Quackery

[claidheamhmor]

I wandered past the Gem and Mineral Fair at Cresta last week, and it was interesting, as always, to see all the different types of gems, semi-precious stones and minerals on show. Something that disturbed me was that almost every exhibitor had books or pamphlets or displays taking about the different magical properties of the various gems or crystals. Now, surely there are enough amazing things about these minerals without having all this absolute rubbish? Can't we be impressed about how good crystals look, and how they were formed, without having to see a book by some quack rambling on about how agate is good for the blood or whatever?

On the topic of quackery, while I was sick at home today, I was listening to prank calls made by Whackhead Simpson. For those who don't know, Darren "Whackhead" Simpson is the 94.7 Highveld Stereo radio station's resident prankster. He phones up random people, celebrities, or whomever, and plays pranks on them. (If you want to hear some of his stuff, do a search for "Whackhead" on YouTube - many of his better ones are there).

Anyway, here's one where he phones up a psychic/fortune-teller. Apart from the sheer pleasure of doing this to one of these people, it demonstrates, I think, how these scam-artists are either seriously deluded about their psychic abilities, or are greedy vampires preying on the credulity of other people.

And on the topic of gullible people, Whackhead here phones up not only a 419 scammer, but also one of the scammer's victims.

"Ylvis - The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?) [Official music video HD]" (Watch on YouTube)

Comments

[melancthe.livejournal.com]

I went past the Gem and Mineral Fair too, and I was horrified by the number of places that seemed to think it was perfectly acceptable to sell quackery along trilobites. The mind boggles. :(

[jadedflame.livejournal.com]

Gnooo!! The horrorz!!

As long as they weren't saying you have to eat the trilobites in order solve balding and erectile dysfunction or something, because that would be true quackery.

[windrider-09.livejournal.com]

Some people will always be taken in by anything that looks pretty and mysterious. It is true, that crystals can be used for helping in meditation and there are properties of various stones that are still unexplored by science.

Some people will just forever be gullible and silly and some people will always try to exploit it.

[claidheamhmor]

What sort of properties are unexplored? The chemical and physical properties are generally very well known, except perhaps for very rare minerals.

[windrider-09.livejournal.com]

Well, not only the rare minerals. It is very easy to say we know all the properties of the main stones, but unless the technology is advanced enough we don't always look at everything.

[claidheamhmor]

Like what, though?

[windrider-09.livejournal.com]

You know, the trouble of reading so many things is actually remembering several years down the line what was read First that comes to mind is the electrical conductivity of gold. I know, it is an old example, but until the advance of technology, electrical conductivity was not something that was considered as part of the property of a mineral (I don't know if it is considered a proper property even now, melancthe would know better). I think my point is that even 10 years down the line the advances of technology will discover a property of a mineral or will look at the chemical composition and would be able to discover something that was not previously possible and that will become an added property or an addition to the write-up of the chemical composition. I am not 100% ready to dismiss minerals as something we can close the book on in terms of studying further.

As for other properties - if people want to believe that wearing a gem will help with an illness just based on the writings of ancient civilizations they can go ahead. To remove a fool's delusion is a Herculean task.

[melancthe.livejournal.com]

I am not 100% ready to dismiss minerals as something we can close the book on in terms of studying further.

I hope you're joking. I seriously doubt there are mysterious properties in minerals.

[windrider-09.livejournal.com]

Not mysterious in a sense of esoteric, but in a sense of properties that are not yet discovered by science due to the technology demand.

More than 200years ago, noone would have thought to consider gold for the way it conducts electricity or even copper for that matter, but today this is another story.

[jadedflame.livejournal.com]

It is true, that crystals can be used for helping in meditation...

??
How so? I mean, how certain can one be that the properties of the stones aren't enducing some sort of placebo effect on the person using them?

Mind you, if I'm having a major internal hemorrhage, I'd much rather go to the hospital than sit at home, clutching a bloodstone in the hopes that it's going to fix me right up.

[windrider-09.livejournal.com]

due to the inherent prettiness, it is easier to concentrate on the crystal when trying to clear your mind for meditation.

I prefer other methods, but crystals are a popular choice.

It has little to do with mystical effects, unless you count meditation as mystical.

[claidheamhmor]

Bloodstone does that?! I'm off to get some now! I have a cut on my finger!

[jadedflame.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, definitely!!
You might as well also get youself some Aventurine too, that's supposed to make you feel brave and at piece with yourself... or something like that :) heehee.