New Dawkins doc: Enemies of Reason

JediToren · Post by **JediToren** » 2008-01-25 06:55pm

I know its not brand spankin' new (it came out in August) but I searched and didn't see anyone mention it, but I just watched Dawkins two-part documentary on pseudoscience called "The Enemies of Reason." It goes after everything from Astrology to alternative "medicine" (most of part 2 focuses on that), homeopathy, psychic mediums, and even Wikipedia.

If you haven't seen it, check it out. It's awesome:
Part 1
Part 2

Axiomatic · Post by **Axiomatic** » 2008-01-26 03:13am

Wikipedia? Now what did my dear little wiki do to him?

Covenant · Post by **Covenant** » 2008-01-26 03:19am

Axiomatic wrote:Wikipedia? Now what did my dear little wiki do to him?

It's just that wikipedia is a wealth of awful information at easy access to every loon who is looking for peer support for their insanity.

Boyish-Tigerlilly · Post by **Boyish-Tigerlilly** » 2008-01-26 03:37am

That was an entertaining programme. Thanks for posting it. I think I found the second one more interesting though. I had to try to protect my parents from buying medicine at the drug store they didn't realize was homeopathic. It was in such tiny print, but then again, they didn't know what homeopathic was anyway.

It's unfortunate that these things are even allowed in reputable drug stores to take advantage of people who don't know or understand what they are; they think if they go to a drug store, it's tested, legit medicine.

Axiomatic · Post by **Axiomatic** » 2008-01-26 03:46am

Ah.

I also don't see why he picks on New Agers - it's like shooting fish in a barrel, except the fish aren't even trying to dodge because they've all got Atlantean crystal beads which let their spirit angels protect them against bullets by cosmically visualizing not being hit.

Covenant · Post by **Covenant** » 2008-01-26 04:07am

Axiomatic wrote:Ah.

I also don't see why he picks on New Agers - it's like shooting fish in a barrel, except the fish aren't even trying to dodge because they've all got Atlantean crystal beads which let their spirit angels protect them against bullets by cosmically visualizing not being hit.

Just because some of the fish in the barrel move kinda slow doesn't mean you shouldn't fire. Small delusions are the foundation for bigger ones.

If anything, picking the most basic and baseless of these fantasies is the quickest way to dismantle them. If the goal is to benefit people by getting rid of these mental dentriments, then taking a nice big axe-swing at the pegs holding them up is the best and easiest way to help people.

Repeat after me, Bullshit Doesn't Deserve Respect! You've got no reason to play nice just because they're stupid. That's all the more reason to dig into thestupid new agers.

JediToren · Post by **JediToren** » 2008-01-26 05:10am

Axiomatic wrote:it's like shooting fish in a barrel, except the fish aren't even trying to dodge

That's because there's no point in dodging the bullets. Mythbusters already showed us that the shockwave alone will kill the fish, especially when you use a MINIGUN!

Boyish-Tigerlilly wrote:I think I found the second one more interesting though.

I found the bit on astrology to be rather dull. For a pseudoscience, there just isn't much of a mythology to it. Shit, there's not even a conspiracy associated with it.
And there's no question that alternative "medicine" is far more destructive. I wish he had covered Christian Science and other "medicine is the work of Satan!" I would imagine that, in terms of alternative therapies, there's has to be the most destructive.

It's funny that I caught this as I have been thinking about alternative medicine (i.e. why its bullshit) for a while. He really summed up what I was thinking when he said that it's alternative because there is no evidence that it works.

I would really like to see him tackle ghost and ufo bullshit for his next doc. He'll have to stick to the various authorities on the subject since his docs aren't freak-shows like Bullshit! is. Maybe he can talk to Dan Ackroyd since he thinks all the goofy ghost science in Ghostbusters is real and he believes in alien abductions I hear.

At some point he needs to team up with James Randii, Penn & Teller on an episode of Bullshit! They would be the Fantastic Four of skeptics everywhere.

JediToren · Post by **JediToren** » 2008-01-26 05:12am

Ghetto edit:

Axiomatic wrote:it's like shooting fish in a barrel, except the fish aren't even trying to dodge

That's because there's no point in dodging the bullets. Mythbusters already showed us that the shockwave alone will kill the fish, especially when you use a MINIGUN!

Dooey Jo · Post by **Dooey Jo** » 2008-01-26 11:38am

JediToren wrote:Maybe he can talk to Dan Ackroyd since he thinks all the goofy ghost science in Ghostbusters is real

That'll learn them serious ghost hunter bozos to stop using fake electronic light shows to get rid of so called "ghosts"!

and he believes in alien abductions I hear.

The documentary should be called "Your stepmother isn't really an alien" and consist entirely of Richard Dawkins showing the science in Dan Aykroyd's films to be completely made up.

Then he can go after Steven Spielberg for daring to make Poltergeist (which is close to actual "paranormal research" instead of, you know, pretty much invented from scratch), and E.T.

Zixinus · Post by **Zixinus** » 2008-01-26 05:26pm

What I have to admire with people who do documentaries like these, is how much they can take up with these crackpots. I am a person that has little tolerance for nonsense, and I cannot imagine talking these people and not stabbing them.

Reminds me, I have to sharpen my commando knife.

Nova Andromeda · Post by **Nova Andromeda** » 2008-01-29 12:36am

-Does anyone have any idea how well viewed these movies actually are and if they have any impact at all on the general population?

Jon · Post by **Jon** » 2008-01-29 06:14am

They air on mainstream, terrestrial television in the UK and get a few million viewers, not sure about if they're exported to elsewhere though.

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2008-01-29 11:08am

I watched the first part, it was very interesting. I havn't had time to see part 2 yet. I rather liked the parts with Derren Brown, I'll watch anything he's in.

Alan Bolte · Post by **Alan Bolte** » 2008-01-29 11:21am

I found the first part rather boring, it didn't really touch on anything I wasn't thoroughly familiar with, and was lacking in witty commentary. The second part is better.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2008-01-29 11:35am

Axiomatic wrote:Ah.

I also don't see why he picks on New Agers - it's like shooting fish in a barrel, except the fish aren't even trying to dodge because they've all got Atlantean crystal beads which let their spirit angels protect them against bullets by cosmically visualizing not being hit.

Ultimately, anything which encourages people to think in an irrational way and (worse yet) seriously believe that practical problems can be overcome by what amounts to nothing more than glorified wishful thinking is a very dangerous thing.

One of the worst phrases in the entire English language has to be "faith can move mountains". It's not just the Christians who believe that shit. New Agers are notorious for it too. It's one of the reasons that so many people make so many horribly impractical decisions; they honestly believe that things will somehow turn out for the best. Phrases like "the universe will unfold as it should" are really code-speak for "things will work out OK for me".