Thursday, November 21, 2013

"Psychic" Sylvia Browne (1936-2013) vs. the Bay Area Skeptics


So-called "psychic" and Grief Vampire Sylvia Browne died in San Jose, CA on November 20, at the age of 77. I thought she was a reprehensible person, willing to tell any lie, no matter how emotionally disturbing, to get money from a sucker. In fact, she seemed to think that truth is "whatever Sylvia says." There was no need for her "facts" to correspond to the real world. If Sylvia said it, that made it true.


Bob Steiner and I founded the Bay Area Skeptics in 1982, one of the earliest local skeptics groups, and for quite a while the most active. We felt that our location in the Bay Area conferred a special advantage, as the most famous of WooMeisters were right in our area. Targ and Puthoff were still at SRI in Menlo Park, and we did what we could to challenge their claims about Uri Geller's supposed Magic Powers. Sylvia (then) Brown's home and "Foundation" was then almost right in my neighborhood, in Saratoga. (Brown became "Browne" when she divorced her husband.) At that time I was living in west San Jose, near the Westgate shopping center, and Saratoga Avenue. According to a story in the Huffington Post, Saratoga has the third-most expensive housing in the U.S., with an average home listing price over $1,582,000. (When Sylvia complains in a letter linked below about not being really rich because she lives on Johnson Avenue, she is calling attention to the fact that she is not in the highest-priced zip code in Saratoga. So her house might be worth "only" a million or so today.)

In the 1980s, Sylvia was well-known locally, but not yet nationally, primarily because of her regular appearances on local TV stations to "prognosticate."  Viewers ate it up, no matter how bad her record, or how stupid her statements. So naturally we went after her in every way we could, challenging her claims.

We wrote letters challenging her to test her supposed "powers," and she replied that she was far too elevated to be tested by the likes of us. She also had some rather colorful things to say about us. Apparently she had never run across a skeptics' group before. I have scanned these challenges, letters, and other papers relating to Sylvia Brown, and placed them on my historical page on debunker.com. The direct link is here. Rather than describing their contents here, I invite you to read for yourself this unique collection of Sylvia silliness. She was making stuff up then, and continued to do so right up until the end.

A welcoming committee for Sylvia Brown'e Las Vegas gig,  assembling at The Amazing Meeting 2012,
South Point Hotel (at the horse's ass). Note Randi on the left, Susan Gerbic with arms extended on the right.

30 comments:

  1. Back in July of 2012, a group of us protested Sylvia Browne's appearance at a hotel convention center in Las Vegas. As a member of the board of directors of the Bay Area Skeptics, I wasn't about to miss such an opportunity. You can see me in the picture above (lower right, just below Susan Gerbic).

    We had a great time communing, but certain parts of it were actually sad. The hotel was one of the most run-down, dilapidated buildings I've seen in Las Vegas, and the people inside it looked depressed and downtrodden. We hope we did some good that day and brought some attention to what we saw as a scam. Here's a video of some of the day's events: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3YC0U2ZRWQ

    -- Sheldon W. Helms

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great, Sheldon. I loved that video. I think they played it at TAM.

      That group photo is blurry, can't make out all the faces. I think that's Ben Radford next to you, and Bob Blaskewitz between you and Susan, right?

      Delete
    2. Yep! You have a better eye than you thought! :) And to the right of Randi (to HIS left) is Ross Blocher, another very active skeptic from Los Angeles.

      I just happened to be walking around the corner when this photo was being set up, and Susan yelled, "Hey Sheldon, let's go protest Sylvia Browne!" I said, "Count me in," and five minutes later we were all in cabs and heading over! Strangely, the sun was shining brightly and it was about 90 degrees outside, but a sudden cloudburst occurred. By the time we got there, the rain had stopped, but it was bizarre and a bit foreboding. LOL!

      My favorite person in that video is the African American gal who "tells it like it is" about Montel Williams AND Sylvia Browne. She already knew what frauds they were, and applauded us for being there to provide handouts for the people coming in.

      Skeptical activism is a GREAT way to make friends, ya'll!

      Delete
  2. I wonder how many psychics like Sylvia Brown(e), predicted the assassination of JFK on the day it happened (50 years ago exactly).

    One thing I can guarantee is, even if one of them did vaguely predict it, none of them ever predicted that C.S.Lewis and Aldous Huxley would both die on the very same day as JFK.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sylvia Browne's Psychic Reading with a Thanksgiving turkey:

    I sense that you were raised on a farm. Your time on the farm was happy and joyous.
    But now I sense that you're feeling insecure, especially in November.
    You feel an impending doom that your demise may be soon.
    But don't fret my feathered friend, I see a future that looks promising!
    I see a kitchen appliance in your future...a shiny Kenmore oven, possibly a gift from someone?
    I see many of your friends and relatives attending a grand dinner party in your honor.
    Yes, I see a long and propersous life ahead of you!

    (Gobble! Gobble!)

    That'll be $300, MasterCard or Visa?

    ReplyDelete
  4. It certainly is true that the vast majority of so-called "psychics" are scam artists. However, parapsychologists have found a few "psi stars" which does demonstrate that ESP exists, at least at very low levels. One psi star was Edgar Caycee--and he did not charge for readings! Some of his predictions have come true (e.g., the laser). He did predict that there would be records of Atlantis below the left forearm and from the right forepaw of the Sphinx--this has yet to be verified. Incidentally, if one substitutes "scientists and engineers from Atlantis" for "ancient aliens" in the "ancient alien theory," that could explain a lot of the technology of the ancient world, if in fact they did have the technology shown on that show. Of course, the remains of Atlantis have yet to be found, and perhaps Plato was mistaken, but we shouldn't be surprised if our ancient ancestors were more advanced than we give them credit for. Yes, I'm very skeptical, but I'm also open to proof.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cayce predicted the discovery of Atlantis in 1968. This was the year divers found the "Bimini Road". More structures are coming to light with advances in sonar & satellite oceanic floor mapping.Any website search on Atlantis shows underwater images of pyramids & structures all around the Carribean.
      As you mentioned, Atlantis technology would be found in the Hall of Records underneath the Sphinx, another Cayce prediction.
      The main obstacle with any archaeological finds in Egypt, has been that ranting buffoon, Zawi Hawass. This self-proclaimed expert, received a PhD in Egyptology, from a Fulbright scholarship, through an ARE recomendation.
      Association of Research & Enlightenment is a world-wide foundation based on Edgar Cayce's work. Hawass & american Lehner have had full control of any digs in Egypt, calling any other theories about the true history , as "pyramidiots".
      English archs found a tunnel & caves complex leading from the Temple of Birds(Osiris) to the pyramids. Hawass lied about their existence, yet these were the caves in "Chasing Mummies". Today a steel gate in concrete blocks the entrance. (see Andrew Collins).
      There is chambers underneath the Sphinx, but Hawass denies & has full control over access. The area is fenced off & they are actually pumping water out of there.
      In 1994, Egyption newspaper had headline"Mystery Tunnel in Sphinx". hawass stated "Who built the passage? Why? Where does it lead? Mr Hawass said he had no plans to remove the stones blocking the entrance.
      The loss of tourist dollars & his credibility would surely be questioned, but I think the discovery of an ancient or alien source as the real builders , the real history & origins of man, as to what the records might reveal is what concerns the scientific community the most- history would have to be re-written, & shadow would be cast over all religions.
      The ARE (Cayce's legacy) have provided the US with instant knowledge of new found artefacts through Hawass, & he also has the power to deny outside investigation> very convenient!
      The cover being Cayce's prediction of the Hall of Records, is their reason for placing Hawass in such a position. The real reason being US control of new finds.
      The age of the Sphinx has always been in question- the apparent water erosion suggests pre Pyramid 3500BC.
      I suggest to anyone interested, take a real close look at the Pharoh's head. The rock looks less aged, and is a lot smaller in proportion to the Sphinx's lion body. Was it carved by much later dynasty?

      On ancient Sumerian seals,the secret abode of the Anunnaki was "an underground place,....entrered through a tunnel, its entrance hidden by sand & by what they call Huwana,..his teeth as of a dragon, his face the face of a lion".
      Early Greek descriptions > Herodotus, Crantor(300BC)
      Early Roman descriptions> Pliny,Marcellanious,Iamblichus(>400AD)
      Arabic descriptions > Altelemsani,Masoudi (10th Cen
      tury)
      Christian Rosenkreuz, founder of Order of Rosicrucians
      1935 Dr Selim Hassan> University of Cairo

      All describe underground temples,passages,walls & columns of records underneath the Giza plateau.
      Official policy is a hidden level of censorship, one designed to protect both Eastern & Western religions & written history.

      Delete
  5. Deano, thanks. I think the Egyptian Antiquities Authority should allow full access to this area for archaeological research. In science, nothing should be censored--there is supposed to be free inquiry! If historians have to revise their theories, so be it. The same goes for religion. All of us should be open to new observations and experiments, regardless what it does to our preconceptions. I would very much like to know whether Cayce is right or wrong about this Hall of Records.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Cayce must have had a lot of followers, for them to start ARE.
    I find it incredible that University of Pennyslvania, could be coerced into taking Hawass, by recommendation of an ARE member. Once he had his PhD, he became the "man of Egyptology".
    With recent trouble in Egypt's politics, he has lost his position, so hopefully young & eager local archaeologists will start doing some serious work.
    With ground penetrating radar, it should be easy to find. Whether the PTB want the knowledge revealed to the public, is another story........

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow! You have a lot of crazy people reading this blog, Bob! LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ....but entertaining. The passion in some of the most insane posts is amazing.

      Delete
    2. Crazy people?

      Sheldon is the quintessential reductionist, who's single most intellectual imperative is to ride the convention of 'security in concensus' and new age 'scientific' arrogance to its fullest extent.

      Exploring ideas which are scientifically or philosophically alien to the convention of common sense or established knowledge, does not make one crazy. And the very fact that these 'rational realist' are so quick to deliver pre-packaged insults (labeling people as insane) speaks deeply about the aggressive protectionism they employ to preserve conventional notions of what they believe is real and unreal. Reductionists like Sheldon fail to wholly grasp the fact that we're not living in an age when all frontiers have disappeared, when all things have been tamed and made mundane. I would invite skeptics to practice a bipartisanship in areas of question where the definition of a particular mystery does not lend itself to be so easily defined

      Mystery is an increasingly difficult thing to find in our Fact-or-Fiction society. Indeed we live by the tendency to define anything and everything in our world irrespective of whether or not the subject is definable, and irrespective of whether we are equipped to adequately define it. It's a behaviour inherent to the coherent search for meaning and value in our environment - Problem is, well-meaning intellectuals like Sheldon confuse this natural inclination for resolution, clarity and meaning with the misguided conviction that every mysterious aspect of the world should be subject to the dualistic categorisations of right or wrong, true or false, real or unreal, possible or impossible. These reductionist are a few key ingredients short of a good philosophy, one of those missing is, of course, humility.

      Let's break down what we do know. That pathetic woman can be politely described as a fraud. As can a vast majority of other individuals who make a living or a reputation from claiming to have ESP. Though, the answer to the essential question of whether ESP exists or not, will not be found in the criticism of obvious criminals. If skeptics are proper in the search for truth, why don't they try to critique the more convincing of these con artists? What about that douche John Edwards? Is there a threshold where uncanny coincidences suddenly become statistically significant? Let's not pretend like we can definitely state, that the more convincing of these peopele are and have always been liers.

      Im a huge skeptic and have great trouble in believing humans can communicate with the dead. However ESP of other kinds isn't something I scoff at...

      Am I crazy? Or am I simply observant enough to say that I do not think it proper to define, categorize or label ESP definitively, whether real or unreal.

      Delete
    3. "Am I crazy? Or am I simply observant enough to say that I do not think it proper to define, categorize or label ESP definitively, whether real or unreal." says Mark

      You're "crazy" if you think your silly fundamentally misconceived know-nothing "agnosticism" is in any way rational or "skeptical." You're "crazy" if you think the ESP non-issue is even remotely undecided. All of so-called parapsychology is pseudoscientific baloney. There's no physical way for any of it to even begin to be true!

      Simply because some superstitious folk nonsense (ESP) or popular delusion ("UFOs") persists anecdotally in a fantasy-prone scientifically illiterate population doesn't mean it rises to the level of scientific consideration. The Scientific realist isn't required to continuously reconsider naive non-scientific claims made by credulous people.

      "Much of the belief in ESP is based upon apparently unusual events that seem inexplicable. However, we should not assume that every [random] event in the universe can be explained. Nor should we assume that what is inexplicable requires a paranormal (or supernatural) explanation. Maybe an event can't be explained because there is nothing to explain." --RTC

      http://www.skepdic.com/esp.html

      Delete
    4. "You're "crazy" if you think the ESP non-issue is even remotely undecided. All of so-called parapsychology is pseudoscientific baloney. There's no physical way for any of it to even begin to be true!"

      Who cares about Parapsychology? Not me. Talk about creating favorable battle grounds. If Parapsychology holds any merit of any kind, it is infinitely short on insight and is most probably even barking up the wrong tree, as is the case with most frontier endevour.
      No physical way, you say? Are you again creating false assumptions on which to faithfully preach your 'scientific dogma'? May I point your attention to the empirical scientific inferences made by Quantum theory? Quantum Entanglement is the scientifically established phenomenon which perfectly underpins a logical extrapolation for a PHYSICAL platform for ESP (or information transfer from a distance)

      "You're "crazy" if you think your silly fundamentally misconceived know-nothing "agnosticism" is in any way rational or "skeptical"

      (Laughs) Ok, so because I refrain from pretending to know all the answers (like you) this means I practice a "know-nothing agnosticism"? No. It's simply me saying that the science does not yet exist to substantiate ruling it out. So therefore im not ruling it out.
      I wasn't aware that you personally could rule it out? Wow. And how did you do this? With which complete, finished set of science? Can you please share this proof? You are a religious priest of the know-it-all delusion. You are a dogmatic know-it-all. If you believe otherwise please present the science from which you relentlessly borrow credibility

      "Maybe an event can't be explained because there is nothing to explain." --RTC"

      Exactly. Maybe. The point is we do NOT know and shouldn't pretend we do, Dean. Suggestions in the direction of ESP are mearly logical extrapolations of what we already now about the nature of information transfer, interconnection and the omnipresence of matter and energy. Stop pretending like ESP (or information transfer at a distance) is a totally non related, incoherent idea. It has merit as a potentiality based on what our empirical science has established. IT IS a reasonable proposition.
      If you think it is not a reasonable proposition, prove it! Otherwise you have no intellectual right to factually proclaim that is does not exist. You foolish, foolish priest.

      Quantum mechanics has taught us that the relationship between the knower and the known is not simple. Zoamchomksy and the tune of post-modern Reductionism tells us that statements of fact can be arrogantly thrown around about any idea, despite being trivial in nature, so long as it is listed on the 'common sense' and 'known facts' list.
      I wonder what it would be like to be a religious reductionist. To be so prudent in one's own declaration of what is simply fact and of what is simply fiction... Surely there's something you're not telling us, how could you possibly know so much? Where's the positive evidence based science?
      I on the other hand (whatever you want to call me), practice the much more scientific, less know-it-all behaviour of relying on what science CAN & HAS definitely told us, irrespective of its limitations, and beyond that, I don't make arrogant assertions like you.

      Im shocked that you fundamentally just cannot grasp how wrong, foolish and arrogant you are.

      I ain't saying its real. I'm just saying it might be. Conversely you are saying it is definitely 100% not possible. Please correct me if I have misunderstood you, otherwise accept you are a foolish priest, blinded by you're own intellectual, life-long investment into the know-it-all delusion

      Delete
    5. "Quantum Entanglement is the scientifically established phenomenon which perfectly underpins a logical extrapolation for a PHYSICAL platform for ESP (or information transfer from a distance)" he claims.

      That's Mark appealing to Quantum woo again to pretend "ESP" might somehow be real. Can Mark demonstrate mathematically how this might be true? Of course not. Does he know the first thing about QM? I very much doubt it! The magical Quantum woo excuse for "ESP" could be used (and is) as an excuse to continue to consider every other bit of harebrained pseudoscientific nonsense from astral projection to Quantum Jesus! It's totally meaningless. We've heard this stupid crap for decades.

      http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Quantum_woo

      Delete
    6. As I have maintained, I'm not trying to prove ESP exists, I'm simply saying that it could exist. I'm not saying we can demonstrate anything in mathematics. All I've maintained is that there exists much frontier science which strongly suggests a greater interconnection between all living things than is currently believed by the mainstream, the consensus of petty reductionists.

      Quantum mechanics provides a "logical" platform, not a "mathematical" one. Though, it is not a good example. I appreciate the 'Quantum Woo' reference, in fact, I don't disagree. However, much like the pseudoscientific subject it criticises, it too uses a lack of knowledge as leverage to manufacture a virtuous argument. Fact is, how can one rule out the potential of any system before adequately understanding it themselves? The answer is; they cannot, they just simply pretend to.
      Enter, the scientific delusion. Enter, Reductionism.

      I keep repeating myself and Zoamchomsky continues ignoring me. If Zoamchomsky wishes to proclaim that ESP is scientifically proven to be impossible, please provide the evidence. Otherwise put up and shut up. Yes, the world is a frustrating place filled with forums where the unwarranted contributions of lesser intellect convolutes the rational, reasonable, educated and balanced contributions of others, in-turn confusing 'fact' with 'fiction' and blurring the line between science and pseudoscience. I get it. But that doesn't mean scientific warriors such as Zoamchomsky need to turn to absolute cynicism in order to seize back ownership of the logical, the righteous, the factual and the real. He like many others have made the mistake of combining their scientific pursuits with a scientifically political partisanship, and so have become consumed by religiously defending dualistic notions of fact or fiction, real or unreal, zelously undercutting the potential credibility of anything not yet proven in a laboratory, simply to ensure that the science is kept well away from its kryptonite, psuedoscience. This has mislead Reductionists to forget the essential element of science, which is; the best science is open to experience and begins with romance, wonder and imagination - the idea that anything is possible.

      There are countless eclectic scientific discoveries over the past few decades which infer partial truth to the idea of 'action at a distance'. Countless peer-reviewed papers, countless experiments and accidental discoveries of all kinds in all kinds of fields. One only has to go in search of the information to find it.

      E.g.

      "Mirror neurons in the premotor and posterior parietal cortices respond to the intentions as well as the actions of other individuals" - Brain Research Institute UCLA

      "The heart's field is a carrier of emotional information and a mediator of bio-electromagnetic communication, within and outside the body. Research shows our heart's field changes distinctly as we experience different emotions. The heart also generates the strongest rhythmic electromagnetic field in the body and this actually can be measured in the brain waves of people around us and apparently is capable of affecting cells, water and DNA studied in vitro"
      - HEARTMATH Institue

      Clinically proclaiming that ESP, psi or anything of that nature is impossible, with no way to prove it, is not science. It is a statement motivated by an ideological frustration and an ignorance to the historical narrative of scientific progression - What science is today was once considered to be counter intuitive, impossible. Science does not know its debt to imagination and wonder. Indeed "men love to wonder and that is the seed of all science"

      Delete
    7. So it becomes clear, we can practice a humble atheism or agnosticism, be unassuming and stand in awe of mystery and discovery, what we don't yet know and what we can't yet establish. Or we can practice the religion of Reductionism like Preacher Zoamchomsky, where by all frontiers have been conquered and made mundane, where by scientific theory is, in fact, simply fact. Where by consensus of opinion automatically means that opinion is correct, where by a lack of knowledge on the part of science means there is nothing more to know. The religious art of Reductionism, where by a faith based system of assumption is masquerading as real science and attempting to dictate to everyone what we must believe, or else accept relegation to dwell with the 'pseudoscientific' prophets of the spiritual delusion.

      What a hoax!

      Delete
  8. Seriously! You've got a great deal of crazy people reading this web site.thanks

    Posted by brucewilliam | Psychic Readings Perth

    ReplyDelete
  9. It's a bit off-topic, but what, Mr. Sheaffer, do you think is this:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLKQf6syOnU

    It was posted 18 hours ago and is circulating at the moment...

    ReplyDelete
  10. In investigating an alleged UFO incident, here is the algorithm I use:
    1) Is it a purely natural phenomenon? If definitely not, then
    2) Is it ordinary or conventional technology? If definitely not, then
    3) Is it U.S. military technology? If definitely not, then
    4) Is it Russian military technology? If definitely not, then
    5) Is it technology from some other country on the Earth? If definitely not, then
    6) Is it alien technology?
    I think I would gag if I ever got to 6).

    In regards to "ancient aliens" I much prefer the theory that Atlantis supplied most of the advanced technology to the ancient world, prior to the Greeks and Romans. To suppose that mankind has gotten its scientific and technological information from aliens is to deprecate man's mind and man's achievement. I don't deny that there may be sudden "flashes of insight"; but these must be confirmed by deductive and inductive reasoning from known facts. I think that most "psychics" are shams, but science needs to carefully study the work of psi stars, such as Cayce. I know that most skeptics are pure "physicalists"--but this is a mistake. It's true that the physical universe is a physical mechanism and there are no "miracles"--but human beings have ethical values and are creative, which implies that human beings have a non-physical component.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To Transpower, I too try to rationalize in a scientific manner. The Cash/Landrum case seemed to fit something by the military because the craft did NOT move erratically at fantastic speeds. It hovered, produced a flame & was escorted by Chinooks.
      The conspiracy side came from NASA interest, possible radiation, & denial of the chinooks. So by using your algorithm, it seems like a downed (nuclear carrying) satellite, Russian or US, or some sort of secret tech( stealth spy balloon or weapons platform). The last 2 options are airforce test of UFO tech, or an actual UFO in trouble.
      Maybe their was an Atlantis.
      The troubling question though, is how did they build these megalithic structures with perfectly fitting & shaped blocks weighing 100s of tons? & How did they transport & lift them?
      There is no records, carvings in rock, or mechanical tools & vehicles.
      It is as if they have left the planet> hence ancient alien theory!

      Australia is a perfect example of man that has not been influenced by advanced technology. When found,only a few hundred yrs ago, they were still PRIMITIVE NOMADIC Hunters using spears & rocks to hunt, & living in caves or bush lean-to's( humpy's). No domestic agriculture > crops & livestock. In otherwords Caveman.
      Just surviving was a challenge. No time for cultivating crops or breeding bloodlines or other "flashes of insight" that mainstream science has us believe.
      The civilization of man is closely connected with agriculture, but the 2 best examples > wheat, & the cow, have only been around for 15-10 000yrs, originating in Mesopatamia> Sumeria.
      A quick look on Wikipedia proves this, & wheat is totally different to its wild grass ancestors, & cows were bred from a herd of 80 & totally different from their ancestor (aurochs).
      This means a GENETIC change at DNA level.
      There has been no ICE AGE or Earth cataclysm since this time so who altered the DNA?
      We can clone & do similar today, so it is possible, but where were the ancient laboratory's capable of doing this?
      Sumerian seals talk of those who came from the heavens, & their is even seals depicting wheat, cows, the plough, the wheel & 9 planets!
      Also came WRITING, laws, irrigation & religion.
      If the Atlanteans were a sea-faring race being very advanced, there is no evidence of their boats/ships or technology. If they had built the ancient megalithic structures found worldwide, surely they would have carved their symbols or transportation into the blocks.

      Today, & at the height of the Industrial Revolution, man does not build with blocks of stone in excess of 350tns.
      "Depriciate man's mind & man's achievment"?
      I say we arent even at their level yet. Sonic levitation? Anti-gravity?

      Doesnt anyone wonder, how far we have advanced since WW2. By the early 70s , man was on the moon & we had images of the outer planets.
      The LOGICAL explanation is we have reverse engineered alien tech giving us
      LED lights, fibre optics, stealth. silicon chips, micro circuitry, inter active heads up displays, lasers, metallic alloys, fibre carbons, plastics, & I read somewhere even VELCRO.

      Intervention theory answers all the algorithims of human history that I have researched. The bible even talks of UFOs and
      GENESIS 1:26 "We created man in our own image"
      The human being was "created" as a slave race to mine gold in South Africa 200 000yrs ago. Our chromosomes have been genetically spliced making us different from early hominids.
      Evidence? Look at ADAM'S CALENDER, a stonehenge structure surrounded by stone buildings(google earth) near modern SA goldfields. This supports "Out of Africa" theory 65000yrs ago & how all ancestors can be traced back to Mitochondrial Eve.

      Delete
  11. Deano: I think biological evolution explains pre-ethical hominids. Then there was a natural mutation, which allowed the non-physical component ("soul") to associate with the human brain, resulting in ethical (or at least quasi-ethical) human beings. The human species is about 200000 years old, but ethical humans have been around for probably just the last 10000 or so years, when the agricultural revolution began. Mankind used artificial selection to create the plants and animals we have now, way before direct DNA manipulation. I am prepared to believe the legend of Atlantis, simply because I do not have any other rational explanation for some of the technology of the ancient world; incidentally, Cayce says that the Atlanteans "floated" the megalithic building blocks. The problems with "ancient aliens" are 1) how did they get here, and 2) where did they get their technology (from still more ancient aliens?--I doubt it). If the Hall of Records can be found, then we will have the answers about Atlantis. Cayce made one other interesting prediction: there is a planetary system around the star Arcturus; it will be interesting to see if this is found in the near future.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow Transpower, you have agreed with most of what I have said.
    I was an ardent evolutionist & gobbled up Darwinism, but the missing links havent been found & mutations take millions of years. Natural selection & selective growing of wheat just doesnt work. Modern wheat husks dont germinate by blowing away in the wind> they NEED cultivation to re-seed. It details all the differences with wild grasses on Wiki in origins.
    "Ethical humans"? Souls & spirits have always been acknowledged by Native American Indians, Shamans, The Dreamtime of aborigines & other tribes & people that have a much closer connection to "Mother Earth", this is another example of man going backwards & losing Knowledge.

    As a person that uses an open mind "the how did they get here" question always baffles me. In under 100yrs, in fact 1905 > 1969, Wright Bros to Apollo , man has gone from powered flight to the moon.
    What will we be able to do in 1000yrs, or 10 000yrs or picture 1million yrs.
    People have become so brainwashed by the "Speed of Light" theory, that warps, wormholes, "folding space", dimensions & time are ridiculed, while "out of the box" scientists are producing formulas & equations that are a possibility as we speak.
    People were scared of the first trains that went over 30mph, as were pilots as they approached the sound barrier!(I think X-15 hit Mach 10)

    Where did they get it? Its back to the old what came first,chicken or the egg!

    I too hope they reveal the Hall of Records, because I have a huge problem of picturing 2000 egyption slaves, pulling a 350tn granite Obelisk, over the sand, with fibre ropes on a sled, & then being able to pull it upright into position.
    Like Cayce said "floated". Sonic levitation? Anti-gravity? Who were the Atlanteans?

    P.S. Please no links to Ancient Aliens Debunked, or the bloke that moves small concrete blocks around on a smooth concrete plinth & see-saws them up with wooden chocks. 2tn DOES NOT = 350tn & Natural stone is "brittle",DOES NOT have the tensile strength of reinforced concrete

    ReplyDelete
  13. I think I'll get brain cancer (knock on wood) reading these endless, off-topic rants by the user "deano" that seem to string together every crackpot idea and flawed conspiracy theory known to man under the influence of some delirious ignorance. When somebody takes the time to explain things, they are either bombarded by another similar rant (oh, so how about *this* then) or just plainly ignored...



    ReplyDelete
  14. Poor 26305...........a, I was responding to Transpower. I dont give a damn about Sylvia, but am very interested in the ARE. One of Cayce's predictions was that of the Sphinx Hall of Records.
    A liitle research & you have to wonder why Lehner & Hawass have controlled archaeology in Egypt for so long, & why did they give Hawass a scholarship years ago.
    The trouble(whatever your anon name is) is once you start to look at the whole picture , mainstream science is deliberately ommitting or misleading certain facts that are all linked together to become conspiracy theories.

    Definitive proof of this is a film called " Who Killed the Electric Car".
    In the 90s. GMH had a production line electric vehicle called the EV1.
    The Bush govt had it crushed, & all evidence hidden.
    Chevron bought the new "Lithium" battery design patents.

    So the theories surrounding OIL companies having clean technology's sitting on a shelf , is now a CONSPIRACY.
    Yet today we hear about Hydrogen as a new, clean fuel.
    Remember the Hindenberg?

    I know nothing about Sylvia, but dont police forces use Psychics to help in cases. Alison Dubois of " Medium" comes to mind.
    I'd like you (anon) to call a sherrif that uses such persons as flawed & a crackpot. Look up 33 Conspiracies proven true while you are at it.........

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "the user "deano" that seem to string together every crackpot idea and flawed conspiracy theory known to man under the influence of some delirious ignorance."

      Yes, not only is it deano's scatterbrained defense of the "UFO" myth and delusion, lately he's digging up laughable pseudoarchaeology, from long-explained Bimini Roads baloney to the Egyptian lost-civilization fantasy and that buffoon Edgar Cayce. Apparently deano never ate a bit of ignorant pop-culture pseudoscience, and an irrational conspiracy myth to justify it, that he didn't swallow whole. One poster accurately described deano's posting style as the repetition of two random pseudoscience factoids followed by a non sequitur. He could be emulating the style of laughable NASA conspiracy nutcake Richard Hoaxland or any of the other wildly irresponsible and plainly ridiculous kooks, crackpots, charlatans and frauds heard on late-night antiscientific-bullsh radio.

      If deano, Mark McF and others aren't making a living blathering this exhausted, dead and fossilized, darkly paranoid Shaverian carnival sideshow and insane asylum trash, then what's their motivation? Don't tell me they actually believe any of this Quantum codswallop! Why, that could be the "strangest" thing of all.... LOL

      Delete
    2. Both James Randi and Edgar Cayce had 9th grade educations, but I wouldn't call either "buffoons." I am a skeptic of much of modern physics and most UFO cases and most claims of ESP or psi. However, it's the difficult cases which intrigue me. Five years ago I decided to travel to the Association of Research and Enlightenment in Virginia Beach VA to check out Cayce's work for myself. I went as a skeptic, but came out mostly as a "believer" in his work. B. Ernest Frejer, a mathematician, has organized Cayce's readings into "The Edgar Cayce Companion"; it's well worth reading. The health readings are 100% in accord with the teachings of orthomolecular medicine, which was developed some 50 years after the readings. His readings on Atlantis provide an explanation for the technology of the ancient world, which is very difficult to explain otherwise. I did some further research on Atlantis and discovered the 19th century book "Atlantis: The Antediluvian World" by Ignatius Donnelly, an excellent scholar. I've concluded that everytime Georgio says "ancient aliens" in the H2 TV series "Ancient Aliens" we should substitute "scientists and engineers from Atlantis. Back some 11000 years ago, according to paleological science, human beings had larger craniums and larger bodies than we have now. It's perfectly possible for a group of them to settle on a small continent between Europe and America and develop the Atlantis civilization. With their very large brains, progress was rapid, and they created all manner of technology. They then established colonies in Europe and America and Egypt. And then it all vanished with the great flood around 9500 B.C.E. (due to the glaciers melting at the end of the Ice Age) or with some horrendous technological failure. Some refugees did make it to the various colonies and helped the indigenous populations, such as the Egyptians. No "ancient aliens" are involved here, just Atlanteans. The proof might just be in the Hall of Records, and I've suggested to Scott Wolter of America Unearthed (another H2 show) that he and his team investigate this possibility.

      Delete
  15. Wow Zoam , I am impressed.
    But this is america we are talking about, where fear of the evil communists,muslim terrorists & earth invading aliens are vanquished all over the TV, where GOD is american, US forces rule the world, even as the petrodollar is about to collapse, & FOX News panels can incite the murder of Julian Assange for exposing Chelsea Manning's "Colateral Murder" gunship video, & beg the Russian's to hand back Snowden for revealing to the world what your beloved NSA does.
    Where to be Skeptical, means to promote the mainstream agenda & spoonfed lies told by govt interests & big OIL , wave a flag after 9/11, which made the rich richer & cost 100 000 Iraqi lives that had nothing to do with it.
    Where the Electric car is CRUSHED, while big OIL scrambles to adopt the Hydrogen car, to pump at the station, even though Hydrogen needs enormous amounts of electricity to be made by electrolysis, then compressed,liquified & finally transported. (Mmm, think of all those Zepellin tankers?)
    Where big corporations have moved all manufacturing to China, for the quick profit from slave labour, & now owe China TRILLIONS , yet surround her with base after base & cross Air Defence Zones with B52s & Missile Cruisers.
    Has all of her military forces overseas, yet still builds a homeland army with MRAPs, & billions of ammo rounds. For Mexico? Canada? No its Cuba u idiot deano,dont u remember Project Northwoods?

    But the real funny,thing, is Presidents, Astronauts, Fighter & Civillian Pilots, Generals, Colonels, Police & Politicians have all seen, & now swearing under oath that there is a UFO presence & cover-up.
    No, these icons & heroes are delusional,prone to fantasy,mentally ill,irrational,crackpots,nutjobs, tin-foilers,fruitcakes ,delirious, tall tale tellers,kooks,buffoons,insane,flawed,on drugs, medicated,woo-woo's & make this all up because they are Hucksters, Hoaxers & Pranksters.

    Sheeesh! I wonder which americans pass the psychology test to be in control of all those Nuclear weapons you have & have been testing since 1945?

    Some of those Airforce personnel in control of missile silo's keep talking about those ridiculous UFOs buzzing the joints & de-activation.With all these wackos in the US maybe thats a GOOD thing dont u think?

    There also must be a lot of unemployed americans because they keep making these fake UFO videos on handheld cameras, or be experts at CGI,,ahh the call of Hollywood, your all wackos but make great films.

    Love all the names too> Foofighters,Flying disks, Flying saucers,Fastwalkers,Black Triangles, EBEs, Greys,Zeta reticulans,Nordics, Northwoods, Mockingbird, MJ12,Paperclip,Prism,HAARP,Area 51,Psyops,CIA,NSA, Watergate,9/11, Asian Pivot, Arab spring,Iran-contra,Gulf of Tonkin,Al queada, Cuban Crisis, JFK ? MLK ? Bush 1/2/3?
    Obummer!
    CONSPIRACY? or CONSPIRACY THEORY? It seems that u skeptics & de-bunkers are the only ones that know & speak the truth.


    What were the Foofighters of WW2 seen by both axis & allied pilots?

    Why ,the 1st atomic bomber base, reported to the media they captured a flying disk,only to change the story to a weather balloon, then Mogul balloon, then a balloon with anthromorphic crash test dummies?

    Why would all the persons of such high credibility & trained observers , risk such ridicule, by coming forward & claiming THERE IS such things as UFOs?

    I could take that other american approach & rest happy in the belief that its all the work of GOD & the DEVIL & his DEMONS,the Fallen Angels.
    The nefarious actions of Catholic Priests is all I'll say about that.....

    So I'm sorry if it upsets you Zoam, but your surrounded by wackos anyway,the Alien Intervention Theory throughout history & in modern times seems to tick all the "plausible explanations".
    As Blue Book investigators said, even if 1% of UFOs remain unidentified, thats a lot of UFOs in our skies of the thousands of images that have been taken since 1947.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Woowee that's a lot of bigotry in one post. You even snuck in religion there. Not a bad bit of work.

      Yes, here in the U.S.A., we 300 million are all the same. While nations with 1/10th the population enjoy tremendous diversity and enlightened viewpoints, we're basically clones who are taught from birth to squash UFO beliefs. One might think a government is actually not one person, but millions. Not so here. All the employees of all the various agencies work together, sharing information yet hoarding it away from the general public.

      It does bring up a curious point. Why do other governments, the ones that don't keep secrets from their citizens, open the vaults? UFOs are seen all over, so they must have tons of information. Funny how all the govs. seem to be cooperating in their silence.

      Delete
  16. Merry Xmas & a happy new year to Robert, skeptics & debunkers & truthseekers & conspiracy theorists everywhere. I have my tinfoil hat on,tinsel,& all .
    P.S. To Zoam, as a present to myself , & to better educate my understanding of your mindset, I have hired the film "Power and Terror in our Times>Noam Chomsky". by John Junkerman.

    ReplyDelete

Keep your comments relevant, and keep them civil! That means no personal attacks will be allowed, by anyone, on anyone. Commenters are welcome to disagree with me, or with other comments, but state your arguments using logic, and with a civil tone. Comments in violation of these rules will be deleted, and offenders banned.

Comments should be in English, although quotes from foreign-language sources are fine as long as they're relevant, and you explain them. Anonymous postings are not permitted. If you don't want to use your real name, then make up a name for yourself, and use it consistently.