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8th August 2007, 09:17 PM | #1 |
Illuminator
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Oprah Winfrey, "The Secret" and "The Law of Attraction"
Can we all...please...collectively urinate-on/mock/denounce this pile of garbage?
I mean...I know people are dumb and prone to wishful thinking, but at least in the past I could delude myself into believing most delusions survived because they had been around for a long time, leading people to think they had to have some validity. Then this arrives. A completely new and senseless load of ******** that wastes everyone's time and deludes people by the thousands...and everyone is buying into it. It makes me angry enough to slap them. |
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"So if a tard came up to me and offered to sell me 10 bitcoins for $100, not only would I not do it, I think I'd punch him in the head, just for being stupid." -The Central Scrutinizer |
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8th August 2007, 09:18 PM | #2 |
Cuddly Like a Koala Bear
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Count me in!
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8th August 2007, 09:20 PM | #3 |
Illuminator
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How could people POSSIBLY believe something so stupid? This goes beyond typical common sense. It makes me doubt my basic faith in the public to have SOME level of reasoning ability.
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"So if a tard came up to me and offered to sell me 10 bitcoins for $100, not only would I not do it, I think I'd punch him in the head, just for being stupid." -The Central Scrutinizer |
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8th August 2007, 09:23 PM | #4 |
Graduate Poster
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8th August 2007, 09:23 PM | #5 |
Philosopher
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EGarrett: Sure, it quickly came- it'll quickly leave! As a matter of fact, I think it's half-forgotten already!
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8th August 2007, 09:23 PM | #6 |
Banned
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It's been around many times before under a whole lot of names, and no doubt will be around again in the future under another name or two.
Save your urine for something worthwhile. Tomato plants! |
8th August 2007, 09:31 PM | #7 |
Philosopher
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Yup, already raged against it in previous threads. It's just a yawn now.
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"At the Supreme Court level where we work, 90 percent of any decision is emotional. The rational part of us supplies the reasons for supporting our predilections." Justice William O. Douglas "Humans aren't rational creatures but rationalizing creatures." Author Unknown |
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8th August 2007, 09:38 PM | #8 |
Critical Thinker
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ugh.. I'd been chatting with this very attractive older woman; first online, then on the phone, I was totally ready to meet her in person. It seemed like she was really a special lady and we had really clicked, until she dropped the bomb..
There's this movie she's really into called.. .. you guessed it. I was so repulsed I cancelled our first date and haven't spoken to her since! |
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"Democracy is the worst form of government.. except for all the others" -- Winston Churchill |
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8th August 2007, 09:41 PM | #9 |
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good for you osmosis
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8th August 2007, 11:04 PM | #10 |
Philosopher
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You have spared yourself great agony, Osmosis.
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"At the Supreme Court level where we work, 90 percent of any decision is emotional. The rational part of us supplies the reasons for supporting our predilections." Justice William O. Douglas "Humans aren't rational creatures but rationalizing creatures." Author Unknown |
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8th August 2007, 11:11 PM | #11 |
Muse
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Rebecca and Noblecaboose both gave Oprah what for about this a few months back. Was that here or over at Skepchick.org?
Either way, I just figure all those folks who buy this bs now have a bookend to go with The Celestine Prophecy. -A |
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I'd be lying if I said it wasn't easy. I am trying to break your heart...- Wilco All along there was no one else, just you & me, the stars & the sea, the sky & the night, the wind & sunlight. |
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9th August 2007, 12:03 AM | #12 |
Great Dalmuti
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9th August 2007, 02:35 AM | #13 |
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You people are all just negative thinkers. Negative things will come to you as a result.
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9th August 2007, 03:11 AM | #14 |
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9th August 2007, 03:17 AM | #15 |
Cuddly Like a Koala Bear
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When is that going to happen? Am I going to accidentally cut myself on my new $250 Benchmade pocket knife? Will I be deafened by my new guitar amplifier? Is my new house going to explode because I don't buy into woo stupidity? Good things happen to people who work hard. Bad things happen to everyone, regardless of their attitude. Being defrauded out of book and DVD money happens to people who have a hard time telling fantasy from reality.
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9th August 2007, 04:20 AM | #16 |
Master Poster
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To illustrate the abysmally stupid thinking of Secretoids, look no further than this thread on the Powerful Intentions forum.
Quote:
So what actually happened was that she got herself a $23,000 car on credit - something that anybody with a good credit record can do. Nobody gave her the car, she didn't get any extra money, she's spending her own money. But all of her fellow Secretoids greet it as definite proof of the Law of Attraction! I wonder if she'll post about it when the car gets repossessed? |
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"Nature is floods and famines and earthquakes and viruses and little blue-footed booby babies getting their brains pecked out by their stronger siblings! ....Nature doesn't care about me, or about anybody in particular - nature can be terrifying! Why do they even put words like 'natural' on products like shampoo, like it's automatically a good thing? I mean, sulfuric acid is natural!" -Julia Sweeney |
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9th August 2007, 06:21 AM | #17 |
Illuminator
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"So if a tard came up to me and offered to sell me 10 bitcoins for $100, not only would I not do it, I think I'd punch him in the head, just for being stupid." -The Central Scrutinizer |
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9th August 2007, 06:23 AM | #18 |
Graduate Poster
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Links, please. I'm swedish.
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9th August 2007, 06:28 AM | #19 |
Illuminator
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"So if a tard came up to me and offered to sell me 10 bitcoins for $100, not only would I not do it, I think I'd punch him in the head, just for being stupid." -The Central Scrutinizer |
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9th August 2007, 06:29 AM | #20 |
Illuminator
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"So if a tard came up to me and offered to sell me 10 bitcoins for $100, not only would I not do it, I think I'd punch him in the head, just for being stupid." -The Central Scrutinizer |
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9th August 2007, 06:29 AM | #21 |
Master Poster
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9th August 2007, 07:23 AM | #22 |
Muse
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If only that were so. I have already wasted for more energy on this crap than it ever deserves over at another private forum. Certain elements there haven't just fallen for this juvenile, wishful thinking fantasy themselves but actually promote it to their clients as a perfectly good tool for positive thinking!
No matter how much I ask for it to (sexually descriptive expletive) off or firmly believe that it ultimately will, the universe just won't manifest it's disappearance for me. |
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"In cases where prior knowledge is available, the alternative to 'an open mind' is not 'a closed mind'. It is 'an informed mind'. In such contexts, any appeal to 'keep an open mind' is an appeal to prefer ignorance over knowledge" Ian Rowland |
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9th August 2007, 08:20 AM | #23 |
Philosopher
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I'm sorry to hear that but how much more of a shelf life could it possibly have? Another year or two at most is my guess. Like any other fad, it'll fade away quickly enough on its own.
Hasn't been around a long time- won't be around much longer. |
9th August 2007, 08:27 AM | #24 |
Thinker
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Positive thinking is great.....coupled with a big, healthy dose of REALISM.
There was a thread about the Secret here on the randi forums about a month ago - a few of us 'infiltrated' the Powerful Intentions forum (where they all believe in it) to try and bring some sense to them. It was like banging your head against a brick wall. Anyway, we had some fun, and some shocks too - http://www.internationalskeptics.com...ad.php?t=86980 |
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Victor Bertrand Russell - I was told that the Chinese said they would bury me by the Western Lake and build a shrine to my memory. I have some slight regret that this did not happen, as I might have become a god, which would have been very chic for an atheist. |
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9th August 2007, 09:28 AM | #25 |
Muse
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"In cases where prior knowledge is available, the alternative to 'an open mind' is not 'a closed mind'. It is 'an informed mind'. In such contexts, any appeal to 'keep an open mind' is an appeal to prefer ignorance over knowledge" Ian Rowland |
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9th August 2007, 11:00 AM | #26 |
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9th August 2007, 11:04 AM | #27 |
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9th August 2007, 11:08 AM | #28 |
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9th August 2007, 11:11 AM | #29 |
Thinker
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Victor Bertrand Russell - I was told that the Chinese said they would bury me by the Western Lake and build a shrine to my memory. I have some slight regret that this did not happen, as I might have become a god, which would have been very chic for an atheist. |
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9th August 2007, 11:29 AM | #30 |
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9th August 2007, 12:01 PM | #31 |
Thinker
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'Wishful thinking''....what a POWERFUL idea....almost as good as the 'law of attraction'!
But....but.....seriously, stay with me here.....perhaps you could write a book about it ('The REAL Secret' perhaps?!) and have a few woo-woo's talking about it (using real pseudoscience, of course) on video - then you would make a million and - hey presto - your 'Wishful Thinking' money making system works! |
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Victor Bertrand Russell - I was told that the Chinese said they would bury me by the Western Lake and build a shrine to my memory. I have some slight regret that this did not happen, as I might have become a god, which would have been very chic for an atheist. |
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10th August 2007, 08:46 AM | #32 |
New Blood
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The Secret - Ramtha - Avatar - What the Bleep do We KNow...
Its all the same goofy crap as far as I can tell... |
10th August 2007, 03:45 PM | #33 |
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10th August 2007, 05:17 PM | #34 |
Orthogonal Vector
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What I think is the most insidius and sociopathic part of this belief is that you deserve everything bad that happens to you because you wanted it to happen. It is the ultimate blame the victim belief.
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Sufficiently advanced Woo is indistinguishable from Parody "There shall be no *poofing* in science" Paul C. Anagnostopoulos Force ***** on reasons back" Ben Franklin |
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10th August 2007, 05:43 PM | #35 |
Illuminator
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Of course what we really need is for Oprah to become a skeptic and indicate she was really wrong about the whole secret and various other witch-wiggler attitudes...I am expecting just that to happen right after Paris Hilton wins the Nobel Prize.
glenn |
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Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence Carl Sagan |
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10th August 2007, 07:54 PM | #36 |
Scholar
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Man. Now some of the secretoids I deal with daily are trying to get rid of me by ignoring me. By dealing with them I got a hang of their ideas, they are probably trying to manifest by disappearance by acting as if I already did disappear. What should I do?
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10th August 2007, 08:15 PM | #37 |
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I think if I believed in "the secret" I would go crazy pretty quickly.
Just imagine...anything that goes wrong is all your fault. Anything. You'd be constantly beating yourself up about your "bad thoughts." Oh, and don't think about cancer, or auto accidents, or...or.. Because that is exactly what will manifest! This is like telling somebody "Whatever you do, for God's sake, don't think about pink elephants!" I would just wind up driving myself neurotic by trying to prevent thoughts about disease or accidents. This must be how most of the Secret-believers end up. I don't see much other way. On the other hand, if you get stuck in a conversation with one of these losers, you can get rid of them easy by asking, "Do you ever worry about getting a brain aneurysm? Or getting hit by a car?" Then they would turn pale and run off with their fingers in their ears going "LALALALALALALA" Evil? |
10th August 2007, 08:16 PM | #38 |
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11th August 2007, 08:05 PM | #39 |
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"Democracy is the worst form of government.. except for all the others" -- Winston Churchill |
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11th August 2007, 09:20 PM | #40 |
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Thank goodness there are such things as lies. Imagine if everything you heard was true! (Albert Engström) |
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