Your favorite crackpots

[chapka]

We know people believe, and have believed, a lot of nutty things. What's your favorite unscientific, ridiculous, crackpot belief, ancient or modern?

For me, I think it'd have to be the hollow earthers. (http://www.v-j-enterprises.com/holearth.html) For those who don't know, these people believe essentially that the Earth is hollow (duh!), that people are living on the inside, held on by magic reverse gravity, and that there are enormous holes at the North and South poles where people in small planes have occasionally flown through to visit. Who lives on the inside depends on who you ask, but Atlantis often comes into it somehow. There's allegedly a "secret diary of Admiral Byrd" that tells of his visit to the Inside.

There really are hollow-Earthers out there today (I've known one myself). They tend to be mostly harmless, don't try to stop you from taking medicine or try to bilk you out of your money. As far as I know, there is no organized campaign to get "alternative geology" taught in the public schools, either. So I think they qualify as my favorite crackpots.

[Plognark]

I'm fond of Mega-Genius (http://www.mega-genius.com/), although i'm pissed that he ditched the ridiculous moustache and hat.

He looks positively normal now. :huh:

Anyhow, he's definately my favorite internet crackpot :thumbs:

[braces_for_impact]

I dunno, for me it's a toss up between Time Cube Man (http://www.timecube.com/) or "Dr." Kent Hovind.

[Mr. Aardvark]

How about the guy who taught, among other questionable ideas, that boys believe their fathers cut off their mothers' penises and fear that they will do same to them? Freud.

A particularly effective crackpot given that his spell is still intellectually and culturally formative.

[Ken W]

I'm fond of Wiley Brooks and The Breatharians

People only needs air to survive, and the foods we eat are poison. If people would stop eating, they would live forever.

For crackpot calibration purposes, this man was holding seminars in Santa Cruz, CA when he was caught taking food out of a Burger King. He was ran out of town, for being a mite bit too cracked I guess. :rolling:

[Stella]

I'm fond of Wiley Brooks and The Breatharians

People only needs air to survive, and the foods we eat are poison. If people would stop eating, they would live forever.

For crackpot calibration purposes, this man was holding seminars in Santa Cruz, CA when he was caught taking food out of a Burger King. He was ran out of town, for being a mite bit too cracked I guess. :rolling:

:rolling:

I suppose this cult isn't one that will last long. And it is a sort of refreshing antidote to all the overweightness...

My favorites are the Unarians (http://www.unarius.org/start.html).

The have a weekly "special" on local public access television that is so amazingly bad. There are terrible "re-enactments" of when the Plenarians, an ancient, wise alien race came to the cavemen of earth to impart their knowledge. Telepathically, of course.

The now deceased founder looks like a fairy godmother in giant-collared pink space-capes. Complete with wand and sparkly pink wigs.

That Time Cube man is a little scary. All that ranting about evil can't come to anything good.

[Strangeways]

I love the faith healers myself. They're so entertaining, it makes me laugh. I just love sitting there watching Oral Roberts and screaming "PRAISE JESUS!" at the TV. It's fun.

[Caution]

The Raelians! You've gotta give it to a guy who basically tells us that we were created by an ancient alien race and that they chose him, a motor sports writer to be the person who delivers their message on earth. Oh and by the way, if you join the "church" you must tithe 3% of your net income yearly and the single most important piece of the religion outside of the alien stuff is group sex as a sacrament. Rael's book on "Sensual Meditation" has a truly disturbing piece where they get into the age of consent in various countries which he ends by basically telling people too young to consent to start masturbating to get themselves ready to participate.
This guy made himself rich and adored by at a minimum hundreds of followers (he claims 60,000). Aren't cults fun? Let's not even getinto CloneAid!

You can download his books for free! Highly recommended to those who just love a nutjob.


These Sensual Meditation centres will be open only to those
‘above the age of consent’, which represents different ages
depending on the legislation of the country in which the
centre is located. In France, for example, you must be at least
18 years old to frequent the centres, and those between the
ages of 15 and 18 require a written authorisation from their
parents, a draft form of which will be provided by our
‘sensuality schools’. Those between the ages of 15 and 18
have the right (!) to have a sexual life with the consent (!) of
their parents. As for those under the age of 15, even if their
parents consent, they have no right to a sexual life. It is not
our fault, it is the law!
Inform yourselves at your local Sensual Meditation centre
which will let you know the current laws concerning the age
limits of your country which we have to respect. If you are
too young, be patient, and in the meantime awaken
yourselves by yourselves, according to principles described in
this book.

[Schneibster]

The time cube is a favorite of mine, too. Then there's the lip balm addiction (http://www.kevdo.com/lipbalm/addict.html) folks.

But really, I have to put Ludwig Plutonium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Plutonium) at the top of the list. This former dishwasher at Dartmouth college, known for riding around on a bicycle wearing an orange hunting hat and a homemade cape decorated with atomic symbols drawn in magic marker, became famous for his decidedly eccentric and highly varied posts on Usenet.

"In late 1990, Plutonium claims to have had the realization of his Plutonium Atom Totality Theory, which he claimed to be one of the most important breakthroughs in scientific history. According to this theory, the Universe is a giant plutonium atom, and the part of the universe we are able to observe from Earth, including Earth itself, is somewhere in its outer electron shells. He then changed his name to Ludwig Plutonium. In autumn of 1994 he claims to have realized that he was the reincarnation of the great early Greek scientist Archimedes, and so once again changed his name to Archimedes Plutonium.

In December 2004, an unauthenticated internet posting believed to be from Plutonium provided a list of a 'small example of the new ideas I have discovered' ranked 'in order of merit.' The list (with his explanations summarized and edited) is as follows:

Plutonium Atom Totality theory. According to this theory, there was no Big Bang, but rather growth from a 'Hydrogen Atom Totality' into the present 'Plutonium Atom Totality,' in which 'the galaxies are dots of the electron dot cloud.'
Fusion Barrier Principle. Quoting Plutonium, 'Fission energy is the highest form of energy that is able to be controlled and surpass breakeven.'
Unification of the Forces of Physics as a Coulomb Unification.
Stonethrowing theory. This theory states that the difference between apes and humans resulted some 8 to 10 million years ago from a solo quadraped ape that 'started throwing rocks overarm and overhead.' This activity gave the ape advantages in getting food and more females for mating purposes 'by killing other rivals using throwing.'
Possibility of global warming reversal. According to Plutonium's theory, there exists a CFC variant or methyl molecule that when produced and released will act as an 'upper atmosphere earth air conditioner and reverse global warming.'"


The most amusing has to have been this one (http://www.mit.edu/afs/athena/activity/h/humor/Incoming/not.a.skull). Unfortunately, it was not actually the work of a crank, but rather of a humorist; he wrote the letter posing as a curator at the Smithsonian in the Paleoanthropology Division, and it has been circulating ever since. Here (http://emganin.tripod.com/home/id18.html) is an actual interview with the humorist.

[ZouPrime]

I'm fond of Mega-Genius (http://www.mega-genius.com/), although i'm pissed that he ditched the ridiculous moustache and hat.

He looks positively normal now. :huh:

Anyhow, he's definately my favorite internet crackpot :thumbs:

If I'm not mistaken, Mega-Genius died recently (suicide?). I'm pretty sure I read that somewhere, maybe on II. Can anyone confirm?

[wade-w]

Other IIDB users are off limits.

BioBeing
S&S moderator

[flippant]

How about the guy who taught, among other questionable ideas, that boys believe their fathers cut off their mothers' penises and fear that they will do same to them? Freud.

A particularly effective crackpot given that his spell is still intellectually and culturally formative.

Yeah how about that guy? That guy that thinks I want my own penis and how jealous I am of men for that? What? What What? If it came from anyone else it would be proposed that that man is either very sick or retarded. :huh: Maybe........
I like how people just accept these things to be true without saying to themseves; someone sent in the clowns.

[Darren D]

My favorite crackpot is David Icke: www.davidicke.com (may have to cut and paste link)

Probably unknown outside of the UK, he used to be a very well respected Sports Commentator on TV. Then he had a total freak out and started spouting conspiracy theories. Fairly common ones at that: Illuminatus, Serpent People from out of space living underground etc. etc. :banghead:

He now also wears Turquoise shell suits

Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Icke for a better explanation than I have given. Most of the threads of his conspiracy theory are fairly standard - NWO, Bilderbakers, Illuminati/Masons/Rosicrucians etc etc.

[Ninasgrandpa]

My favourite story about David Icke is when he was going to visit Canada. The Canadian immigration service was concerned that when he talked about a conspriracy of extra-terrestrial lizards trying to take over the world, he was using this as code for Jews, in which case he should not be allowed into Canada because he might incite racial hatred (or some such). Apparently they studied his speeches and writings, and concluded that it was safe to let him in, since when he talked about extra-terrestrial lizards, he really meant extra-terrestrial lizards!

[Anglican]

My favorite crackpot is David Icke: www.davidicke.com (may have to cut and paste link)

Probably unknown outside of the UK, he used to be a very well respected Sports Commentator on TV. Then he had a total freak out and started spouting conspiracy theories. Fairly common ones at that: Illuminatus, Serpent People from out of space living underground etc. etc. :banghead:

He now also wears Turquoise shell suits

Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Icke for a better explanation than I have given. Most of the threads of his conspiracy theory are fairly standard - NWO, Bilderbakers, Illuminati/Masons/Rosicrucians etc etc.

Actually the funny thing is that David Icke IS well known through out the world. What people outside of the UK generally don't know is that he was a sports broadcaster for the BBC and thta he once went on Terry Wogan's chat show and declared that he was the son of God (for people in the US Terry Wogan was at the equiovalent of Jay Leno)! This means that in the UK he is a bit of a joke (infact most people in the UK probably don't even know about his inetesting theories about lizard-people), whilst by some people in other countries he's taken very seriously indeed (though obviously he is never 'mainstream').

[Strangeways]

My favorite crackpot is David Icke: www.davidicke.com (may have to cut and paste link)

Probably unknown outside of the UK, he used to be a very well respected Sports Commentator on TV. Then he had a total freak out and started spouting conspiracy theories. Fairly common ones at that: Illuminatus, Serpent People from out of space living underground etc. etc. :banghead:

He now also wears Turquoise shell suits

Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Icke for a better explanation than I have given. Most of the threads of his conspiracy theory are fairly standard - NWO, Bilderbakers, Illuminati/Masons/Rosicrucians etc etc.

Oh man, Penn & Teller had this guy on Bullshit! in the first season (the third episode, on alien abductions) and he cracked me up. I can't believe people follow people like him. He was hysterical, although I'm sure he didn't mean to be.

[Heurismus]

Don't get me started on the Raelians, Formula 1 and atomic topknots; but Icke gets my goat. (well he could be a vampire after all)

The illuminati shit...'Great Britain is the mother country of Satanism. Scotland has long been an occult center. The national symbol of Scotland is the dragon (the snake), and for years the chief of Scotland was called the dragon. The Gaelic language is an important language for Satanism, although English and French are also use extensively by the Illuminati. The planning sessions for world takeover that some ex-Satanists experienced were held in French.'

Icke believes our good queen Lizzy is a Lizard, easy to see the connection, the man is several currants short of a Dundee cake. And yes, I saw the Terry Wogan show, I thought it was a put on, but the Anti Defamation League certainly don't think so and to be honest he is just recycling old 'lies' about the Jews. He can be vicious with it too.

[Mr. Aardvark]

My favorite crackpot is David Icke: www.davidicke.com (may have to cut and paste link)

Probably unknown outside of the UK, he used to be a very well respected Sports Commentator on TV. Then he had a total freak out and started spouting conspiracy theories. Fairly common ones at that: Illuminatus, Serpent People from out of space living underground etc. etc. :banghead:

He now also wears Turquoise shell suits

Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Icke for a better explanation than I have given. Most of the threads of his conspiracy theory are fairly standard - NWO, Bilderbakers, Illuminati/Masons/Rosicrucians etc etc.

People are too quick to write off Icke altogether. After all, he did predict that the world is run by reptilian humanoids:

Icke returned to the limelight in the late 1990s with a book, The Biggest Secret: The Book That Will Change the World. In it he claimed to have discovered that the world was being run by a New World Order, controlled by a race of reptilian humanoids....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Icke

And we now know that one is the captain of the auto insurance idustry:

http://lb2.summitmg.com/geicostore/assets/images/deptframeempty.gif

:)

[Eldarion Lathria]

Howard Barraclough, a.k.a Barry Fell is my favorite among the living cranks. His America BC. is a classic of crank archeology. Ignatius Donnelly is my favorite among the dead cranks. He wrote Atlantis: The Antediluvian World THE classic Atlantis work, Ragnarok: Age of Fire and Gravel which argued that a comet had hit the earth and deposited the glacial till, and The Great Cryptogram which argued that Francis Bacon had written Shakespeare's plays.

I also hoot at Mary Baker Eddy, Helena Blavatsky, and Immanuel Velikovsky. A hilarious, scientific refutation of Velikovsky, in twenty pages, called Worlds in Confusion was written by Isaac Asimov. And when DJ went to a chiropractor last year, she asked that I not go, because I often call it chiroquacktic.

Has anyone else read de la Pour-Trench, the crank that believes the events of Genesis took place on Mars?



Eldarion Lathria

[Schneibster]

My favorite crackpot is David Icke: www.davidicke.com (may have to cut and paste link)

Probably unknown outside of the UK, he used to be a very well respected Sports Commentator on TV. Oh, no, my friend. You would be amazed at the number of us Yanks (not to mention our northern neighbors) who are continually amused and amazed by the antics of this individual.

My understanding was that he was not merely a commentator, but that he had been a star in football (and no I do not mean the American kind). Please correct me if I am wrong.

I thought it was a hoax, the work of a humorist, when I first encoutered his web site. I didn't really start to laugh until I realized that it was no hoax, and that he was serious. The "reptilians" are the absolute limit; I am having trouble typing just thinking about it.

[Darren D]

My favourite story about David Icke is when he was going to visit Canada. The Canadian immigration service was concerned that when he talked about a conspriracy of extra-terrestrial lizards trying to take over the world, he was using this as code for Jews, in which case he should not be allowed into Canada because he might incite racial hatred (or some such). Apparently they studied his speeches and writings, and concluded that it was safe to let him in, since when he talked about extra-terrestrial lizards, he really meant extra-terrestrial lizards!
I followed a link a from the Wikipedia entry on David Icke:

http://www.davidicke.com/icke/articles/illrituals.html

...

Casting aside his pat concerns about the environment, Icke enthusiastically embraced the classic Nazi conspiracy theory, alleging that the world is controlled by a secret cadre of "The Elite." He openly endorsed The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the Tsarist anti-Semitic forgery that informed Hitler's notion of a global Jewish conspiracy."

The following year Icke brought out another book, "...and the truth shall set you free." This one, however, was self-published, as its content was so objectionable that his publisher refused to have it printed. And small wonder. The book repeated Icke's previous claims that the Protocols were true, and went on to state: "I strongly believe that a small Jewish clique which has contempt for the mass of Jewish people worked with non-Jews to create the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the Second World War....They then dominated the Versailles Peace Conference and created the circumstances which made the Second World War inevitable. They financed Hitler to power in 1933 and made the funds available for his rearmament."2

In this book, Icke went even further. He began to flirt explicitly with Holocaust denial, saying "why do we play a part in suppressing alternative information to the official line of the Second World War? How is it right that while this fierce suppression goes on, free copies of the Spielberg film, Schindler's List, are given to schools to indoctrinate children with the unchallenged version of events. And why do we, who say we oppose tyranny and demand freedom of speech, allow people to go to prison and be vilified, and magazines to be closed down on the spot, for suggesting another version of history."3 He also denounced the Nuremberg Trials as "a farce" and "a calculated exercise in revenge and manipulation."4

...

:down:

[DaninGraniteCity]

I'll see your David Icke and I'll raise you a Richard C Hoagland. :)

[flintknapper]

I'll give you someone a lot closer to home that more folks listen to than all of the above crackpots combined. Rush Limbaugh. Not as exotic as some of the entries so far, but when that guy opens his mouth about anything to do with science, I always cringe. I would say he is more dangerous simply because his audience is so large and his word is often taken seriously by his listeners. :down:

[Vortex]

I love the Pleaidians (I think that's how you spell it) — a veritable cult now, based in Switzerland, who arrange their life around the teachings (complete with horrifically clichéd philosophical rants about what man does to Earth) of aliens from uninhabitable stars (the Pleaides). This is all "substantiated" by some of the fakest UFO photos you'll see.

While we're on photos, I also love the hawkers of "miraculous" photos . . . any light leak or scratch is instantly the "mysterious way" of the LORD!! in appearing to us. Right up there with the holy cheese sandwiches and tortillas of the world.

[msboyd]

I like the Saint Germain Foundation (http://www.saintgermainfoundation.org/). Did you know that in his 'ascended state' the Comte de Saint-Germain (or Christopher Marlowe (http://www.crystalinks.com/stgermain.html), as I prefer to call him) brings The Violet Flame?

Whatever that might mean...they're always a hoot when they get on television.

I also have a certain fondness for the Panacea Society (http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/critic/feature/0,1169,1160457,00.html). Did you know that Jesus is going to return to live in an ordinary suburban house in Bedford, England? Joanna Southcott predicted it all, apparently.

They will send you bits of cloth that she breathed on, from which you can make some sort of refreshing, drinkable holy water.

[Pantera]

My understanding was that he was not merely a commentator, but that he had been a star in football (and no I do not mean the American kind). Please correct me if I am wrong.

"Star" would be a rather strong word for it. He was an apprentice for Coventry City (http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/bob.dunning/icke.htm), who were then in the English top division, but he never made it into the first team, and went off to play for Hereford United on the fringes of the professional game. His career was ended by athritis, and apparently it was after he was "cured" by a faith healer that he underwent some sort of religious conversion, gradually getting into whackier and whackier ideas...

[Marduk]

I think we should give a shout out to Zechariah Sitchin, without whom there would no doubt be no David Icke, Raelians, Lawence Gardners, Art Bells, Renses, Hoagland and a host of others. Sitchin, with his colorful tales of Lizard Kings of ancient Sumer from the Planet Nibiru, has put food on the table for thousands of new agers, pseudo scientists, lectures, authors, TV specials, sci fi TV show writers and many more. If he got even a small cut of all the web sites and shows based on his endless tomes he’d be a billionaire
:thumbs:

[Chaupoline]

Here is my trump card. What about Ramtha aka JZ Knight?

Ramtha is a 35,000 year-old spirit-warrior who appeared in J.Z. Knight’s kitchen in Tacoma, Washington in 1977. Knight claims that she is Ramtha’s channel. She also owns the copyright to Ramtha and conducts sessions in which she pretends to go into a trance and speaks Hollywood’s version of medieval or Elizabethan English in a guttural, husky voice. She has thousands of followers and has made millions of dollars performing as Ramtha at seminars ($1,000 a crack) and at her Ramtha School of Enlightenment, and from the sales of tapes, books, and accessories (Clark and Gallo 1993). She must have hypnotic powers. Searching for self-fulfillment, otherwise normal people obey her command to spend hours blindfolded in a cold, muddy, doorless maze. In the dark, they seek what Ramtha calls the ‘void at the center.’

Knight says she used to be “spiritually restless,� but not any more. Ramtha from Atlantis via Lemuria has enlightened her. He first appeared to her, she says, while she was in business school having extraordinary experiences with UFOs. She must have a great rapport with her spirit companion, since he shows up whenever she needs him to put on a performance. It is not clear why Ramtha would choose Knight, but it is very clear why Knight would choose Ramtha: fame and fortune, or simple delusion.

http://www.ramtha.com
http://skepdic.com/channel.html

[Vagus]

Uri Geller (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uri_Geller) has to be one of my personal favorites.

Geller unsuccessfully litigated or threatened legal action against some of his critics. These included libel allegations against Randi and illusionist Gérard Majax. His lawsuit against Prometheus Books, a publisher of skeptical books, was dismissed as frivolous and he was obliged to pay more than $20,000 in costs to the defendant. He also lost, or withdrew, several other suits of a similar nature....... In November 2000 he unsuccessfully sued Nintendo in U.S. federal court, claiming use of his likeness for a Pokémon character, "Un-Geller" or "Yun-Geller", translated into English as "Kadabra". He also unsuccessfully sued Ikea over a furniture line featuring bent legs that was called the "Uri" line.

"Won't somebody think of the silverware!" :p

[Plognark]

If I'm not mistaken, Mega-Genius died recently (suicide?). I'm pretty sure I read that somewhere, maybe on II. Can anyone confirm?

Huh, haven't heard a thing about it, and he recently threatened to sue IIDB because we were all making fun of his retarded money grubbing product and rather peculiar sense of fashion.

Can't find anything about it on a google search either, I think he's still trying to scam insecure people out of their money.

[Cynthia of Syracuse]

Trepanning/trephination (http://www.skepdic.com/trepanation.html) enthusiasts like the good folks at the International Trepanation Advocacy Group (http://www.trepan.com/_index.html). Yep, drilling a few holes in your head will increase your intelligence. Considering where you'd have to start from to believe this in the first place, it probably couldn't make things worse.

[Babylon Sister]

Howard Barraclough, a.k.a Barry Fell is my favorite among the living cranks.

Barry Fell died in 1994.

[Jobar]

Jack Chick (http://www.chick.com/catalog/tractlist.asp), anyone?

(When I searched out that link, I found out that the 'Cthulu Chick tract' parody has been taken down because the bastards at Chick Publications treatened to sue. Sob! :()

[Gavinicus]

I am a regular lurker on the site and spend most of my time silently in awe of the vast pool of knowledge represented by the regular contributors to these boards.

But this thread has drawn me from under my rock to declare the original post as the Best Original Post I have ever seen. I have discovered several new crackpots from your links, and been reacquainted with many I had forgotten about. What fun.

My vote for favorite crackpot is a tie between the Revs. Sun Myung Moon and Pat Robertson. Although they're far from harmless, they do entertain--and Pat did cure my aunt's goiter.

[YHWH666]

Ayn Rand
While she may have been personally dull and obnoxious, her followers (A strange species white adolescent males mainly found on internet discussion forums) provide hours of hilarity.

[Eldarion Lathria]

Barry Fell died in 1994.

Oh bugger, now I'll have to pick a new favorite living crackpot.


Eldarion Lathria

[rationalOne]

ALEX CHIU'S IMMORTALITY DEVICE (http://www.alexchiu.com/index.htm) Based on experiments and testimonials, I believe I have a cure to aging, diabetes, asthma, heartburn, cancer, etc. But FDA wants me to spend 20 million dollars for an FDA Approval. Without FDA approval, radio and TV stations don't dare to air my commercial. Giant drug companies don't dare to help me because my invention will bring an end to their drugs. So I can only sell my invention on the internet.

[Schneibster]

OK, just one more- not a complete crackpot, either- just a couple bricks short of a full load. Some of the stuff can be interesting, but a great deal of it is oversimplified or word salad.

Jack Sarfatti (http://lists.econ.utah.edu/pipermail/marxism-thaxis/1996-July/001280.html). Google up his web site and check out his "stardrive" and his ansible.

[Stella]

I have to agree that this is one of the most entertaining threads I've seen in a long time. I keep thinking about the crackpots and laughing.

The mention of Richard Hoagland a while back reminded me of another Art Bell denizen, Major Ed Dames. He claims to have been part of the military's sordid attempt at psychic spies, ie "remote viewing". He makes a lot of wacky predictions but keeps saying hilarious things to piss off the MUFON people.

He claims there are no reptilians, the alien autopsy was faked, and that the gov't has never made contact with aliens. LOL the irony is ubearable!

The MUFONs suspect he is a gov't hack, but some are swayed by his convincing military doublespeak.

Curiously, I found this review of Dames at a site called
reptilianagenda.com (http://www.reptilianagenda.com/research/r012100a.shtml)

Dames concluded that beings involved with the Roswell crash (he may have said the agent who caused the crash) subsequently traveled back in time and prevented the crash from occurring, causing all physical evidence from the crash to disappear but leaving intact people's memories of collecting and examining that evidence. Dames said you could change the physical reality without changing the mental reality, but I don't believe it. Mind and matter are intimately connected. I think if you go back in time and prevent the crash, you create a new time track where there is no crash for people to collect or examine debris from, and therefore no one remembers collecting or examining debris--unless they access the parallel time track in which the crash occurred. If this idea is correct, then contrary to what Dames believes, what he remote viewed, if accurate, IS a different time track than the one we are on!

It's actually quite long and addresses a number of concerns ranging from amnesia-inducing greys, time shifts, cataclysms, and channelling. There is some hilarious ruminating over Dames' possible gov't infiltrator status.

[Jinksy]

Fans of Timecube should check out Artificial Synchronicity, Language, Manipulation, Kundalini and the Corners of Reality (http://freeyourbrain.tripod.com/). That's my favourite website, in fact - gives me goosebumps just reading the intro. And it makes me proud to be a human being (allegedly) when I see the size of it :)

[Mr. Aardvark]

Fans of Timecube should check out Artificial Synchronicity, Language, Manipulation, Kundalini and the Corners of Reality (http://freeyourbrain.tripod.com/). That's my favourite website, in fact - gives me goosebumps just reading the intro. And it makes me proud to be a human being (allegedly) when I see the size of it :)

Read some of the site. Real paranoid/psychotic stuff.

[markd]

I'm going with that douchebag Robert Schuller. How many hungry kids could have been fed with this big fucking temple( www.crystalcathedral.org )to onesself? What a fartstain.

[exmormon]

His name is Art Bulla (http://www.artbulla.com), and he's a regular poster on alt.religion.mormon. He thinks the Bible prophesies of him, and that he is the 'One Mighty and Strong.' He is about as Mormon fundamentalist as you can get, and has published his own 'thus saith the Lord'-style revelations endorsing polygamy, racism, sexism, heterosexism, slavery, and conservative politics all as God's will. And if you challenge or make fun of you, he calls you funny names like "godless leftist nitwit."

Here (http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.religion.mormon/browse_frm/thread/20522f6787528b10/35c98d1c90d2e693?q=hilarious+computer-generated&_done=%2Fgroups%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3Dhilarious+computer-generated%26&_doneTitle=Back+to+Search&&d#35c98d1c90d2e693) is a funny post someone made by using a computer to generate random text based on Bulla's style.

[HumanisTim]

There's also the Maitreya believers. I believe that it's only one guy.


An honorable mention goes to a usenet poster that used to go by Kansan something. He had a scary obsession with Heidi Klum.

[rachmanfan]

All examples included thus far are on the same level of 'crackpotedness' as christianity, islam, astrology etc. How can any one belief be more or less of a crackpot belief when they are all based on exactly the same amount of evidence....that of course being zero. The only difference between belief in lizard people and the belief in god is the number of people that believe it, which of course gives it no more or less validity.

This is probably the most disturbing thing for me. That I am surrounded by a majority that believe in things that have no more validity than all of these examples. :(

[pairadocs]

The crackpots I love to hate are Jon and Nina Jacobs (aka Jon Jacobs & Polly Peachum). This is a different Jon Jacobs from the actor. His main claim to fame is that he "co-authored" the book Different Loving (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679769560/qid=1105589828/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/002-8062549-9524816?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) (which was, in fact, written by Gloria & William Brame, who hired him to conduct interviews for them).

He claims that Nina/Polly is his slave and offers to teach other women what they need to know to be owned by masters of their own. According to him, he's about the sole source of "honest" information on BDSM in the known universe.

For years now the Jacobs have maintained an exceptionally longwinded site called Submissive Women Speak (http://www.submissivewomenspeak.net/), but their crackpotness can only be truly appreciated by seeing the cultlike groups of women they gather & exploit. It's very, very sad; I could totally see Jacobs leading a Jonestown.

In some online BDSM circles Jacobs is quite well-known for his defensive, dogmatic, pompous ranting, although since he's apparently gone completely blind he's probably off his game now.

ETA: I've just found, through my Google search on his name, that Jacobs passed away in November. Good riddance.

[travc]

Can't really say "favorite" as I think they (collectively) are a rather dangerous cult, but Scientology is really up there. Brilliant marketing... don't bring out the really crazy shit until people have dumped all their money (and then some) into getting "certifications" (which conviently prepare them the believe whatever shit they are told). Hubbard had a hell of an idea with that one.

[_Naturalist_]

All examples included thus far are on the same level of 'crackpotedness' as christianity, islam, astrology etc. How can any one belief be more or less of a crackpot belief when they are all based on exactly the same amount of evidence....that of course being zero. The only difference between belief in lizard people and the belief in god is the number of people that believe it, which of course gives it no more or less validity.

This is probably the most disturbing thing for me. That I am surrounded by a majority that believe in things that have no more validity than all of these examples. :(
The difference is that some are respected and revered, and some are laughed at. It is very, very disturbing indeed. I'm sometimes an optimist regarding the future of humankind, but sometimes it's just not easy to be that. Some want religion in school, but I bet the same people would be shocked at the idea that other, equally unsupported and baseless beliefs would be introduced as well. I am sure many of the religious people would laugh at the crackpots that's been mentioned, yet they can't see the other way around.

[Writer@Large]

Uri Gellar is at the top of my list--the pure ego of that man is heads and shoulders above even the Sylvia brownes of the world, and the lawsuits are hilarious. Let's not forget his failed attempts to influence World Cup soccer games ... :rolling:

But on a personal level, I've gotten the most enjoyment out of the Thiaoouba cult, (http://www.thiaoouba.com/) mostly because one of its adherents used to pop up on IIDB once in awhile to try and convert us, and we got into a few "debates" (loosely used, as the user "Thiaoouba" didn't have a clue nor two facts to rub together). Thiaoouba (pronounced, believe it or not, as "Jehovah") is one of those alien-worshipping cults (jesus was an alien) with a heavy dose of aura-reading pseudoscience.

--W@L

[Simiangrunt]

Wow, there is so much bullcrap going arount it's depressing.

This begs the question regarding what factors would make some crackpots more successful (monetarily) than others. Perhaps the ones that are more successful are those that peddle wares that tug at our deepest instincts, emotions and desires. It's very easy to let our rational guard down when we want to believe that we can communicate with our departed loved ones, etc.

Simian

[Simiangrunt]

All examples included thus far are on the same level of 'crackpotedness' as christianity, islam, astrology etc. How can any one belief be more or less of a crackpot belief when they are all based on exactly the same amount of evidence....that of course being zero. The only difference between belief in lizard people and the belief in god is the number of people that believe it, which of course gives it no more or less validity.

This is probably the most disturbing thing for me. That I am surrounded by a majority that believe in things that have no more validity than all of these examples. :(

Well, the belief in the major religions is influenced greatly by shared history, tradition, language, etc. Religious belief and traditions abound in our societies - it's hard to miss a religious person preaching on television, some of our children go to religious schools, and heck, even I exclaim "oh my God" sometimes. We don't have the same stuff with lizard people.

[Killer Mike]

Dont forget the Flat Earth Society. Believe it or not but there are some who thinks the earth is flat :rolling:

[Bob K]

I'll give you someone a lot closer to home that more folks listen to than all of the above crackpots combined. Rush Limbaugh. Not as exotic as some of the entries so far, but when that guy opens his mouth about anything to do with science, I always cringe. I would say he is more dangerous simply because his audience is so large and his word is often taken seriously by his listeners. :down:

What examples can you cite inre Rush Limbaugh's comments inre science/scientific results?

I assume you are implying that Limbaugh is wrong in his statements of facts.

What statements of facts do you claim Limbaugh has made which have been proven to be incorrect?

Statements of facts/claims of facts are different from statements of opinions/beliefs.

What statements of opinions/beliefs has Limbaugh made which are incorrect, in your view?

[chapka]

What examples can you cite inre Rush Limbaugh's comments inre science/scientific results?

I assume you are implying that Limbaugh is wrong in his statements of facts.

What statements of facts do you claim Limbaugh has made which have been proven to be incorrect?

Take a look at this list (http://www.fair.org/press-releases/limbaugh-debates-reality.html) for starters.

Highlights:

LIMBAUGH: "It has not been proven that nicotine is addictive, the same with cigarettes causing emphysema [and other diseases]." (Radio show, 4/29/94)

REALITY: Nicotine's addictiveness has been reported in medical literature since the turn of the century. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop's 1988 report on nicotine addiction left no doubts on the subject; "Today the scientific base linking smoking to a number of chronic diseases is overwhelming, with a total of 50,000 studies from dozens of countries," states Encyclopedia Britannica's 1987 "Medical and Health Annual."

LIMBAUGH: "The worst of all of this is the lie that condoms really protect against AIDS. The condom failure rate can be as high as 20 percent. Would you get on a plane -- or put your children on a plane -- if one of five passengers would be killed on the flight? Well, the statistic holds for condoms, folks." (Ought to Be, p. 135)

REALITY: A one in five AIDS risk for condom users? Not true, according to Dr. Joseph Kelaghan, who evaluates contraceptives for the National Institutes of Health. "There is substantive evidence that condoms prevent transmission if used consistently and properly," he said. He pointed to a nearly two-year study of couples in which one partner was HIV-positive. Among the 123 couples who used condoms regularly, there wasn't a single new infection (AP, 8/29/93).

LIMBAUGH: "There are more American Indians alive today than there were when Columbus arrived or at any other time in history. Does this sound like a record of genocide?" (Told You So, p. 68)

REALITY: According to Carl Shaw of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, estimates of the pre-Columbus population of what later became the United States range from 5 million to 15 million. Native populations in the late 19th century fell to 250,000, due in part to genocidal policies. Today the U.S.'s Native American population is about 2 million.

LIMBAUGH: On Whitewater: "I don't think the New York Times has run a story on this yet. I mean, we haven't done a thorough search, but I--there has not been a big one, front-page story, about this one that we can recall. So this has yet to create or get up to its full speed--if it weren't for us and the Wall Street Journal and the American Spectator, this would be one of the biggest and most well kept secrets going on in American politics today." (TV show, 2/17/94)

REALITY: The New York Times broke the Whitewater story on March 8, 1992, in a front-page story by Jeff Gerth that included much of the key information known today. The investigative article ran over 1700 words.

LIMBAUGH: Quotes President James Madison: "We have staked the future...upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God." (Told You So, p. 73)

REALITY: "We didn't find anything in our files remotely like the sentiment expressed in the extract you sent to us," David B. Mattern, the associate editor of The Madison Papers, told the Kansas City Star (1/16/94). "In addition, the idea is entirely inconsistent with everything we know about Madison's views on religion and government."

LIMBAUGH: On Bosnia: "For the first time in military history, U.S. military personnel are not under the command of United States generals." (TV show, 4/18/94)

REALITY: That's news to the Pentagon. "How far back do you want to go?" asked Commander Joe Gradisher, a Pentagon spokesperson. "Americans served under Lafayette in the Revolutionary war." Gradisher pointed out several famous foreign commanders of U.S. troops, including France's Marshall Foch, in overall command of U.S. troops in World War I. In World War II, Britain's General Montgomery led U.S. troops in Europe and North Africa, while another British General, Lord Mountbatten, commanded the China-Burma-India theatre.

Rush Limbaugh makes stuff up--factual stuff--a lot.

Another gem from elsewhere on the same site:

LIMBAUGH: Limbaugh enumerated some of the changes the world has seen since the birth of his 104-year-old grandfather: "When he was born--I mean, we look at things that have happened since he was born. Electricity's been invented, the automobile was invented, the mule as a means of plowing the field vanished." (TV, 12/27/95)

REALITY: Limbaugh was combining two of his worst subjects: science and history. The first commercial use of electricity, the telegraph, began in 1843--almost 50 years before Limbaugh's grandfather was born in 1891. Edison invented his electric light bulb in 1879, and 1881 saw the first practical electric railway (Electrical Construction & Maintenance, 5/91). The first steam- powered automobile was invented in 1769, while gasoline-powered models were introduced in 1885 (Automotive Engineering, 6/90).

Sorry, but as far as crackpots, Limbaugh definitely qualifies.

Now back to topic: if you don't think Rush is a crackpot, who do you think is?

[Jobar]

Fans of Timecube should check out Artificial Synchronicity, Language, Manipulation, Kundalini and the Corners of Reality (http://freeyourbrain.tripod.com/). That's my favourite website, in fact - gives me goosebumps just reading the intro. And it makes me proud to be a human being (allegedly) when I see the size of it :)

:eek:
From that site:
THEY try to turn your thoughts against you. YOU KNOW IT.


THEY may even manipulate facts and change realities in the "society" you may think you live, in case you try to change, "improve" or "fix" things in your STAGE-WORLD reality. YOU KNOW IT.


THEY give you the sensation that you are being JUDGED by them. YOU KNOW IT.


THEY manipulate your nightly dreams, through symbols, archetypes, toons or comics, controlling and hypnotizing your behavior in these dreams. YOU KNOW IT.


THEY create false news, performing like actors in your world, just to keep you "tuned" in their PRISON, or ZOO, or CIRCUS, or MAZE, or whatever name you give it. YOU KNOW IT.


THEY use key words or symbols in the very sentences you hear and situations you watch all the time, so as to keep you under their control and manipulate your mind. YOU KNOW IT.


Words apparently innocent like : FIRE, MOTHER, POOL, HAIR, DOG, RAIN, TICKET, DEATH, DISABLED PERSON, ALLIGATOR, CAR, WHITE, HELICOPTER, ALCOHOL, PRINCE, BIRTHDAY, ANGEL, HOME, HORSE, PHONE, SHOES, MEAT, LOOKING-GLASS, LEFT AND RIGHT, TEACHER, PHYSICIAN, DENTIST, JAPANESE, KEYS, BANANA, PREGNANT, MILITARY RANKS, WINDOW, JEW, WAVE, BABY, LOTTERY, FOREIGNER, NAKED, ASSIGNMENT, ICE-CREAM, CUBAN, CONTEST, SMOKE, GLASSES, INJECTION, PLAYER, WATERFALL, and so many others. Words that shoot. YOU KNOW IT. YOU KNOW THEM VERY WELL.


THEY have turned you into a mesmerized puppet, and your mind into a slavery condition. YOU KNOW IT.


Whoa. Classic paranoid schizophrenia, anyone?

[Schneibster]

But on a personal level, I've gotten the most enjoyment out of the Thiaoouba cult, (http://www.thiaoouba.com/)...Bwahahahahaha, that one was great. Not only did they use my favorite word- "resonance-" they even took it to a new level of absurdity: "bioresonance!!!" The picture was completed by the link at the top of the page: "Global Warming: Can Earth EXPLODE?"

:rolling: :rolling: :rolling: :rolling: :rolling:

[SLUGFly]

First a thought on Freud...

True though it may be that (according to him) all of our anxieties and stresses stem from sex, and that anything that is not a perfect square or a perfect sphere is likely to be a phallic symbol... and that boys view their fathers as rivals for their mother's affections (and vice versa)... (actually, I believe this part to be true on a very primitive level)... I believe that most of his beliefs about sex were self analysis.

however, I think he's one of the most important people in medical history since he brought about the idea that we have something going on below our conscious thoughts. He (and Jung) gave rise to the idea that our dreams, maybe, were neither collected garbage jumbled together at the end of the day nor visions from some divine source, but rather visions from our insides, from something our conscious reasoning can't reach. He may have shot way off the mark on several points but the white people who first came to South and North America thought they were in India, and now here we are. He broke new ground.

And I've never before heard anything about Freud and "Depenification" (lol... my own neologism... looking it up now to see what happens :) )

My favorite crackpots? Well... the nature of the thread seems more in tune with, who do you think was a total idiot? For that I have to answer... I don't know, GWB seems fitting enough on all counts.

The original question (I think) was what crackpots hold a special place in your heart... I don't think that I can explain much about each since there are actually quite a few, so I'll just list some.

()Rael (If I were to have my brain taken away and be forced to follow a religion, I would choose this one. Sex, technology, advancement, human rights, thought, arts... you only have to swallow a few trivial -and common- supernatural beliefs and the rest is absolute gold.
()Rasputin
()Jesus (no matter what his mindless followers think or do or say, you have to admit, he was pretty fuckin cool)
()Nietzsche (the man is my fuckin idol... he was only a crackpot during the years in which syphillus had started destroying his mind. His last book an "autobiography" called This is Man had chapters like: Why I am so Wise, Why I am so Clever, Why I write such Good Books, and Why I am a Destiny. The guy fuckin rocks)
()Calligulus (the guy had his horse become a member of the senate, how cool is that?)
()Most serial killers (Ed Gein stands near the top of the list, movies and books in his tribute: Psycho, Silence of the Lambs and Texas Chainsaw Massacre)

My all time favorite (I want to say Nietzsche, but he was only a crackpot during the final couple years... and even then he wasn't far gone) I would have to say is Jesus.

[flippant]

Yes, and thank you from above. (this post)
And. If it's mostly sexual self-analysis he should leave women out of his dirty-business. I still am not jealous and never was. In fact, when I question other women as to the actual emotional/anecdotal validity of his statements they have to really search. And they come back with dead NO's. Why would I question? Because I really do respect his other work.... :) Making him one of my favorite crack-pots. :)

Signed,
Flippant

[SLUGFly]

Jack Chick (http://www.chick.com/catalog/tractlist.asp), anyone? :()

I never knew the company that made these little rags. I've been surfing their tracts for over an hour now, this stuff is appalling. I'm mostly checking out their approach on attacking Islam and Homosexuality (and Catholicism... Honor thy parents Protestantism!)

It's funny... but when I think about the effective propoganda in these little comics... Hitler would be proud.

[perfessor]

I still am not jealous and never was. In fact, when I question other women as to the actual emotional/anecdotal validity of his statements they have to really search. And they come back with dead NO's. Why would I question? Because I really do respect his other work.... :) Making him one of my favorite crack-pots. :)

Signed,
Flippant

Punch line of an old joke:
"Well, my mom says that because I have one of these, I can get as many of those as I want!"

[SkinWalker]

Favorite Crackpot?

Norval Cunningham (http://www.craterchains.com) and his sidekick Gale Smart. They have a "theory" that the solar system endured an alien war in antiquity that was fought by "good" ETs (angels) and "bad" ETs (demons).

Their primary source of reasoning? Chains of craters on planets, moons, and asteroids in the solar system and on Earth. These, they claim, can only be made by "strafing runs" of atomic weapons. Not the tidally disrupted comets and asteroids as demonstrated by observation and experimental models...

[seebs]

I just like to browse crank.net.

Some day, when I have more free time, I hope to come up with a crackpot theory that will win the coveted title of "illucid" from them.

[Avatar]

One of my favorites has to be Bart Sibriel (note the initials), who insists that NASA faked all the moon landings. His "proof" lies in an "exclusive" clip that supposedly proves that the flights and landings were produced on a soundstage. A number of people have glommed onto the idea, but Sibriel is the front man for the idea.

An old favorite was Nancy Leider, a woman who claimed to be channelling telepathic messages from aliens...the "Zetas". She insisted that Planet X was soaring towards Earth and would swwep by and cause havoc. It's been years, and no sign of the planet. Her Zetatalk webside is a morass of confusion, and is filled with photographic proof of lens flares, light artifacts, and photoshopped hoaxes. Sadly, Nancy's derangements have gotten worse in the last couple of years and she has gone from amusing to sad.

Zacheriah Sitchin, definitely. Rush Limbaugh, naturally. Kent Hovid goes without saying. Richard Hoagland. Jack Chick (I've despised that man ever since the 80s.). James McCanney for his electric view of the solar system. Sylvia Browne. David Icke (I actually got into an online debate with him on a woo-woo site called Godlike productions. Don't go there...it's scary.) Just about any televangelist you'd care to name.

A couple of my favorite sites regarding nutbars are:

Crank.net

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/9941/index.html

[OdysseusTheInnkeeper]

I'd have to pick the one about how entropy is going to cause the heat death of the universe, as if there are no ordering operators or other possibilities whatsoever. That, and the entire self-fulfilling, death-oriented philosophy that attends this concept, has to be the most ridiculous and misguided Crackpot Philosophy/Science Crapp that's ever been formulated.

[perfessor]

One of my favorites has to be Bart Sibriel (note the initials), who insists that NASA faked all the moon landings. His "proof" lies in an "exclusive" clip that supposedly proves that the flights and landings were produced on a soundstage. A number of people have glommed onto the idea, but Sibriel is the front man for the idea.



This particular wacko is shredded mercilessly at badastronomy.com (http://badastronomy.com/). Evidently Sibriel had taken to stalking former Apollo crewmen, then "ambushing" them at a public venue by challenging them to swear on a Bible that they had actually been to the moon. There is a hilarious clip in which Buzz Aldrin, 60ish and significantly smaller than Sibriel, turns and punches him in the mouth.

[Speedkill]

This particular wacko is shredded mercilessly at badastronomy.com (http://badastronomy.com/). Evidently Sibriel had taken to stalking former Apollo crewmen, then "ambushing" them at a public venue by challenging them to swear on a Bible that they had actually been to the moon. There is a hilarious clip in which Buzz Aldrin, 60ish and significantly smaller than Sibriel, turns and punches him in the mouth.

That clip is great. Do you know of any links for it?

[Will I Am]

Ah, a suprsingly significant question. Here's why:


Some of my favorite crackpots are:


Oliver Heaviside, who proved that E = MC squared, thirty years before Einstein. (What a psycho idea!)

Lyn Margulis, who was (literally) laughed at, and told never to ask for a research grant again, when she wanted money to research the possibility that mitochondria have their own DNA. They do. It’s now in the textbooks.

Alfred Wegener, who proposed that the continents “floated� on tectonic plates. Ridiculed in his time. Now it’s in the text books.

And all those like them.

[Ponzi]

Check out http://www.inventor-warp-speed.com/

This guy likes text banners that bounce back and forth, along with ranting about his amazing invention: the electric windmill car. Apparently there's a big conspiracy to suppress it by the oil companies.




(And enough with the nitpicking over Freud already.)

[the hunt]

James Harris :
http://www.crank.net/harris.html

However, at least over time his crankyness has become more complicated. I guess that might count for something.

[Cynthia of Syracuse]

The discussion of Freud and the Castration Complex has been moved here (http://www.iidb.org/vbb/showthread.php?t=113217).

[Jesse]

Ah, a suprsingly significant question. Here's why:


Some of my favorite crackpots are:


Oliver Heaviside, who proved that E = MC squared, thirty years before Einstein. (What a psycho idea!) Source? A quick google search on Heaviside and relativity doesn't show any pages claiming that Heaviside anticipated E=mc^2. Are you sure you're not thinking of that Italian guy, Olinto De Pretto, who got lucky and guessed this equation before Einstein, but who based his guess on totally flawed assumptions and who only intended the equation to apply to particles of ether moving at the speed of light? (see here (http://groups-beta.google.com/group/sci.math/browse_frm/thread/ab6b96f372f13d63/6884aeac70c53b3f?))

edit: I see that this page (http://users.net.yu/~mrp/chapter23.html) shows Heaviside came up with the equation E = (3/4)mc^2 in 1889 (equation 23.44 on that page). Besides the extra 3/4 factor there, the meaning of this equation seems to have been quite different from what Einstein meant by E=mc^2: from what I could gather, the equation was just supposed to describe the energy contained in the electromagnetic field of a moving electron, where the electron was modeled as a small charged sphere of finite radius. Lyn Margulis, who was (literally) laughed at, and told never to ask for a research grant again, when she wanted money to research the possibility that mitochondria have their own DNA. They do. It’s now in the textbooks. It's not unusual for scientists to scoff at each other's theories, but was she really considered a "crackpot" by most of her peers? Alfred Wegener, who proposed that the continents “floated� on tectonic plates. Ridiculed in his time. Now it’s in the text books. Yes, this is one of the very few instances in the history of science where a theory that was widely regarded as crackpot turned out to be correct. But it's not accurate to say Wegener proposed the idea of tectonic plates--he correctly proposed that the continents could move around but didn't have a plausible mechanism, and the reason other geologists considered this a crackpot theory was precisely because no one could imagine any plausible geological mechanism that would allow this to happen. See this page (http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/wegener.html), for example: Part of the problem was that Wegener had no convincing mechanism for how the continents might move. Wegener thought that the continents were moving through the earth's crust, like icebreakers plowing through ice sheets, and that centrifugal and tidal forces were responsible for moving the continents. Opponents of continental drift noted that plowing through oceanic crust would distort continents beyond recognition, and that centrifugal and tidal forces were far too weak to move continents -- one scientist calculated that a tidal force strong enough to move continents would cause the Earth to stop rotating in less than one year. Another problem was that flaws in Wegener's original data caused him to make some incorrect and outlandish predictions: he suggested that North America and Europe were moving apart at over 250 cm per year (about ten times the fastest rates seen today, and about a hundred times faster than the measured rate for North America and Europe). There were scientists who supported Wegener: the South African geologist Alexander Du Toit supported it as an explanation for the close similarity of strata and fossils between Africa and South America, and the Swiss geologist Émile Argand saw continental collisions as the best explanation for the folded and buckled strata that he observed in the Swiss Alps. Wegener's theory found more scattered support after his death, but the majority of geologists continued to believe in static continents and land bridges. "Plate tectonics" refers specifically to the idea that the earth's crust is broken up into large plates, which include the continents but are bigger than them, and which can push structures along their surface sideways like a conveyor belt thanks to seafloor spreading (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seafloor_spreading) along one edge of a plate...it was the discovery of seafloor spreading between plates that gave geologists a plausible mechanism for how the continents could move around, and eventually led to the widespread acceptance of plate tectonics.

[sbaii]

Crackpots that came to mind right away were the author Van Daniken who sold a lot of books in the 70's claiming that the pyramids and every other ancient monument had been made by aliens, L. Ron Hubbard (may Xenu be with us all), and Carry Nation who later in life believed she was Queen Victoria according to the book Vessel of Wrath. With the exception of Nation who I believe was a true nut, it's hard to tell whether the other two guys really believed the stuff they sold or whether they were just snake oil salesmen.

[Fortuna]

Well, A lot of crackpots have been named here, but one of the worst I've ever read is Victor Zammit. This guy put out a book called " A Lawyer Presents the Case for the Afterlife" and claims his evidence irrefutable !

Nothing new here, its the same old same old psychic crapola repackaged with
nothing but rhetoric and bad science to back it up. This guy gives credit to Yuri Geller as the "greatest psychic of our time" :down: and high praise for Sylvia Brown.

Now, the only thing I can barely admire about Uri and Sylvia are their bank accounts. Sometimes I bang my head on the desk and wonder why I did 7 years of collegiate study, when all I really had to do was to claim psychic power, cold-read 'em and get their Visa card #'s for a $650 US for 30 minutes of telling people what they want to hear.

I guess some of us are just too honest (or maybe stupid) to deceive gullible people and separate them from their $$$, but when I personally try to show them that Sylvia just repeats back to them what they told her in the first place, they go into complete denial.

Well, PT Barnum said it..

[HumanisTim]

I never knew the company that made these little rags. I've been surfing their tracts for over an hour now, this stuff is appalling. I'm mostly checking out their approach on attacking Islam and Homosexuality (and Catholicism... Honor thy parents Protestantism!)

It's funny... but when I think about the effective propoganda in these little comics... Hitler would be proud.


Don't knock Chick Tracts too much. They have the personal endorsement of Ned Flanders himself

http://web.archive.org/web/20010202023800/http://chick.com/images/time.gif

[SLUGFly]

WAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fundiddlyumptios!!!!

I read the line before scrolling down to see the picture and thought you may have been referring to Ned actually mentioning Chick Tracts on the Simpsons... But then when I scrolled down...

WAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!! :rolling: :rolling: :rolling:

Not quite as sexy as Ned is though... :eek:

[PoodleLovinPessimist]

I haven't been following the thread; has anyone yet mentioned Sam Sloan (http://www.samsloan.com/)?

[walt6]

I noticed that three of my favorite crackpots are back on tv. Jimmy Swaggart, Popoff, and Jim Bakker.

[greyline]

I nominate (1) Joseph Smith and (2) L Ron Hubbard as prime modern(ish) crackpots - in that they managed to become so influential, in terms of both efficiency in spreading their ideas, and money extracted from gullible folk wanting to (1) own their own planet or (2) free the poor Thetans.

I can learn so much from these two. I wish I could come up with such nifty ideas based on pure invention - whether it be (1) rewriting the history of the Americas with Jesus or (2) rewriting the history of the universe with aliens.

Surely with all the combined brainpower at IIDB we can come up with a surefire moneyspinner?

[Clivedurdle]

A possible title for an IIDB crackpot theory - derailians?

[lpetrich]

Hanns Hoerbiger, author of the Welteislehre (Cosmic Ice Theory) (http://homepage.mac.com/lpetrich/www/misc/WEL.txt), a Velikovskyish cosmology.

In that cosmology, the other planets are covered by layers of ice; the Moon looks bright at night because it also is covered by ice. The Milky Way is actually a ring of ice blocks; pictures that show otherwise have been faked by "reactionary" astronomers. Some of these ice blocks are dragged by thin traces of hydrogen, and they spiral into the Solar System proper. As they pass by the Earth, sunlight glinting off of them makes them seen as meteors, and when one of them falls into the Sun, it causes a sunspot.

The Earth's present-day Moon is the latest of several it has had; the previous one was the Tertiary or Cenozoic Moon. Each one of the previous ones had spiraled in, making various geological strata. The final inspiral of the previous one is remembered in various myths about gods fighting dragons and the world coming to and end -- Goetterdaemmerung and the Book of Revelation. In those final days, that moon pulled up the Earth's oceans into a "girdle tide", and when that moon finally fell onto the Earth, that tide sloshed back, producing Noah's Flood and numerous other legendary floods. The time afterwards was remembered as a time of peace and tranquility, like the story of the Garden of Eden. But our present-day Moon got captured, ending this time; its capture also sank Atlantis.

When Hoerbiger was challenged about some numbers not working out, this engineer would respond "Calculation will always lead you astray". And he once wrote to a critic, "Either you believe in me and learn, or you will be treated as the enemy." His followers started a movement to pressure people into accepting the theory, and some of them heckled astronomers' meetings with "Out with astronomical orthodoxy! Give us Hoerbiger!"

As the Nazis came to power in Germany, the Hoerbigerites decided to tag along, saying things like "Our Nordic ancestors grew strong in ice and
snow; belief in the Cosmic Ice is consequently the natural heritage of
Nordic Man." Eventually, the Nazi leadership had to issue an official statement that one could be a good Nazi without believing in the Cosmic Ice Theory.

At the end of WWII, Hoerbigerism dropped out of sight for a while, but resurfaced for a few decades afterwards. However, if there is any organization of Hoerbigerites still present, it has no online presence that I have been able to discover.

Hoerbigerites could easily claim the sort of vindication that Velikovskians have claimed, by pointing to the abundance of ice in the outer Solar System, though none seem to have done so.

[emphryio]

That clip is great. Do you know of any links for it?
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-buzzkill-video.realvideo
Seems like quite an asshole.

[Dark Knight Bob]

Paull Brodeur (http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=paul+brodeur&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official)

Over a course of 18 years he pretty much single handedly managed to convince himself and the nation that EMF radiation from power lines was a direct link in causing cancer (by thinking. "power lines + people with cancer = link).

Every scientific paper published falsifiying this claim was put down by him as "the government covering things up". He basically approached with the idea of 'who got something to hide' rather than 'is this idea true or not'

Other people have made more outrageous claims, such as infinite energy devices and managed to swindle a few million out of nieve investors.

This guy however managed to suck up around $25 billion of public money through research into consistantly trying to disprove the link between cancer and power lines. Even right at the begining scientists could tell you that there wouldn't be a link but he consistently pressured politicians through pulic scare tactics and misguidance to KEEP looking into it 'just in case' (think of the children!!!)

Other claims have more followers such as UFO's etc. But this guy single handedly kept this idea alive for such a long time and wasted so much money when it could have been spent on research into finding the real causes of canacer.

[emphryio]

25 billion? Seems like a lot for something that would only require some epidemiology studies.

[Dark Knight Bob]

25 billion? Seems like a lot for something that would only require some epidemiology studies.

Try 18 years worth of studies. The last few going to such ridiculous lengths to disprove a link it would be like digging up every fossil that ever there was slapping a creationist round the face with them and then having them say "oh but there must be a few fossils left that disprove evolution". It's THAT ridiculous.

[Gliptic]

I'm not sure who made this site (http://www.beyond-science.com/), but I bet he isn't perfectly sane.

[Will I Am]

A quick google search on Heaviside and relativity doesn't show any pages claiming that Heaviside anticipated E=mc^2.

I always love the use of the word “claim�.

Nor does a quick search on Google show that the Wright Brothers weren’t the first to fly. Which they weren’t. 80% of Science and technology popular attributions are wrong.

For example:

Heaviside edit: I see that this page shows Heaviside came up with the equation E = (3/4)mc^2 in 1889 (equation 23.44 on that page).

It’s a “rigorous mathematical proof� that E=MC (squared). (“Electromagnetic Theory Vol. 4 (I think). 1890.

(Also “invented� operational calculus, another crackpot idea that’s made it into common modern usage. “What, math without operators? LOL�).

Margulis It's not unusual for scientists to scoff at each other's theories, but was she really considered a "crackpot" by most of her peers?

How many times does one have to be laughed out of a room (by ‘peers’) to be considered a crackpot?


Wegener But it's not accurate to say Wegener proposed the idea of tectonic plates…

I was being concise. Otherwise no one would have a clue what I was talking about.

However, going back to the topic:

But I am right about Wegener, Margulis, and Heaviside, and hundreds like them. Geology. Biology, Physics – merely random examples from a rich field of ridiculed truth-finders.

Tribal giggle-suppression is just unscientific. And often has a nasty taste to it.

[xouper]

Many of my favorite crackpots have already been mentioned, but I can add some more to the pile:

Shaini Goodwin, aka Dove of Oneness (previously Dove of Omega), author of an overwhelming amount of NESARA nonsense and alleged perpetuator of the Omega financial scam.


her website:
http://www.nesara.us/pages/home.html


A journalist's investigation:
http://www.rickross.com/reference/dove/dove1.html


Another critical perspective:
http://www.quatloos.com/NESARA.htm


Jose Arguelles, crank Mayanologist, inventor of a pseudo-Mayan calendar that he is trying to get the world to adopt, and claims to be the reincarnation of some famous Mayan.
http://www.earthportals.com/Portal_Messenger/arguelles.html


Gary Schwartz, PhD, and the Human Energy Systems Laboratory at the University of Arizona.
http://veritas.arizona.edu/


Allison DuBois, alleged psychic who claims to have helped police solve crimes and whom the TV show Medium is based on.
http://www.allisondubois.com/friends.html


The three crackpots who created Indigo - the Movie and invented World Indigo Day.
http://www.indigothemovie.com/


Michael Drosnin, author of The Bible Code.
http://skepdic.com/bibcode.html


Edgar Cayce.
http://www.edgarcayce.org/

Some honorable mentions:

Gregg Braden, author of several crackpot books full of pseudoscience.
http://www.greggbraden.com/


Richard Noone, author of the book 5/5/2000 Ice: the Ultimate Disaster.
http://www.csicop.org/articles/20000416-doomsday/


Lyall Watson, author and inventor of the Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon.
http://skepdic.com/monkey.html


Sheldan Nidle, author, channeler of aliens from the Galactic Empire, and whose channeled prediction of a Photon Belt never happened.
http://www.paoweb.com/


Lee Carroll, author and channeler of Kryon.
http://www.kryon.com/


Fred Sterling, channeler of Kirael, not to be confused with the Raelians.
http://www.kirael.com/


Jane Roberts, author and channeler of Seth.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Jane_Roberts


Peter Plichta, PhD, author of the narcissistic crackpot book God's Secret Formula.
http://www.plichta.de/english/english.php?b_5

I have more, but that will do for now, I think.

[Norseman]

Ie feil stoopedir for hayveig ried theis threid. Mi brein harts naew. Ii wull tri rebuut brien. *reboot* I still feel unusually stupid. What has this thread done to my pretty brain? My beautiful brain has been contaminated by the unmitigated wall of stupid! Good God my brain is seeping into the abyss of stupidity perpetuated by this thread! Farewell, I will leave and hopefully avoid losing any more brain cells to the end of reading this thread.

Oh, and check out L. Ron Hubbard/Scientology. They're some of the more looney cultists I know of (e.g. they believe everything is made of "thatan" or souls, as in individual atoms are souls etc.).

[xouper]

Speaking of Allison DuBois, here is an example of her crankery:

I want to address an issue that comes up from time to time. There is an irritating magician offering $1 million to anyone that can prove to him that there is anything paranormal. My response to this is there is a reason that mediums do not take him up on his challenge. The mediums I know, myself included, do not believe this man to be honorable. Not only is he an unintelligent skeptic, he would be an out of work skeptic if somebody were to prove this to him. Therefore, he will never come to the conclusion that any medium has met his standards. If he is so interested in million dollar challenges, maybe he should take Victor Zammit up on his. It would be appreciated if he would direct his anger, whining and bullying towards a therapist. FYI any e-mail concerning him will be rightfully deleted.
Of course, none of her comments about Randi would ever apply to Zammit. :eek:

[Bob K]

... a quick search on Google show[s] that the Wright Brothers weren’t the first to fly. Which they weren’t.

Would you enlighten us inre who was the first human/who were the first humans to fly?

And could you stick with the definition of fly/flying to mean to fly/flying under power, including take-offs, which is what the Wrights did, as opposed to to fly/flying without power, a.k.a., gliding?

[Herman Hedning]

Would you enlighten us inre who was the first human/who were the first humans to fly?

And could you stick with the definition of fly/flying to mean to fly/flying under power, including take-offs, which is what the Wrights did, as opposed to to fly/flying without power, a.k.a., gliding?
Well, you could try the search for yourself, i.e. http://www.google.com/search?q=first%20powered%20flight. Assuming you also mean heavier-than-air this will show the New Zealander Richard Pearse (http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/pearse1.html) to be the first, making his first flight on March 31, 1902, almost two years before the Wright brothers.

[Jesse]

edit: I see that this page shows Heaviside came up with the equation E = (3/4)mc^2 in 1889 (equation 23.44 on that page).

It’s a “rigorous mathematical proof� that E=MC (squared). (“Electromagnetic Theory Vol. 4 (I think). 1890. The page I linked to (http://users.net.yu/~mrp/chapter23.html) gives a reference for his E=(3/4)mc^2 derivation: it was in "Philosophical Magazine, 27, 324-339, 1889." And as I said in my last post, the page's description of his derivation indicated that (in my words) "the meaning of this equation seems to have been quite different from what Einstein meant by E=mc^2: from what I could gather, the equation was just supposed to describe the energy contained in the electromagnetic field of a moving electron, where the electron was modeled as a small charged sphere of finite radius."

So, have you actually read this paper by Heaviside from 1890 where you think he derived E=mc^2? Can you explain his derivation, what assumptions he made, what situations the equation was supposed to apply to, and so forth? If not, can you at least name a reference that backs up your claim that he derived this equation in 1890? (Also “invented� operational calculus, another crackpot idea that’s made it into common modern usage. “What, math without operators? LOL�). Please provide some evidence that operational calculus was ever considered a "crackpot idea" by a significant number of of mathematicians. Margulis It's not unusual for scientists to scoff at each other's theories, but was she really considered a "crackpot" by most of her peers?

How many times does one have to be laughed out of a room (by ‘peers’) to be considered a crackpot? What does "laughed out of a room" mean? I assume there wasn't some actual room where everyone laughed at her, that you're just using a colorful metaphor here, but if so what specific incidents or quotes is it supposed to be a metaphor for? Like I said, I don't believe that her peers considered the symbiosis idea to be a crackpot theory, just an implausible one that was very likely to be wrong. But I am right about Wegener, Margulis, and Heaviside, and hundreds like them. Geology. Biology, Physics – merely random examples from a rich field of ridiculed truth-finders. I say you're wrong, that in fact virtually all science builds on previous discoveries, while the ideas labeled "crackpot" are ones that completely contradict established findings, and thus that there have been virtually no examples where a theory considered crackpot later won acceptance.

[shieldforyoureyes]

Wilhelm Reich: up-and-coming protege of Freud, did some interesting
work in psychology, then suddenly decided that he was a physicist,
and discovered "orgone energy" the fundamental "life energy"
of the universe.
(I'm disappointed that no one has mentioned my parody kook
site. We tend to get mentioned alongside the Time Cube guy.)

[Schneibster]

Xouper, nice.

Edgar Cayce.
http://www.edgarcayce.org/[/list]
Oh, yeah, I forgot about Mr. Cayce. How about Nostradamus?

[exile]

Von Daniken. I was actually convinced by this guy at one time, which
makes me less inclined to condemn the followers of these nutcases. They can be very persuasive.

[whichphilosophy]

Von Daniken. I was actually convinced by this guy at one time, which
makes me less inclined to condemn the followers of these nutcases. They can be very persuasive.

He still seems to get some support. Some of his ideas are probarby circumstantial but were interesting a few years ago at the height of his popularity. I wasn't able to decide whether or not to believe there was enough evidence.

[Bob K]

Von Daniken. I was actually convinced by this guy at one time, which makes me less inclined to condemn the followers of these nutcases. They can be very persuasive.

A book trashed VD's claims: Crash Go The Chariots.

For example, Thor Heyerdahl's book Aku Aku describes the quarrying and cutting of the statutes and their hats [round stones of red color which were placed atop the statues] found on Easter Island, and how gangs of men by sheer manpower and simple engineering were able to move the statues and raise them.

The quarry still has numerous statues in various stages of being quarried and cut, and stone cutting tools left where they fell years ago, a set of facts which VD should have noted if ever he had truly visited Easter Island, and which eliminate the necessity for gods to have quarried/cut/moved/raised the statutes/hats.

Heyerdahl got his info from the "mayor" of Easter Island, whose ancestors passed on the information from father to son. The "mayor" organized a work crew and showed how the cutting/moving/etc. was done.

[fragment]

Millenium Twain
http://unamity.com/YoniStar/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheMessiah/
http://fireships.com/
In 1994 when I discovered, revealed, created, proved the superluminal ring (torus, donut) lightwave structure of the proton -- it certainly didn't occur too me then that I would be calling her 'Mother Proton'

[xouper]

fragment: Millenium Twain
That's one I hadn't seen before. Definitely a crank.

Reminds me of another crank I forgot to mention previously, Dan Winter, whose original website was sued out of existence.

http://www.danwinter.com/

Some of Dan Winter's "sacred geometry" nonsense has been mirrored in various places, though. Sadly, the vast crankery of his original website seems gone forever.

[Dwight]

I'll give you someone a lot closer to home that more folks listen to than all of the above crackpots combined. Rush Limbaugh. Not as exotic as some of the entries so far, but when that guy opens his mouth about anything to do with science, I always cringe. I would say he is more dangerous simply because his audience is so large and his word is often taken seriously by his listeners. :down:

We must hope that his oxycontin affectation becomes his priority. His followers will forgive him any hypocrisy, inlcuding their own.

[Psychobunny56]

How about the guy who taught, among other questionable ideas, that boys believe their fathers cut off their mothers' penises and fear that they will do same to them? Freud.

A particularly effective crackpot given that his spell is still intellectually and culturally formative.
Just Freud? How about the rest of the psychoanalysts? Womb envy is every bit as offensive and demeaning as penis envy. Plus it's pseudoscientific crap.

[Hydra009]

Right now, my favorite nut is Kent Hovind.

[Rymmie1981]

And you all have forgotten the crackpot of all crackpots...Benny Hinn. His particular brand of snake oil is some combination of Christianity, mysticism, and faith-healing. He draws quite the crowd too.

[Leelee]

My favorite is Socrates from Theologyweb

[doc_gnosis]

DD Palmer, BJ Palmer, and Daniel David Palmer the famed discoverers of Chiropractic. and all the quacks that came after

Here are some chiropractic philosophy quotes...and this comes from a clinical manual. I present "The Priniciples of Chiorpractic" as currently taught at many Chiropractic institutions

No. 1 The major premise
A Universal intelligence is in all matter and continually gives to it all its properties and actions, thus maintaining it in existence

No. 2 The Chiropractic meaning of life
The expression fo this intelligence through matter is the chiropractic meaning of life

No. 3 The Union of Intelligence and Matter.
Life is necessarily the union of intelligence and matter.

No.4 The triune of Life.
Life is a triunity having three necessary united factors, namely, Intelligence, Force and Matter.

No. 5 The perfection of the Triune.
In order to have 100% Life, there must be 100% Intelligence, 100% Force, 100% Matter.

No. 6 The Principle of Time
There is no process that does not require time.

No. 7 The Amount of Intelligence in Matter.
The amount of intelligence for any given amount o fmatter is 100%, and is always proportional to its reuqirements.

No. 8 The Function of Intelligence.
The function of intelligence is to create Force.

No. 9 The amount of force created by Intelligence
The amount of force created by intelligence is always 100%

No. 10 The Function of Force
The function of force is to unite intelligence adn matter.

No. 11. The Character fo Univeral Forces.
The forces of Universal Intelligence are manifested by physical laws; are unswerving and unadapted, and have no solicitude for the structures in which they work.

No. 12 Interference with Transmission fo Universal Intelligence.
There can be interference with transmissino of universal forces.

No. 13. The Function of Matter.
The function of matter is to express force.

No. 14 Universal Life.
Force is manifested by motion in matter, all mater has motion. Therefore, there is universal life in all matter.

No. 15 No motion without the Effort of Force.
Matter can have no motion without the application of force by intelligence.

No. 16 Intelligence in both Organic and inorganic Matter.
Universal Intelligence gives force to both organic and inorganic matter.

No. 17 Cause and Effect.
Every effect has a cause adn every cause has effects.

No. 18 Evidence of Life.
The signs of life are evidence of the intelligence of life.

No. 19 Organic Matter.
The material of the body of a "living thing" is organized matter.

No. 20 Innate Intelligence.
A "living thing" has an inborn intelligence within its body, called Innate Intelligence.

No. 21 The Mission of Innate Intelligence.
The mission of Innate Intelligence is to maintain the material of the body of a "living thing" in active organization.

No. 22 The Amount of Innate Intelligence.
There is 100% of Innate Intelligence in every "living thing" the requisite amount proportional to its organization.

No. 23 The Function of Innate Intelligence.
The function fo Innate Intelligence is to adapt universal forces and matter for use in the body, so that all parts of the body will have co-ordinated action for mutual benefits.

No. 24 The Limits of Adaptation
Innate Intelligence adapts forces and matter for the body as long as it can do so without breaking a universal law, or Innate Intelligence is limited by the limitations of matter.

No. 25. The Character of Innate Intelligence.
The forces of Innate Intelligence never injure or destroy teh structures in which they work.

No. 26 Comparison of Universal and Innate Forces.
In order to carry on the universal cycle of life. Universal forces are destructinve, and Innate forces constructive, as regards structural matter.

No. 27 The Normality of Innate INtelligence.
Innate Intelligence is always normal and its function is always normal

No. 28 The Conductors of Innate Intelligence.
The forces of Innate Intelligence operate through or over the nervous system in animal bodies.

No. 29 Interference with Transmission fo Innate Forces.
There can be interference with teh transmission of INnate forces.

No 30. The Cause of Dis-ease. Interference with the transmission of Innate forces causes incoordination of dis-ease.

No. 31 Subluxations
Interference with transmission in teh body is always directly or indirectly due to subluxations in teh spinal column.

No. 32 The Principle of Coordination
Coordination is the principle of harmonious action of all the parts of an organism, in fulfilling thier offices and purposes.

No. 33. The Law of Demand and Supply.
The Law of Demand and Supply is existent in teh body in its ideal state; wherein the "clearing house" is the brain Innate the virtuous "banker" brains cells "clerks," and nerve cells "messengers"

The Palmers created the profession spouting this mumbo jumbo and have actually become a tremendous provider of Quack healthcare worldwide. They are the greatest of all crackpots.

[Eldarion Lathria]

DD Palmer, BJ Palmer, and Daniel David Palmer the famed discoverers of Chiropractic. and all the quacks that came after

Here are some chiropractic philosophy quotes...and this comes from a clinical manual. I present "The Priniciples of Chiorpractic" as currently taught at many Chiropractic institutions

No. 1 The major premise
A Universal intelligence is in all matter and continually gives to it all its properties and actions, thus maintaining it in existence

No. 2 The Chiropractic meaning of life
The expression fo this intelligence through matter is the chiropractic meaning of life

No. 3 The Union of Intelligence and Matter.
Life is necessarily the union of intelligence and matter.

No.4 The triune of Life.
Life is a triunity having three necessary united factors, namely, Intelligence, Force and Matter.

No. 5 The perfection of the Triune.
In order to have 100% Life, there must be 100% Intelligence, 100% Force, 100% Matter.

No. 6 The Principle of Time
There is no process that does not require time.

No. 7 The Amount of Intelligence in Matter.
The amount of intelligence for any given amount o fmatter is 100%, and is always proportional to its reuqirements.

No. 8 The Function of Intelligence.
The function of intelligence is to create Force.

No. 9 The amount of force created by Intelligence
The amount of force created by intelligence is always 100%

No. 10 The Function of Force
The function of force is to unite intelligence adn matter.

No. 11. The Character fo Univeral Forces.
The forces of Universal Intelligence are manifested by physical laws; are unswerving and unadapted, and have no solicitude for the structures in which they work.

No. 12 Interference with Transmission fo Universal Intelligence.
There can be interference with transmissino of universal forces.

No. 13. The Function of Matter.
The function of matter is to express force.

No. 14 Universal Life.
Force is manifested by motion in matter, all mater has motion. Therefore, there is universal life in all matter.

No. 15 No motion without the Effort of Force.
Matter can have no motion without the application of force by intelligence.

No. 16 Intelligence in both Organic and inorganic Matter.
Universal Intelligence gives force to both organic and inorganic matter.

No. 17 Cause and Effect.
Every effect has a cause adn every cause has effects.

No. 18 Evidence of Life.
The signs of life are evidence of the intelligence of life.

No. 19 Organic Matter.
The material of the body of a "living thing" is organized matter.

No. 20 Innate Intelligence.
A "living thing" has an inborn intelligence within its body, called Innate Intelligence.

No. 21 The Mission of Innate Intelligence.
The mission of Innate Intelligence is to maintain the material of the body of a "living thing" in active organization.

No. 22 The Amount of Innate Intelligence.
There is 100% of Innate Intelligence in every "living thing" the requisite amount proportional to its organization.

No. 23 The Function of Innate Intelligence.
The function fo Innate Intelligence is to adapt universal forces and matter for use in the body, so that all parts of the body will have co-ordinated action for mutual benefits.

No. 24 The Limits of Adaptation
Innate Intelligence adapts forces and matter for the body as long as it can do so without breaking a universal law, or Innate Intelligence is limited by the limitations of matter.

No. 25. The Character of Innate Intelligence.
The forces of Innate Intelligence never injure or destroy teh structures in which they work.

No. 26 Comparison of Universal and Innate Forces.
In order to carry on the universal cycle of life. Universal forces are destructinve, and Innate forces constructive, as regards structural matter.

No. 27 The Normality of Innate INtelligence.
Innate Intelligence is always normal and its function is always normal

No. 28 The Conductors of Innate Intelligence.
The forces of Innate Intelligence operate through or over the nervous system in animal bodies.

No. 29 Interference with Transmission fo Innate Forces.
There can be interference with teh transmission of INnate forces.

No 30. The Cause of Dis-ease. Interference with the transmission of Innate forces causes incoordination of dis-ease.

No. 31 Subluxations
Interference with transmission in teh body is always directly or indirectly due to subluxations in teh spinal column.

No. 32 The Principle of Coordination
Coordination is the principle of harmonious action of all the parts of an organism, in fulfilling thier offices and purposes.

No. 33. The Law of Demand and Supply.
The Law of Demand and Supply is existent in teh body in its ideal state; wherein the "clearing house" is the brain Innate the virtuous "banker" brains cells "clerks," and nerve cells "messengers"

The Palmers created the profession spouting this mumbo jumbo and have actually become a tremendous provider of Quack healthcare worldwide. They are the greatest of all crackpots.

Many if not most modern chiroquactors do without the mystical garbage of Palmer's "Laws". Most do not claim that chiroquactic will cure all diseases. But chiroquactic is still dubious.

Eldarion Lathria

[whichphilosophy]

DD Palmer, BJ Palmer, and Daniel David Palmer the famed discoverers of Chiropractic. and all the quacks that came after

Here are some chiropractic philosophy quotes...and this comes from a clinical manual. I present "The Priniciples of Chiorpractic" as currently taught at many Chiropractic institutions

No. 1 The major premise
A Universal intelligence is in all matter and continually gives to it all its properties and actions, thus maintaining it in existence

No. 2 The Chiropractic meaning of life
The expression fo this intelligence through matter is the chiropractic meaning of life

No. 3 The Union of Intelligence and Matter.
Life is necessarily the union of intelligence and matter.

No.4 The triune of Life.
Life is a triunity having three necessary united factors, namely, Intelligence, Force and Matter.

No. 5 The perfection of the Triune.
In order to have 100% Life, there must be 100% Intelligence, 100% Force, 100% Matter.

No. 6 The Principle of Time
There is no process that does not require time.

No. 7 The Amount of Intelligence in Matter.
The amount of intelligence for any given amount o fmatter is 100%, and is always proportional to its reuqirements.

No. 8 The Function of Intelligence.
The function of intelligence is to create Force.

No. 9 The amount of force created by Intelligence
The amount of force created by intelligence is always 100%

No. 10 The Function of Force
The function of force is to unite intelligence adn matter.

No. 11. The Character fo Univeral Forces.
The forces of Universal Intelligence are manifested by physical laws; are unswerving and unadapted, and have no solicitude for the structures in which they work.

No. 12 Interference with Transmission fo Universal Intelligence.
There can be interference with transmissino of universal forces.

No. 13. The Function of Matter.
The function of matter is to express force.

No. 14 Universal Life.
Force is manifested by motion in matter, all mater has motion. Therefore, there is universal life in all matter.

No. 15 No motion without the Effort of Force.
Matter can have no motion without the application of force by intelligence.

No. 16 Intelligence in both Organic and inorganic Matter.
Universal Intelligence gives force to both organic and inorganic matter.

No. 17 Cause and Effect.
Every effect has a cause adn every cause has effects.

No. 18 Evidence of Life.
The signs of life are evidence of the intelligence of life.

No. 19 Organic Matter.
The material of the body of a "living thing" is organized matter.

No. 20 Innate Intelligence.
A "living thing" has an inborn intelligence within its body, called Innate Intelligence.

No. 21 The Mission of Innate Intelligence.
The mission of Innate Intelligence is to maintain the material of the body of a "living thing" in active organization.

No. 22 The Amount of Innate Intelligence.
There is 100% of Innate Intelligence in every "living thing" the requisite amount proportional to its organization.

No. 23 The Function of Innate Intelligence.
The function fo Innate Intelligence is to adapt universal forces and matter for use in the body, so that all parts of the body will have co-ordinated action for mutual benefits.

No. 24 The Limits of Adaptation
Innate Intelligence adapts forces and matter for the body as long as it can do so without breaking a universal law, or Innate Intelligence is limited by the limitations of matter.

No. 25. The Character of Innate Intelligence.
The forces of Innate Intelligence never injure or destroy teh structures in which they work.

No. 26 Comparison of Universal and Innate Forces.
In order to carry on the universal cycle of life. Universal forces are destructinve, and Innate forces constructive, as regards structural matter.

No. 27 The Normality of Innate INtelligence.
Innate Intelligence is always normal and its function is always normal

No. 28 The Conductors of Innate Intelligence.
The forces of Innate Intelligence operate through or over the nervous system in animal bodies.

No. 29 Interference with Transmission fo Innate Forces.
There can be interference with teh transmission of INnate forces.

No 30. The Cause of Dis-ease. Interference with the transmission of Innate forces causes incoordination of dis-ease.

No. 31 Subluxations
Interference with transmission in teh body is always directly or indirectly due to subluxations in teh spinal column.

No. 32 The Principle of Coordination
Coordination is the principle of harmonious action of all the parts of an organism, in fulfilling thier offices and purposes.

No. 33. The Law of Demand and Supply.
The Law of Demand and Supply is existent in teh body in its ideal state; wherein the "clearing house" is the brain Innate the virtuous "banker" brains cells "clerks," and nerve cells "messengers"

The Palmers created the profession spouting this mumbo jumbo and have actually become a tremendous provider of Quack healthcare worldwide. They are the greatest of all crackpots.

When the AMA tried to suggest Chiropractors as quacks they received a smacking in the courts and punitive damages. This therefore gives a choice of whether or not to be given drugs or seek another solution.

[the hunt]

Wilhelm Reich: up-and-coming protege of Freud, did some interesting
work in psychology, then suddenly decided that he was a physicist,
and discovered "orgone energy" the fundamental "life energy"
of the universe.
(I'm disappointed that no one has mentioned my parody kook
site. We tend to get mentioned alongside the Time Cube guy.)

Wow! If the website you mentioned is the Walton cube, then I must tell you I found it to be most amusing.
If not,then which one is it?
As I think there are few other cube humorous sites on the web.

[Will I Am]

Actually, in the field, it’s common knowledge.




The page I linked to gives a reference for his E=(3/4)mc^2 derivation: it was in "Philosophical Magazine, 27, 324-339, 1889."

Yes. Close enough.


Would you enlighten us inre who was the first human/who were the first humans to fly?

Hmm. There are three verified candidates. You mean you don’t know?

fly/flying without power, a.k.a., gliding?

Yes, of course. I’m not an idiot (in that way).



If not, can you at east name a reference that backs up your claim that he derived this equation in 1890?

Please describe the sort of “reference� that will satisify you, seeing as you can discount the primary sources.

Someone “important�, perhaps? How important? If scientific journals do not count?

(I still enjoy the use of the word “claim� to discredit a view that is not your own.)




Please provide some evidence that operational calculus was ever considered a "crackpot idea" by a significant number of of mathematicians

It was a minor scandal, at the time. Purists were unable to prove that Heaviside was justified in his theory. He was.

Do I want to spend a lot of time, trying to convince, you? Already have. (Not? I don’t care).

[Jesse]

If not, can you at east name a reference that backs up your claim that he derived this equation in 1890?

Please describe the sort of “reference� that will satisify you, seeing as you can discount the primary sources.

Someone “important�, perhaps? How important? If scientific journals do not count? It was a two-part question, you snipped the part before "if not". Here was my full question: So, have you actually read this paper by Heaviside from 1890 where you think he derived E=mc^2? Can you explain his derivation, what assumptions he made, what situations the equation was supposed to apply to, and so forth? If not, can you at least name a reference that backs up your claim that he derived this equation in 1890? If you have actually read this primary source, then of course I wouldn't discount that--but if so, you should be able to answer those first questions. If you haven't read the primary source, then presumably you must have read some other source which said the derivation could be found there, hence my question about whether you could provide such a reference. (I still enjoy the use of the word “claim� to discredit a view that is not your own.) I'm not trying to discredit any "views", you have made a factual statement which sounds dubious to me so I'm asking you to provide some evidence that the factual statement is correct. If you haven't read the original paper recently, then your memory could be wrong, and if you haven't read the original paper at all, then whatever source told you the derivation could be found there might be wrong. Please provide some evidence that operational calculus was ever considered a "crackpot idea" by a significant number of of mathematicians

It was a minor scandal, at the time. Purists were unable to prove that Heaviside was justified in his theory. He was. I asked for evidence, a mere assertion on your part doesn't qualify--again, I'm asking for a source or sources that will verify this, I'm not inclined to just take your word for it.

[Obloquium]

Hal Puthoff.

[Corona688]

Tribal giggle-suppression is just unscientific. And often has a nasty taste to it. Who's suppressing? We're certainly not forcibly shutting them down, nor are we trying to pretend they don't exist -- in fact we're linking to them.

[Will I Am]

If you have actually read this primary source, then of course I wouldn't discount that--

No, you certainly would. Easy to do. “Nope, I don’t believe it.� Then you’d lay on further “have you�… Or “Well, I don’t….� “who else�…

If you’ve read it, and understand it, then you have.


I'm asking you to provide some evidence that the factual statement is correct. And I’ve done that, down to the page number.

(I said) It was a minor scandal, at the time. Purists were unable to prove that Heaviside was justified in his theory. He was.

I asked for evidence, a mere assertion on your part doesn't qualify- … qualify for what? Ask me if what you say, “qualifies�…

-again, I'm asking for a source or sources that will verify this, I'm not inclined to just take your word for it.

You can take my word for it or not. You can read my reference, or not. You can find out for yourself, or not.

You’re entitled to not know stuff. There's nothing wrong with that.

Do I feel inclined to spend two hours further referencing to you? Nope. Do I care, if you care?

But note you did find, when you looked, the original reference I made in passing. (Which I would never have bothered to find for you). Thanks. Good for you. Maybe what I’m sure is genuine curiosity can be similarly satisfied by equally diligent searching.

[Will I Am]

Corona688, I'm guessing that you see no significance in your use of the term "we".

[Jesse]

If you have actually read this primary source, then of course I wouldn't discount that--

No, you certainly would. Easy to do. “Nope, I don’t believe it.� Then you’d lay on further “have you�… Or “Well, I don’t….� “who else�…

If you’ve read it, and understand it, then you have. Can you at least answer the question of whether you have read this reference and verified that it contains a derivation of E=mc^2? I promise that you are wrong that I would discount this if you say you have. (I said) It was a minor scandal, at the time. Purists were unable to prove that Heaviside was justified in his theory. He was.

I asked for evidence, a mere assertion on your part