Debunked! - What the Bleep Do We Know?

Episode 1 of Debunked! takes a look at "What the Bleep Do We Know" (2004), a film that mixes quantum mysticism with pure crap.

Many thanks to articles from Salon, Skeptic, and Washington Post, and Bob Park's "Voodoo Science".

Emoto:
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Journal of Scientific Exploration. 4 22: 481--493. 2008.

http://www.is-masaru-emoto-for-real.com/

Meditation Experiment:
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Crime Statistics in Washington, D.C.
http://mpdc.dc.gov/mpdc/cwp/view,a,1239,q,543308,mpdcNav_GID,1523,mpdcNav,|.asp

Click http://tinyurl.com/epkms (the above link gets cropped by YouTube)

Park, Robert, ''Voodoo Science"', Oxford University Press


Overall Attitude of Physicists Regarding Film:
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You can find hundreds of individual blogs, letters, and postings by physicists responding to the film. Too many to list here, but the article below provides an overall look.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2005/may/16/g2.science

Category:

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[AnHeroRevolution]

Just the fact that the title includes the word "debunk" should be evidence enough that it was composed by someone who is close-minded. An intellectual who was rationally weighing evidence with no personal bias would be much more careful how they phrased their opinions on any particular material.

Additionally, if you don't believe the "meditation lowers crime rates" idea, take a look into the David Lynch Foundation and their extensive research on implementing meditation in crime ridden schools.

[williamdebunker]

@AnHeroRevolution

(Response 2 of 3)

I went into the film with an open mind. After some aspects seemed suspect, I researched the claims and found out that there was a lot of misinformation.

I'll have to look into David Lynch Foundation, but at a preliminary look, it's a very different experiment and claim. Meditation certainly has measurable effects on the individual; it's no surprise that it would change their behavior while in school.

The film is claiming something else.

[williamdebunker]

@AnHeroRevolution

(Response 3 of 3)

The film claims that a group can meditate and change the behavior of an outside group, with whom they are not directly interacting. That's completely different, and the statistics don't support their claim.

As far as Emoto, I looked at the site and the book I referenced, but also looked at the sources they looked at.

If his claims were true, it would be incredibly easy to prove and earn wealth and acclaim. No one has. There's a reason.

[Ahabite]

@AnHeroRevolution Hold on: Are you saying that critically appraising the value of ideas and the methods by which the ideas were arrived at, is closed minded? How is williamdebunker not "rationally weighing evidence"? Careful phrasing of opinions (I love your dismissive language) should be something YOU aspire to. It seems to me that you have some cherished beliefs which are under attack, and you are just a little peptic about it. There is no virtue in a mind open to nonsense. Regards

[Ahabite]

@AnHeroRevolution Why is it, that whenever we are shown by the well-meaning, what little we know, they always posit ridiculous explanations instead, and then when they are subjected to criticism, they say: We were only trying to point out how little we know... ?

Sounds quite hypocritical to me. I hardly think that speculating wildly is an adequate method for "interpreting the Quantum Enigma"....

[williamdebunker]

@AnHeroRevolution

(Response 1 of 3)

Quantum Entanglement is a great example of a legitimate physics concept that is misappropriated by the new age quantum mystic movement.

QE doesn't involve the transmission of energy across the distance, or the transmission of information, and has no effect above its incredibly small scale. In fact, none of the aspects unique to quantum physics has an effect above the atomic scale.

[Kikarok]

@AnHeroRevolution

No, it is simply a physical force which is not yet understood. All force capable of affecting the physical is, by definition, physical.

[AnHeroRevolution]

@williamdebunker It would do you well to not state your theories as fact, as it leaves much to be desired about your credibility.

Also, and I'm not trying to be negative here, but I believe you should study more thoroughly, Quantum Physics, before you attack the ideas of others.

The concept you should research is Quantum Entanglement. This is experimentally-verifiable evidence that no physical force is required for one object to affect another over a distance.

[AnHeroRevolution]

@emwaver To you and all of those who are so offended by this film, you're ignoring all the valid data on the basis that you don't like how they presented it. The objective of the film was ever to convince the viewer that they could consciously go outside and create their reality (maybe metaphorically, but not literally). They were pointing out how little we know, and how very few people are attempting to interpret the Quantum Enigma that arises with Quantum Mechanical Experimentation.

[AnHeroRevolution]

Also, regarding the "debunking" of Masaru Emoto's water experiments, it seems this video's author took a brief look at "is-masaru-emoto-for-real dotcom" and copied only the information that supported his claims, rather than putting more inflection on the important point that no one has reproduced the experiment. That's the problem, accredited scientists aren't proving or disproving it, they are avoiding the matter altogether. This does not mean that Masaru Emoto's experiments have no importance.