Hevle.com - Skepticism
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What is
it? Basically, don’t believe
everything that you read. The opposite
of skepticism is gullibility. There is
so much misinformation going around that it boggles the mind. I started to notice this with urban legends. Then I realized that there is so much that
people take for gospel that is utterly untrue. Quackery, false "science" and
false "history”.
Pseudoscience. Metaphysics
(meta-bullcrap).
Magnets as medically therapeutic.
EMF as a medical danger. Alien
abductions. Elvis. Breast implants. Toxins like DHMO (see below). I’m starting to get worked up now. Crystals.
Organic foods. Food
supplements. All the politically
correct b.s. that is actually false, like why you
shouldn’t throw rice at weddings. Alka Seltzer and seagulls. Cow tipping. There
is a fundamental lack of understanding about basic science. I was talking to a friend on the phone, and
she said that she had to get off the phone. She
said “You’re not supposed to use the phone during a thunderstorm” I said
“Wait a minute, aren’t you on a wireless phone?” She
said, “Yeah, so?” I don’t
know if I need to explain this, but the problem with being on the phone
during a thunderstorm is that lightning can strike and cause a surge on the
phone line. If you are using a
wireless phone, there is no “line” connected to you. links HotAIR
- Rare and well-done tidbits from the Annals of Improbable Research OldSuperstitions.com -
Superstitions Database Popular
Science 1O6 Science Claims and a Truckful of
Baloney The Unofficial Stephen Jay Gould
Archive an answer to chain
letters (part 1) Hello
Everyone- I am a
very sick boy little boy. My mother is typing this for me, because I can't.
But she is crying. Don't cry mommy. Mommy is always sad, but she says it's
not my fault. I asked her if it was God's fault, but she didn't answer, and
only started crying harder, so I don't ask her that anymore. The reason she
is so sad is that I'm so sick. I was born without a body. It doesn't hurt,
except when I go to sleep. The doctors gave me an artificial body. My body is
burlap bag filled with leaves. The doctors said that was the best they could
do on account of us havin' no money. I would
like to have a body transplant, but we need more money. Mommy doesn't work
because she said employers don't hire crying people. I said "don't cry,
mommy" and she hugged my burlap body. Mommy always gives me hugs, even
though she's allergic to burlap, and it chafes her bad. I hope some one will
help me. You can help me if you forward this e-mail. Dr. Johansen said if you
forward this that Bill Gates will team up with AOL and do a survey with NASA.
Then the astronauts will collect prayers from school children from all over
America and take them up to space so that the angels can hear them better.
Then they will go to the Pope, and he will take up a collection in his church
and send the money to the doctors. The doctors could help me better then.
Maybe one day I will be able to play baseball. Or maybe just use my lungs and
heart, when the doctors make them. The doctors said that every time you
forward this letter, the astronauts can take another prayer to the angels.
Please help me. Mommy is sad, and I want a body. I don't want my leaves to
rot before I turn 10. If you
don't forward this e-mail, that's o.k. Mommy says that just means you're a
mean heartless person who doesn't care about a poor little boy with only a
head. She says that if you don't stew in the raw pit of your own guilt-ridden
stomach, that she hopes you die a slow horrible death so you can burn in
hell. What kind of person are you that you can't take 5 minutes to forward
this to all your friends so that they can feel guilt and shame for the rest
of their day, and then maybe help a poor, bodiless 9-year-old boy? Please
help me. This really sucks. I try to be happy but it's hard. I wish I had a
puppy. I wish I could hold a puppy. Thank
You. Billy
'Smiles' Eavans, The boy
with just a head. And a
burlap sack for a body. an answer to chain
letters (part ii) Think
about it . . . 1. Big
companies don't do business via chain letter. Bill Gates is not giving you
$1000, and Disney is not giving you a free vacation. There is no baby food company issuing
class-action checks. MTV will not give
you backstage passes if you forward something to the most people. You can
relax; there is no need to pass it on "just in case it's true".
Furthermore, just because someone said in the message, four generations back,
that "we checked it out and it's legit", does not actually make it
true. 2.
There is no kidney theft ring in New Orleans. No one is waking up in a
bathtub full of ice, even if a friend of a friend swears it happened to their
cousin. If you are hell-bent on
believing the kidney-theft ring stories, please see this site. And I quote: "The National Kidney
Foundation has repeatedly issued requests for actual victims of organ thieves
to come forward and tell their stories. None have." That's
"none" as in "zero". Not even your friend's cousin. 3.
Neiman Marcus doesn't really sell a $200 cookie recipe. And even if they do,
we all have it. And even if you don't, you can get a copy at this site. Then,
if you make the recipe, decide the cookies are that awesome, feel free to
pass the recipe on. 4. If
the latest NASA rocket disaster(s) DID contain plutonium that went to
particulate over the eastern seaboard, do you REALLY think this information
would reach the public via an AOL chain-letter? 5.
There is no "Good Times" virus. In fact, you should never, ever,
ever forward any email containing any virus warning unless you first confirm
that an actual site of an actual company that actually deals with viruses.
Try this site first. And
even then, don't forward it. We don't care. And you cannot get a virus from a
flashing IM or email, you have to download....ya
know, like, a FILE! 6. If
your cc: list is regularly longer than the actual content of your message,
you're probably going to Hell. 7. If
you're using Outlook, IE, or Netscape to write email, turn off the "HTML
encoding." Those of us on Blackberries can't read it, and don't care
enough to save the attachment and then view it with a web browser, since
you're probably forwarding us a copy of the Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe
anyway. 8. If
you still absolutely MUST forward that 10th-generation message from a friend,
at least have the decency to trim the eight miles of headers showing everyone
else who's received it over the last 6 months. It sure wouldn't hurt to get
rid of all the "< " that begin each line. Besides, if it has gone around that many
times we've probably already seen it. 9.
Craig Shergold (or Sherwood, or Sherman, etc.) in
England is not dying of cancer or anything else at this time and would like
everyone to stop sending him their business cards. He apparently is also no longer a
"little boy" either. 10. The
"Make a Wish" foundation is a real organization doing fine work,
but they have had to establish a special toll free hot line in response to
the large number of Internet hoaxes using their good name and reputation. It
is distracting them from the important work they do. 11. If
you are one of those insufferable idiots who forward anything that promises
"something bad will happen if you don't", then something bad will
happen to you if I ever meet you in a dark alley. 12.
Women really are suffering in Afghanistan, and PBS and NEA funding are still
vulnerable to attack (although not at the present time) but forwarding an
e-mail won't help either cause in the least.
If you want to help, contact your local legislative representative, or
get in touch with Amnesty International or the Red Cross. As a general rule, e-mail
"signatures" are easily faked and mean nothing to anyone with any
power to do anything about whatever the competition is complaining about. (P. S.
There is no bill pending before Congress that will allow long distance
companies to charge you for long distance when using the Internet.) Bottom
Line... composing e-mail or posting something on the Net is as easy as
writing on the walls of a public restroom. Don't automatically believe it
unless it's proven false... ASSUME it's false, unless there is proof that
it's true. Got it? Good. Now,
forward this message to ten friends and you will win the Publishers Clearing
House sweepstakes. an answer to chain
letters (part iii) Hello,
my name is Basmati Kasaar. I am suffering from rare
and deadly diseases, poor scores on final exams, extreme virginity, and fear
of being kidnapped and executed by anal electrocution. I also suffer from the
guilt of not forwarding 50 billion fucking chain letters sent to me by people
who actually believe that if you send them on, a poor 6-year-old girl in
Arkansas with a breast on her forehead will be able to raise enough money to
have it removed before her redneck parents sell her to a traveling freak
show. Do you honestly believe that Bill Gates is going to give you, and
everyone to whom you send "his" email, $1000? How stupid are we?
"Ooooh, looky here!
If I scroll down this page and make a wish, I'll get a date with every
Playboy model in the magazine!" What a bunch of baloney. Basically,
this is a message to all the people out there who have nothing better to do than
to send me stupid chain mail forwards. Maybe the evil chain letter
leprechauns will come into my apartment and have their way with me in my
sleep for not continuing a chain that was started by Peter in 5 AD and
brought to this country by midget pilgrims on the Mayflower and which, if it
makes it to the year 2000, will be in the Guinness Book of World Records for
longest continuous streak of blatant stupidity. Forget them. If
you're going to forward something, at least send me something mildly amusing.
I've seen all the "send this to 50 of your closest friends, and this
poor, wretched excuse for a human being will somehow receive a nickel from
some omniscient being" forwards about 90 times. I don't care. Show a
little intelligence and think about what you're actually contributing to by
sending out these forwards. Chances are, it's your
own unpopularity. The
point being? If you get some chain letter that's threatening to leave you shagless or luckless for the rest of your life, delete
it. If it's funny, send it on. Don't annoy people by making them feel guilty
about a leper in Botswana with no teeth who has been tied to a dead elephant
for 27 years and whose only salvation is the 5 cents per letter he'll receive
if you forward this email, lest he end up like Miranda. Right? Now
forward this to everyone you know. Otherwise, tomorrow morning your underwear
will turn carnivorous and will consume your genitals. ban dihydrogen monoxide! Dihydrogen monoxide is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and kills
uncounted thousands of people every year. Most of these deaths are caused by
accidental inhalation of DHMO, but the dangers of dihydrogen
monoxide do not end there. Prolonged exposure to its solid form causes severe
tissue damage. Symptoms of DHMO ingestion can include excessive sweating and
urination, and possibly a bloated feeling, nausea, vomiting and body
electrolyte imbalance. For those who have become dependent, DHMO withdrawal
means certain death. Dihydrogen monoxide: • is also known as hydroxl
acid, and is the major component of acid rain. • contributes to the "greenhouse
effect." • may cause severe burns. • contributes to the erosion of our
natural landscape. • accelerates corrosion and rusting of
many metals. • may cause electrical failures and
decreased effectiveness of automobile brakes. • has been found in excised tumors of
terminal cancer patients. Contamination
is reaching epidemic proportions! Quantities
of dihydrogen monoxide have been found in almost
every stream, lake, and reservoir in America today. But the pollution is
global, and the contaminant has even been found in Antarctic ice. DHMO has
caused millions of dollars of property damage in the Midwest, and recently
California. Despite
the danger, dihydrogen monoxide is often used: • as an industrial
solvent and coolant. • in nuclear
power plants. • in the
production of Styrofoam. • as a fire
retardant. • in many forms
of cruel animal research. • in the
distribution of pesticides. Even after washing, produce remains contaminated
by this chemical. • as an
additive in certain "junk-foods" and other food products. Companies
dump waste DHMO into rivers and the ocean, and nothing can be done to stop
them because this practice is still legal. The impact on wildlife is extreme,
and we cannot afford to ignore it any longer! The
American government has refused to ban the production, distribution, or use
of this damaging chemical due to its "importance to the economic health
of this nation." In fact, the navy and other military organizations are
conducting experiments with DHMO, and designing multi-billion dollar devices
to control and utilize it during warfare situations. Hundreds of military
research facilities receive tons of it through a highly sophisticated
underground distribution network. Many store large quantities for later use. Last updated 4/5/05 |
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