don't get why Ouija Boards are still popular. Surely the spirits can communicate via e-mail nowadays?
ElveeKaye 1 year ago
Would we be creative without spiritualism? I think when spiritualism doesn`t harm, it can be almost like the spices on our food.
74Charm 1 year ago
Responsibility - I think it's the keyword. A mythological mind is like a mind of a child who doesn't want to be responsible for important things and difficult decisions.
pavenis 1 year ago
It is very compelling logic, however, both you and I know that the superstitious won't be swayed by mere blatant and accurate thought processes which point to obvious delusion and ignorance. It's a pity.
DoclightmegamanX 1 year ago
you should put that magician/medium thing on a shirt and sell it!
GeatMaster 1 year ago
Very insightful video.
I LOVED the part on homeopathy, you made my day!
GIRO1989LOL 1 year ago
Logic. Although a SLOWER pace and longer gaps between sentences/paragraphs could have been made :>
puuuuuuch 1 year ago
Brilliant video! I was thinking about sharing this with my closest friend just at the moment when you gave the prayer example. My name is Alan and her name is Sara :D I like that kind of magic coincidence because it's laced with love and it's ok to imagine magical moments on that level :) Your fall reminds me of a joke: Paddy fell 25 feet out of a window. His friend said "ooh, did the fall hurt much?" and Paddy said "no, the fall was quite pleasant, it was the landing that hurt really"
McPrfctday 1 year ago
this is one of my favourite clips on youtube by far. great job! I couldn't have said it better myself! seriously though, you are extremely good at formulating your sentences to make as much sense as possible with the words you use. this was entertaining and educational!
NewbrokenMusic 1 year ago
Excellent video on critical thinking! Well done! :D
hydrilisk0 1 year ago
As a non-believer, my thanatophobia has always disturbed me, but your near-death experience makes me feel better about my inevitable one.
Daruqe 1 year ago
This video owns! Glad I found your channel, QualiaSoup.
MrCoffin32 1 year ago
Homeopathic remedies are prepared including a process called succussion.The dilution is shaken in a specific manner.Succussion "activates the vital energy" of the diluted substance,thus establishing the "memory".It is a bad argument to say water has come in contact with so many substances and tap water should be as good.I absolutely deny there is any validity to this absurd practice.I just think we had best get the info right so as not to allow opportunities on the other side.
newcoyote 2 years ago
@newcoyote
Homoeopaths have had too many 'opportunities' already.
Should we allow opportunity to rapists because they say they wear aftershave?
Vulnerable people get fake crap and a sales-pitch.
Expose homoeopaths as crooks and frauds.
All they have ever done is scam people for $.
Imagine how demeaning to someone who is seeking treatment to be sent to such a crook.
The fact that they pretend to cure people means that many die or do not get the attention they actually need.
marsCubed 1 year ago
@marsCubed I agree. I think. At least with your last sentence. I am not sure what it is you are trying to say with your after shave analogy. To be clear, my point was if we are going to speak out on issues like homeopathy or acupuncture or whatever nonsense it is, we need to get the info correct. By opportunities I mean, if we make a mistake like the tap water thing, they will jump all over it and say "AH HA! You just don't understand how it works" I mean future, not past opportunities.
newcoyote 1 year ago
@newcoyote
The aftershave analogy is meant to suggest that a criminal act is not less because perpetrator are skilful at fooling people.
One might as well say a burglar fooled an old person by pretending to be from the gas board.
A crime is a crime.
The merits of Homoeopathy stand on it's claims to efficacy.
It takes a special kind of creep to sell worthless junk to vulnerable people.
succussion is a ploy, not even used by most BTW, wire tied between 2 containers is their new magic nonsense.
marsCubed 1 year ago
ALL they have ever done is scam people eh? So you've looked into every case and documented it all like a good science buff then?
First of all, even accepted treatments from mainline med only work on a % of subjects. The rest are scammed then?
I hope someday you get to see a broken bone mended on the spot with energy channeling, or perhaps see parasites removed from animals (confirmed by vet fecal test) using herbal tonics. So-called "alternative" healing has helped many people. (cont.)
aaronwhiston 1 year ago
(cont.) If just baffles me how science would say to the experiencer, "no - you're wrong, you weren't healed because there is no charted data to prove it". This is like religion telling me I can't have real inner peace without accepting their god.
If I'm thirsty, have a drink, then no longer feel thirsty, I make the concession that my drink helped. If a bone is broken in two pieces, then after on-the-spot treatment is mended and strong, I concede treatment worked, without need of peer review.
aaronwhiston 1 year ago
Well, let me make sure I know what you mean by "on the spot". If you mean that the faith healer is brought in before x rays can be taken to decide the severity of the break... Then whoopdy doo.
If you are trying to concede that some with bones broken and sticking out have been mended, then I call bullshit. If it is a hairline fracture in the right place, then a strong enough placebo could be enough to get them through it.
Just because you went through it and perceived it to work...
whosthechamp 1 year ago
Doesn't mean it really did, or that it was the alt. medicine that did the trick. ESPECIALLY if you aren't a medical expert.
The thing is, alternative medicine has never, EVER been proven to work, there's just personal anecdotes... You know who don't get to tell their personal anecdotes? Those who died from it. And, of course, those who get alt. meds that didn't heal are thrown out in favor of those who did amongst believers in it.
Science isn't about charts, it is about--
whosthechamp 1 year ago
testable results and being accurate in making predictions off of experimentation.
Your analogy does nothing to back up alt. meds because we can scientifically test the validity of water quenching our thirst, so it is MORE similar to ACTUAL meds then alt. meds.
A better example would have been sand. If you are thirsty, swallow a glass of sand and perceive to no longer be thirsty, that would be a good example. It isn't backed by science at all but you can still feel the effects. And you can die
whosthechamp 1 year ago
@aaronwhiston
Do you know what alternative medicine that works is called?
It is called Medicine.
Alternative medicine which does not work is called Alternative medicine.
It takes a very special kind of nut to push meds that don't not work onto others.
It's either a scam or mental illness.
Homoeopathy is being dropped by the doctors even as a placebo, it is considered unethical to lie to patients.
Under new laws, homoeopaths who counsel clients(their sales pitch) will be committing an offence
marsCubed 1 year ago
TOO BAD THEY CAN'T HEAL AMPUTEES!
thegreatsolar 1 year ago
ok, how exactly does the Succussion work?
VarykGerai 1 year ago
@VarykGerai It works by making up a fancy sounding word that gullible people will find impressive and not be bother to do what you did. Ask questions. I have no idea how shaking water is supposed to instill some "memory". That's the claim. It's utter bullshit. It's also a multi-billion dollar industry.
newcoyote 1 year ago
i find it amusing, honestly.
VarykGerai 1 year ago
@VarykGerai Yeah, I guess it is funny until some one takes a homeopathic remedy to protect themselves from malaria on a trip, contracts it and then dies. They would have been protected to a fairly high degree had they been on a chemoprophylaxis program. It happens WAY more than you would think. This is why Alt remedies have a real body count. That's not so funny.
newcoyote 1 year ago
You realize that tap water ain't exactly still either? We'd have much worse things to worry about if it was then some con-artists making money off fools. Mosquito larva amongst other things.
DevastationNazo 1 year ago
great video 5/5
psychokilla6669 2 years ago
The "forer effect" experiment is constructed in such a way so as to achieve the desired result. Horoscopes are written to have universal applicability. So the students were asked to judge how well some universally applicable statements apply to them. The result of the experiment is inevitable and proves nothing. If the students should also have been asked how well they thought the personality analysis could be applied to anyone.
scaryflakybiscuits 2 years ago
Sponge Finger!
tommytalks77 2 years ago
Hey qualia, you said praying to a god that exists is no more reliable than a god that doesnt exist, what did you mean by this exactly? I showed some of my theist friends the 4.33 part about prayer, they said that asking for something through prayer is like asking a parent or friend for something. The request might be granted, but if you dont ask at all, you have a much less chance of that wish coming true simply by chance.
Is there something wrong with their reasoning? I couldnt answer them.
801alias 2 years ago
only that any legitimate study has shown that prayer has little to no effect on outcomes. The best that can be said is it give a placebo effect. A lot of prayers are self fulfilled prophecy as well. Most people pray for something they really want to happen so they make that happen. The problem is when this is studied in events they have no control over the outcome the prayer has been shown to be just chance.
izbo10 2 years ago
@801alias
Its severely wrong.
Scientists have tried to test prayer and no benefit was found in prayer. In other words any prayer granted coincides with expected luck.
As no prayer works, praying to a pretend god is as good as prayeing to the real god. This can be shown by the fact that all religions pray, and none get a response from god.
Asking a friend for something does vastly increase the chance of recieving something. However it is not what happens by prayer and its 100% by chance.
adolthitler 2 years ago 2
yeah i have heard about the scientific studies on prayer, but have trouble getting any theist to take them seriously. They say that their god can't be tested like that (lol i wonder whether they would change their tune if the prayer experiments backed them up?).
I'm looking for some kind of logical flaw in prayer, as that seems to be the most convincing argument. They (theists) don't seem to buy any arguments based on coincidences, placebos, or self fulfilling propecies
801alias 2 years ago
@801alias
George Carlin pointed out whats the point of a divine plan, when any fool with a prayer book can, ruin it?
If god takes care of religion X via prayer, why does prayer work exactly the same in religions Y, and Z?
Theists are convinced that what they want to be true, trumps reality. They will discard any evidence. They need to get themselves into a search for the truth frame of mind, before any arguments will work. Unfortunately we cannot get them to decide truth is good.
adolthitler 2 years ago 2
@801alias
Try the fact that our lives according to the Bible are known in full by God, and hence, anything we do would have been done no matter what.
Praying is doing absolutely nothing, while still getting the feeling you've helped out. It's the lazy, egotistical persons approach to charity work.
Aaberg123 2 years ago
@801alias Of course I am not qualia, but I will try to answer. Anytime you ask a god for something, the "answer" is always either "yes", "no", or "not yet". Using that as a model, I can pray to my cell phone and ask for a job and get the same result. I will either get the job (yes) or not (no) or the job will eventually come later (not yet). Ask "god" for anything and you will get one of the three "answers" no matter how "faithful" you've been or how "sinful" you've been. Make sense?
invisigoat 2 years ago
so basically: 1. the very definition of prayer means the person praying will see some kind of sign no matter what happens
2. other religions see the same 'effects' of their own prayers - whos prayers are actually being answered and whos are just superstition?
@adolthilter: i'm not sure about the 'fools messing with the divine plan' argument. I imagine theists would say that anyone praying for something that disagreed with the divine plan would simply be denied
801alias 2 years ago
@801alias: While I find nothing wrong with people who use prayer as a source of affirmation, some could argue that prayer, by its very nature, established some of the precepts of a deity (aka God)
If God does not know you need assistance without prayer, he can not be omniscient.
If God knows you need assistance and chooses that He will not aid you, what use is prayer?
If God requires prayer in order to assist you, then God is not all loving.
Just my thoughts...
rchodges 2 years ago
Comment removed
dclan123 2 years ago
But... I thought there was a problem with anecdotes, why are you using one, how do we know it's true or that you have not exaggerated details? ;-)
ThatSmileyGuy 2 years ago
The only real benefit of homeopathic medicine is placebo effect.
riseofatheism 2 years ago
Please reread my previous posts. I already pointed out that I was making a joke in my earlier post. Besides in the post you responded to I never claimed anything was homeopathic. I was further explaining the joke I made in the first case. Also the case is not homeopathic, placebo or medicine but PHYSICAL ADDICTION SYMPTOMS.
cryingsoftly 2 years ago
Things like this should be really really obvious, but unfortunately, many people don't get it, so a reminder like this is good I guess.
I get so frustrated when people believe in things like astrology, even though the horoscopes are just saying general things.
hermanessences 2 years ago
ideomotor is used in cool trick, werein you hold someones hand, and guide them to what they are thinking
arachnophile01 2 years ago
Your explanation of superstition towards the end was very good.
thx for all your videos
Thetasquadldr 2 years ago
I take a homeopathic remedy for headaches and it works for me. When I do not consume steeped camellia leaves I experience excruciating headaches.
cryingsoftly 2 years ago
Sounds like a placebo effect.
AdenoidHynkelThe2nd 2 years ago
Actually it is caffeine addiction. If I don't have my tea in the morning I will later on go through caffeine withdrawal, the main symptom of which is headaches. I was trying to make a tongue in cheek post, but it apparently went over your head.
cryingsoftly 2 years ago
To cryingsoftly:
I think it's unfair to say your post went over Adenoid's head. There's nothing obviously tongue in cheek about it so there's no reason he should have assumed you weren't being sincere, especially as you could be anyone in the world. I thought his comment was reasonable in the circs. To people who don't know you and your humor you're just another stranger on the internet and plenty of them believe in homeopathy.
mudbrandy 2 years ago 3
You are right in criticizing me for saying that it went over his head. I thought the fact that describing the course of consuming caffeine and its effects would at the very least sound like a person who has confused addiction with homeopathy, preferably seem to be serious.
cryingsoftly 2 years ago
Some ignorant person could potentially think the camellia leaves themselves are helping stop headaches. It's sad there are people like this, but your OP was convincing, lol.
Towedwart 2 years ago
echinacea?? i was sure that stuff had helped me to fight a cold when i caught it early on,am i mistaken?
mrlowdangle 2 years ago
Brilliant video. :)
vikingsuicide 2 years ago
spongefinger?
hydroids 2 years ago
Very, very nice video. I hope to see more like it!
4815Alvar162342Hanso 2 years ago
really really goof
JonnyBefull 2 years ago
One of the best short videos on the net. Doug, you have an ability to combine academic knowledge with humor and an uncanny nack for making connections between each of the points and subplots in your vids that flow as logically and seamlessly from one to another as a firing synapse. Have you ever thought about - or been offered the chance to - create actual documentaries or adds or shows? . May I ask what you do for a day job too? Please excuse my ignorance if you've answered these in the past :)
wasdom01 2 years ago 3
thank you for posting this epic of logic. I will show it to my girlfriend in the hopes that it will make her realise that on-line astrology and homeopathic consultations are merely a means of making her poorer, financially and in spirit.
howardmaryon 2 years ago 4
"thank you for posting this epic of logic."
That's very kind of you, Howard. Thanks. I'm delighted you enjoyed it.
QualiaSoup 2 years ago
@QualiaSoup Do you reside in the united states? cause im thinking of migrating there...Is racism perpetrated by the citizens of the united states, as im not a white
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