We all see them, all over the place. We see them advertised in the corners of Myspace and Facebook, we see them when applying for a job at the local supermarket, we see them... well... just google it.
Personality tests. If you're like me, just putting those two words together makes you want to kill a kitten... or worse. And if you're like me, you'll be either surprised or disgusted when I tell you that I've found one that actually doesn't suck.
Gamers everywhere, whether they know it or not, are all being affected by the Bartle Test of Gamer Psychology. I have no doubt that my personal digital enslaver, World of Warcraft, is not only aware of this test, but uses it constantly. It's no question why WoW is the unrivaled Best MMORPG in the whole world; it caters to EVERYONE.
The Bartle Test places gamer personalities into four catagories: Killer, Achiever, Social, and Explorer. Here are my results:
Explorer: 93%
Social: 60%
Killer: 33%
Achiever: 13%
And, in a way, I'm not surprised at all. My favorite part of RTS's is the beginning, when you're scouting out the unfamiliar terrain (and this test now explains to me why I hate non-random maps in RTS's, too). I love exploring caves and stuff in WoW, and I left Guild Wars (after playing over 400 hours, according to Xfire) because, once I went to WoW, I couldn't stand being unable to swim in the rivers or jump on the boxes you see in GW.
As you'll remember from my other post on WoW, I get easily mistaken for a female for how desperately social I am. I enjoy chatting with guild members, I enjoy raiding with guild members, I enjoy exploring with guild members, and, above all, I enjoy doing INSTANCE DUNGEONS with guild members.
Instance dungeons, in WoW, are just the most amazing thing I've ever done in a video game. The scenery is always just amazing and exotic, they're full of little places to explore, pools to dive to the bottom of, et cetera, and you're tackling unbeatable bosses and monsters together, with your teammates.
Multiplayer has always been the most important part of my gaming enjoyment. To me, straight-up single player games are about as enjoyable as straight-to-dvd Disney sequels; they're just embarrassing and shallow attempts at awesomeness.
A big portion of my pre-WoW gaming life has always sounded something like this:
Me: Hey, everyone, wanna do something?
All my siblings: Like what?
Me: Like, I dunno, Warcraft III, Starcraft... Halo?
All my siblings: Maybe not?
Me: AAAH! How can you guys just like playing those boring games by yourself?!
All my siblings: Dude, they're not boring. Ur FACE is boring!
And then it would always degenerate into me bashing Final Fantasy, since that's what my siblings were especially into at the time. In retrospect, I have to give credit to Final Fantasy for the one thing they really do right: they make some smexy females.
Anyway, I'm not the only one in my family that has taken the Bartle Test. My sister is hardcore Social with a secondary in Achiever, while both my brothers are Killer/Achievers with Explorer and Social at, like, 15%... which means I can chat with my sister on Yahoo Messenger really well, and can't (game-wise) relate to my brothers at all.
But now that I've found World of Warcraft (my closest buddy refers to it as "digital crack"), I can sleep easy at night, knowing I've found my personal gaming home, speaking with guild mates in our own private channel while picking flowers in the middle of nowhere.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Committing the most heinous of crimes.
So, for the lulz, I started a Warlock on World of Warcraft.
(If you've seen the South Park Episode, you'll notice that she's in Goldshire, the only location shown in the episode)
Yes, I'm one of those creepy guys who always makes female characters. I toyed with the idea of making an Orc Warrior named something non-threatening like "Weelk", but just couldn't get past level 8 for one debilitating reason:
When I get a new piece of armor, I don't want to see what it looks like on an orc. And, if you're a guy, you'll understand that completely.
This character, of course, is only level 5 now, and hardly representative of my incredible and awe-inspiring WoW skillz. My main is a level 41 Draenei Shaman (Resto, btw, for all you WoW peeps out there).
Yes, she's blue. Yes, she's got horns on her head. Yes, she's got freaky tentacle things coming down her neck. (She has, hoofs, too, though you can't see them)
And she's AWESOME!!!
But there is one problem with making only female characters. And, actually, once you get used to it, it isn't really much of a problem. It just means you have to deal with some REALLY weird comments every now and then.
People can mistake you for a girl in real life. While this may seem bad, there are actually some things that are really good about it. For example:
1) People are more likely to give you stuff if you ask for it.
2) People will give you money of you need it.
3) People are more likely to help you out questing
4) People are more likely to add you to their party
Now... there are some really frustrating things that happen, too, for the same reason that the good things happen. The most frustrating of which gives me a new empathy for the females of the world.
They will hit on you. It's freaking annoying.
Yes, I'm grateful that you let me borrow some gold. No, I will not be your WoW gf. I'll pay you back the 3 silver if you really needed that kind of compensation for your generosity.
Now, if I decided to name my characters something like "Hordekiller", "Iamtehshtz", or "Papajohn", no one would hit on me... but I don't. I hate those kinds of names that scream, "I'm a moronic 12 year old!"
Having made dozens of characters before I made my lvl 41 Shaman, I thought, "What if I give myself a really masculine sounding name?"
So I tried that. I'm Vhorke, the lvl 41 Draenei Shaman. Vhorke. VHORKE!!! Does that sound like a name a girl would pick?!
Evidently, the answer is either "yes", or the name doesn't matter. I'm betting the name doesn't matter. I've got a hunch as to what the real problem is.
I use emotes when I write.
Not in my blog, of course, because that would detract from the EPIC SCHOLARLINESS I'm going for. After all, smart people don't use emotes :P
As to how people could confuse emotes with your gender, let's look at the following examples:
Xxsilentdeathxx says: Need help?
Xephe says: Need help? :D
You'll notice that the first guy, Xxsilentdeathxx, is obviously a guy. Everything about it screams "I'm a male". With Xephe, though, you'll be left wondering. Is Xephe a girl? Or is she actually a guy who has to use emotes and effeminate names?
Xephe is actually a guy who has to use emotes and effeminate names. Xephe is my level 5 Warlock you saw at the top of the page. Xephe uses emotes after questions to show that she's smiling while asking it, so she doesn't look demanding or demeaning.
After all, Xxsilentdeathxx could easily be seen as cold and impersonable, whereas Xephe is obviously interested in helping you out, and would be glad to do so.
Also, Xephe uses emotes to show sarcasm when it could easily be take as insulting:
Razamar: So this freaky orc dude was flirting with me in Durotar today.
Xxsilentdeathxx: I'm not surprised
Xephe: I'm not surprised :P
Unless Xxsilentdeathxx had already established that he was prone to responding sarcastically, Razamar might even take that as an insult. Of course, if Xxsilentdeathxx had been in the guild for awhile, Razamar would recognize the implied ":P" after his statement.
But Xephe is obviously being playful, maybe even encouraging Razamar to continue with his experiences in Durotar that day.
Or maybe I'm completely wrong and emotes only make you look like a girl. Who cares? I enjoy the social aspects of WoW, and 12 year olds hitting on me isn't enough to make me start an impersonal Orc Warrior named Xxsilentdeathxx.
(If you've seen the South Park Episode, you'll notice that she's in Goldshire, the only location shown in the episode)
Yes, I'm one of those creepy guys who always makes female characters. I toyed with the idea of making an Orc Warrior named something non-threatening like "Weelk", but just couldn't get past level 8 for one debilitating reason:
When I get a new piece of armor, I don't want to see what it looks like on an orc. And, if you're a guy, you'll understand that completely.
This character, of course, is only level 5 now, and hardly representative of my incredible and awe-inspiring WoW skillz. My main is a level 41 Draenei Shaman (Resto, btw, for all you WoW peeps out there).
Yes, she's blue. Yes, she's got horns on her head. Yes, she's got freaky tentacle things coming down her neck. (She has, hoofs, too, though you can't see them)
And she's AWESOME!!!
But there is one problem with making only female characters. And, actually, once you get used to it, it isn't really much of a problem. It just means you have to deal with some REALLY weird comments every now and then.
People can mistake you for a girl in real life. While this may seem bad, there are actually some things that are really good about it. For example:
1) People are more likely to give you stuff if you ask for it.
2) People will give you money of you need it.
3) People are more likely to help you out questing
4) People are more likely to add you to their party
Now... there are some really frustrating things that happen, too, for the same reason that the good things happen. The most frustrating of which gives me a new empathy for the females of the world.
They will hit on you. It's freaking annoying.
Yes, I'm grateful that you let me borrow some gold. No, I will not be your WoW gf. I'll pay you back the 3 silver if you really needed that kind of compensation for your generosity.
Now, if I decided to name my characters something like "Hordekiller", "Iamtehshtz", or "Papajohn", no one would hit on me... but I don't. I hate those kinds of names that scream, "I'm a moronic 12 year old!"
Having made dozens of characters before I made my lvl 41 Shaman, I thought, "What if I give myself a really masculine sounding name?"
So I tried that. I'm Vhorke, the lvl 41 Draenei Shaman. Vhorke. VHORKE!!! Does that sound like a name a girl would pick?!
Evidently, the answer is either "yes", or the name doesn't matter. I'm betting the name doesn't matter. I've got a hunch as to what the real problem is.
I use emotes when I write.
Not in my blog, of course, because that would detract from the EPIC SCHOLARLINESS I'm going for. After all, smart people don't use emotes :P
As to how people could confuse emotes with your gender, let's look at the following examples:
Xxsilentdeathxx says: Need help?
Xephe says: Need help? :D
You'll notice that the first guy, Xxsilentdeathxx, is obviously a guy. Everything about it screams "I'm a male". With Xephe, though, you'll be left wondering. Is Xephe a girl? Or is she actually a guy who has to use emotes and effeminate names?
Xephe is actually a guy who has to use emotes and effeminate names. Xephe is my level 5 Warlock you saw at the top of the page. Xephe uses emotes after questions to show that she's smiling while asking it, so she doesn't look demanding or demeaning.
After all, Xxsilentdeathxx could easily be seen as cold and impersonable, whereas Xephe is obviously interested in helping you out, and would be glad to do so.
Also, Xephe uses emotes to show sarcasm when it could easily be take as insulting:
Razamar: So this freaky orc dude was flirting with me in Durotar today.
Xxsilentdeathxx: I'm not surprised
Xephe: I'm not surprised :P
Unless Xxsilentdeathxx had already established that he was prone to responding sarcastically, Razamar might even take that as an insult. Of course, if Xxsilentdeathxx had been in the guild for awhile, Razamar would recognize the implied ":P" after his statement.
But Xephe is obviously being playful, maybe even encouraging Razamar to continue with his experiences in Durotar that day.
Or maybe I'm completely wrong and emotes only make you look like a girl. Who cares? I enjoy the social aspects of WoW, and 12 year olds hitting on me isn't enough to make me start an impersonal Orc Warrior named Xxsilentdeathxx.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Churching Adventures! Episode I
I was raised in a Mormon household by Mormon parents. We would go to a Mormon church every single Sunday. Everyone I knew was Mormon... including me.
Yes, I was a Mormon!
A friend of mine was raised as a Christian Scientist. He would go to a Christian Scientist church every single Sunday. But now he doesn't.
"What the hell are Christian Scientists anyway? Are they, like, trying to clone Jesus or something?" I ask him.
And all he says is, "Are Mormons really polygamists? Do they really..." ... and he brings up Magic Underwear. That's, like, all anyone knows about Mormons.
Bunches of wives and Magic Underwear.
The fact is, religious groups are very exclusive. As a Mormon-gone-Atheist, I ONLY know what Mormons think. In fact, I can't really tell you the difference between Evangelical Christians or Baptists or Methodists or Unitarian Universalists, and don't even ask me what the hell it means to be Lutheran. And where does Protestant fit in?
But! That's all about to change. Every Sunday we're going to a different church. Every Sunday we're going to experience all the various flavors religion has to offer...
... and I'm gonna tell you all about it.
Churching Adventures!
So it just so happened that my ex-Christian Scientist friend and I attended the first hour of the three hour nightmare that is the standard Mormon church meeting. To me, it was totally nondescript, but to him it was something quite different.
"Dude, you guys are craaaazy!" he says to me, "You've got all kinds of freaky rituals and there were SO MANY BABIES!!!"
Wow, yeah, I guess there are a bunch of babies in Mormon meetings. I hadn't really noticed. And yeah, I guess there are a bunch of freaky rituals.
But then we got to thinking. What do all the other delusional wackos think? Do they breed like rabbits like the Mormons do?
Unitarian Universalist (UU)
Jesus Count: 0
Friendliness: Intense
Babies?: No
Size: Small
Length: 1 hour
My ex-Christian Scientist friend has only been an ex-Christian Scientist for a couple months and he summed up the UU's pretty succinctly:
"If I had come here two months ago," he said, "there's no way I'd call myself an Atheist now."
They aren't really dogmatic in any way. In fact, they even advertise themselves as a "liberal church", which I'd always figured was an oxymoron.
They never said "Jesus", "Savior", "LORD", or "God" once. At all. Not even a vague allusion to Him. In fact, the only time they ever even referenced the Bible was in a special musical number by one of the members at the end.
If UU's uniformly worship anything, it's Hope, not God, which is perfectly fine with me; Hope actually exists.
So, to a walkthrough of the UU service:
We entered the building and were greeted by three different people, all of whom were very polite. After we explained that we were first-timers, we were given name tags. The music that the pianist was playing before the service started wasn't the boring, monotonous hymns like at the Mormon church, either, but pleasant little classical pieces. This church, we both agreed, was very, very different.
They rang this little gong-thing, shaped like a bowl, three times ("once in honor of those who came before, once in honor of everyone present today, and once in honor of all those who will carry on our living tradition") and everyone quieted down. We were introduced by the people around us as first-timers, along with a few other people as well, and overall felt very welcomed.
The only real ritual they had, as far as rituals go, was really tame. No fancy hand waving or incantations in dead languages, just a bowl of water and a bunch of rocks.
The way the ritual worked was also rather tame, but poignant as well. They read off the births of grandchildren, marriages, deaths, and other events that were occurring in the congregation, and after each one a rock was dropped in the bowl. The ripples in the water symbolized our Hopes and Fears and the rocks already in the bowl symbolized past events in our lives.
They saved a rock, though. And this last rock was the only part of the service that my inner Atheist squirm a little.
The room went quiet and the speaker asked for the names of the "people that [needed] healing". They didn't elaborate, but it's fairly obvious that they didn't mean by the use of medications. It started very quietly and built up to a congregational mumble of names filling the air, but not directed at the speaker. It was like just saying the name is all that mattered.
And you know? It probably was just saying the name that mattered. Maybe it really was just a show of concern or sympathy for the unwell instead of the invocation of the supernatural that I initially interpreted it as.
We sang a lot, but that's probably typical in every religion. My ex-Christian Scientist friend, who has a Bachelor's Degree in Music Composition, is a talented singer, but prefers singing harmonies rather than melodies... which made it interesting listening to him Ad Lib his own tenor part.
At one part, after we had "Reflected, Meditated, Contemplated, or whatever is your practice"ed on what Hope looks like to us, what it means to us, what it represents to us, our eyes were directed towards the back of the room where there were a bunch of boards on the wall labeled "HOPE".
We had been given a pen and a post-it note at the beginning of the service and were now supposed to write on it what Hope meant to us, after which we were to post it on the "Wall of Hope". There was a microphone by the "Wall of Hope", too, so that people could read what they wrote if they wanted to.
When I put my post-it up, I made sure to put it as high as I possibly could on the board. Since the majority of the congregation was over the age of fifty, I figured I'd take advantage of my height while I still had it.
We sang some more, they said some more, and then the service was over. The best part, though, was still to come:
FREE BAGELS AND COFFEE!!!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Yes we can!
If President Obama had been talking about our ability to see the future, he'd have been completely correct. Yes we can! Let me show you how!
But first, a little background. I had the luxury of attending the Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa Regional Gathering (GLAAM RG) just last weekend which means, in short, I was hanging with a bunch of uber smart people and listening to a bunch of fascinating lectures on everything from our relationship to apes to the subject I'm about to get to: Precognitive Remote Viewing.
I'll be covering this in two parts:
I. How to see the future!
II. How those vile Skeptics view precognitive Remote Viewing
I. How to see the future!
Precognitive Remote Viewing is a really fancy way of saying "our ability to see things that are beyond our senses" which, to some degree, we're all capable of doing! But, what's more, this includes our ability to see into the future.
I'm going to give you the "How to develop your Foresight in a few easy steps" session in a little bit (if you're really attuned, you'll already know what they are. After all, you can see the future), but first I need to confound your little brain by saying the word "Quantum" a lot:
You see, we're all Conscious Quantum Mechanical Self-Programmable Computers and our Quantum Consciousness is interconnected with everything in the universe... past, present, and future. To quote Paul Tillich:
We exist in the past, present, and future all at once. In fact, we are Quantum Mechanically connected to everything in the universe. It's no wonder we can "see into the future"; we ARE the future!
Now to the part you've been waiting for. Let's find out what the future holds!
STEP 1: Grab a piece of paper and a pencil.
I'm going to show you two pictures at the end of this blog entry... and only one of them will be the correct one. The thing is, you already know which of the two pictures is the correct one, and you also already know what each picture is going to be since they, like you, exist in the "eternal now". You can already see them. And now we're gonna prove it.
STEP 2: Clear your mind of that pesky intellectualism. Skepticism hinders foresight.
While your mind is clear (it might take up to a half hour to clear it) think about the "Correct Picture". Write down (or draw) whatever impressions you get from your subconscious. They could be geometric shapes, they could be words, etc. Remember, you already know what the "correct picture" is. Take your time, I'm in no hurry.
STEP 3: Really, write down whatever your subconscious prompts you to.
I'm about to reveal the first of the two pictures. Remember this may not be the correct one. Here it is:
PICTURE NUMBER 1:
Here, now look at what you drew/wrote down on your piece of paper. Your subconscious might have picked up the bright blue or the brown. Do you have words like "blue", "like the sky", "large", or "brown"? Did you draw a large triangle? or many little circles or rectangles? While you were viewing this image with your subconscious, you might have reacted to the people instead of pyramid. Do you see any connections between your drawing/writing and this picture?
Maybe not. Maybe you were reacting to the other picture. Remember, we still don't know which one is the "correct picture". Here's the other one:
PICTURE NUMBER 2:
Look at what you wrote down/drew on your paper. Did it, perhaps, include words like "dense", "yellow", "people", "green"? Did you draw a circle, maybe? Perhaps you were subconsciously drawn to the building on the bottom, and so would have written words like "white", "bottom", or maybe "foundational"? Do you see any parallels between what you wrote/drew and this picture?
Now, to reveal what the correct picture is! You're about to learn a lot about yourself in the next few moments!
Here's the correct picture, the one you were trying to see with your psychic abilities:
THE CORRECT PICTURE
And this is the correct one! Now we need to talk about how you determine your psychic potential.
This test will fall into one of three categories (Hit, Miss, and Pass) depending on which picture you were describing. If your paper is describing the Hot Air Balloon picture (the correct one), mark this test as a "Hit". If you were describing the Pyramid (which means that you knew what the correct answer was, but decided to describe the other one, anyway) mark it as a "Miss".
If you were nowhere close to either one, chances are you were distracted while you were trying to view the two pictures with your Quantum Subconscious. Mark it as a "Pass".
II. How those vile Skeptics view Precognitive Remote Viewing
If you actually thought you could see the future (and your fragile self-esteem simply can't handle the grim truth) just stop reading. In fact, go away and die, because Logic is about to EAT YOUR BABIES!!!
This method of testing for Precognitive Remote Viewing actually demonstrates:
1: How amazing the human brain is at seeing similarities.
2: The Texas Sharpshooter logical fallacy.
Q.E.D., new age morons!
But let's not just whisk away an entire industry just with the Texas Sharpshooter fallacy. Let's show you the fruits of these tests:
Person A got:
Hits: 325 Misses: 210 Passes: 391 Total: 926
Person B got:
Hits: 41 Misses: 22 Passes: 39 Total: 102
Person C got:
Hits: 80 Misses: 42 Passes: 76 Total: 198
(I got these figures from the PowerPoint presentation that Marty Rosenblatt, from the P.I.A., used during his lecture.)
let's look at the percentage of total hits, shall we?
Person A: 35%
Person B: 40%
Person C: 40%
Given the high possibility of getting hits anyway, it seems odd that the percentage would still be so low. And, if Precognitive Remote Viewing, like Mr. Rosenblatt was suggesting, is an effective tool our government can use for finding enemy military installations (or we can use with our investments in the stock market), 35%-40% seems a little too low to be reliable.
What I'm about to say, at least to me, proves that this is a complete scam... and the P.I.A obviously knows it.
They DON'T COUNT PASSES!!!
Let's say that again, just to make everything clear:
They DON'T COUNT PASSES when they calculate their accuracy!
This means that the accuracy looks quite a bit better... in fact, too accurate to be a coincidence:
Person A: 61%
Person B: 65%
Person C: 66%
Gee, if they ignored Misses, too, the numbers would be even more astounding.
But first, a little background. I had the luxury of attending the Greater Los Angeles Area Mensa Regional Gathering (GLAAM RG) just last weekend which means, in short, I was hanging with a bunch of uber smart people and listening to a bunch of fascinating lectures on everything from our relationship to apes to the subject I'm about to get to: Precognitive Remote Viewing.
I'll be covering this in two parts:
I. How to see the future!
II. How those vile Skeptics view precognitive Remote Viewing
I. How to see the future!
Precognitive Remote Viewing is a really fancy way of saying "our ability to see things that are beyond our senses" which, to some degree, we're all capable of doing! But, what's more, this includes our ability to see into the future.
I'm going to give you the "How to develop your Foresight in a few easy steps" session in a little bit (if you're really attuned, you'll already know what they are. After all, you can see the future), but first I need to confound your little brain by saying the word "Quantum" a lot:
You see, we're all Conscious Quantum Mechanical Self-Programmable Computers and our Quantum Consciousness is interconnected with everything in the universe... past, present, and future. To quote Paul Tillich:
"We accept the present and do not care that it is gone in the moment that we accept it. We live in it and it is renewed for us in every new 'present'. This is possible because every moment of time reaches into the eternal. It is the eternal that stops the flux of time for us. It is the eternal 'now' which provides for us a temporal 'now'"
We exist in the past, present, and future all at once. In fact, we are Quantum Mechanically connected to everything in the universe. It's no wonder we can "see into the future"; we ARE the future!
Now to the part you've been waiting for. Let's find out what the future holds!
STEP 1: Grab a piece of paper and a pencil.
I'm going to show you two pictures at the end of this blog entry... and only one of them will be the correct one. The thing is, you already know which of the two pictures is the correct one, and you also already know what each picture is going to be since they, like you, exist in the "eternal now". You can already see them. And now we're gonna prove it.
STEP 2: Clear your mind of that pesky intellectualism. Skepticism hinders foresight.
While your mind is clear (it might take up to a half hour to clear it) think about the "Correct Picture". Write down (or draw) whatever impressions you get from your subconscious. They could be geometric shapes, they could be words, etc. Remember, you already know what the "correct picture" is. Take your time, I'm in no hurry.
STEP 3: Really, write down whatever your subconscious prompts you to.
I'm about to reveal the first of the two pictures. Remember this may not be the correct one. Here it is:
PICTURE NUMBER 1:
Here, now look at what you drew/wrote down on your piece of paper. Your subconscious might have picked up the bright blue or the brown. Do you have words like "blue", "like the sky", "large", or "brown"? Did you draw a large triangle? or many little circles or rectangles? While you were viewing this image with your subconscious, you might have reacted to the people instead of pyramid. Do you see any connections between your drawing/writing and this picture?
Maybe not. Maybe you were reacting to the other picture. Remember, we still don't know which one is the "correct picture". Here's the other one:
PICTURE NUMBER 2:
Look at what you wrote down/drew on your paper. Did it, perhaps, include words like "dense", "yellow", "people", "green"? Did you draw a circle, maybe? Perhaps you were subconsciously drawn to the building on the bottom, and so would have written words like "white", "bottom", or maybe "foundational"? Do you see any parallels between what you wrote/drew and this picture?
Now, to reveal what the correct picture is! You're about to learn a lot about yourself in the next few moments!
Here's the correct picture, the one you were trying to see with your psychic abilities:
THE CORRECT PICTURE
And this is the correct one! Now we need to talk about how you determine your psychic potential.
This test will fall into one of three categories (Hit, Miss, and Pass) depending on which picture you were describing. If your paper is describing the Hot Air Balloon picture (the correct one), mark this test as a "Hit". If you were describing the Pyramid (which means that you knew what the correct answer was, but decided to describe the other one, anyway) mark it as a "Miss".
If you were nowhere close to either one, chances are you were distracted while you were trying to view the two pictures with your Quantum Subconscious. Mark it as a "Pass".
II. How those vile Skeptics view Precognitive Remote Viewing
If you actually thought you could see the future (and your fragile self-esteem simply can't handle the grim truth) just stop reading. In fact, go away and die, because Logic is about to EAT YOUR BABIES!!!
This method of testing for Precognitive Remote Viewing actually demonstrates:
1: How amazing the human brain is at seeing similarities.
2: The Texas Sharpshooter logical fallacy.
Q.E.D., new age morons!
But let's not just whisk away an entire industry just with the Texas Sharpshooter fallacy. Let's show you the fruits of these tests:
Person A got:
Hits: 325 Misses: 210 Passes: 391 Total: 926
Person B got:
Hits: 41 Misses: 22 Passes: 39 Total: 102
Person C got:
Hits: 80 Misses: 42 Passes: 76 Total: 198
(I got these figures from the PowerPoint presentation that Marty Rosenblatt, from the P.I.A., used during his lecture.)
let's look at the percentage of total hits, shall we?
Person A: 35%
Person B: 40%
Person C: 40%
Given the high possibility of getting hits anyway, it seems odd that the percentage would still be so low. And, if Precognitive Remote Viewing, like Mr. Rosenblatt was suggesting, is an effective tool our government can use for finding enemy military installations (or we can use with our investments in the stock market), 35%-40% seems a little too low to be reliable.
What I'm about to say, at least to me, proves that this is a complete scam... and the P.I.A obviously knows it.
They DON'T COUNT PASSES!!!
Let's say that again, just to make everything clear:
They DON'T COUNT PASSES when they calculate their accuracy!
This means that the accuracy looks quite a bit better... in fact, too accurate to be a coincidence:
Person A: 61%
Person B: 65%
Person C: 66%
Gee, if they ignored Misses, too, the numbers would be even more astounding.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
In the beginning
Well, so this is my blog. I've been meaning to start one for a long time now and, now that I have, I figure I might as well explain myself and the name of my blog.
Second things first, let's explain why my blog is titled "Logic Eats Babies". Courtesy of www.wellingtongrey.net :
If you're saying "Omg, I can't read this! How the hell am I supposed to read something that small?!" then you should consider one of two options:
Option 1: Learn to use the interwebbies.
Option 2: Click on the image.
Now, if you've read the comic and don't immediately see why I title my blog "Logic Eats Babies", this probably isn't the blog for you. Also, if you read it with a completely straight face (and maybe even mild panic)... take a hard look at that WiFI Router of yours, set your affairs in order, and DIE!!! Muahahahaha!!! Our cities are doomed!!!
And now, first things second. I've got a mild addiction to podcasts. But more specifically, having wasted HOURS AND HOURS of my life listening to the Skeptic's Guide to the Universe, the Non Prophets, and the Atheist Experience, I've been privvy to many arguments between atheists and creationists... and I find it quite humorous how creationists spit out the word "logic", like it is some vile human construct bent on destroying the American Way of Life and all the supposed American Family Values.
I'm convinced that, if logic were tangible, creationists actually would accuse it of plotting to eat our children.
So, to clarify, I'm an atheist. I'm also a skeptic. I'm also (as of this writing) a level 39 Draenei Shaman hoping desperately to get to level 55 so I can make a Death Knight and gank some n00bs by Tarren Mill. And, finally, I've been playing the clarinet for over nine years and somewhat of a veteran when it comes to music theory.
And here we are, finally, at the end of my first blog post... and I'm hungry. But what do band geeks, WoW junkies, and atheists eat when they're hungry?
Keep an eye on your babies.
Second things first, let's explain why my blog is titled "Logic Eats Babies". Courtesy of www.wellingtongrey.net :
If you're saying "Omg, I can't read this! How the hell am I supposed to read something that small?!" then you should consider one of two options:
Option 1: Learn to use the interwebbies.
Option 2: Click on the image.
Now, if you've read the comic and don't immediately see why I title my blog "Logic Eats Babies", this probably isn't the blog for you. Also, if you read it with a completely straight face (and maybe even mild panic)... take a hard look at that WiFI Router of yours, set your affairs in order, and DIE!!! Muahahahaha!!! Our cities are doomed!!!
And now, first things second. I've got a mild addiction to podcasts. But more specifically, having wasted HOURS AND HOURS of my life listening to the Skeptic's Guide to the Universe, the Non Prophets, and the Atheist Experience, I've been privvy to many arguments between atheists and creationists... and I find it quite humorous how creationists spit out the word "logic", like it is some vile human construct bent on destroying the American Way of Life and all the supposed American Family Values.
I'm convinced that, if logic were tangible, creationists actually would accuse it of plotting to eat our children.
So, to clarify, I'm an atheist. I'm also a skeptic. I'm also (as of this writing) a level 39 Draenei Shaman hoping desperately to get to level 55 so I can make a Death Knight and gank some n00bs by Tarren Mill. And, finally, I've been playing the clarinet for over nine years and somewhat of a veteran when it comes to music theory.
And here we are, finally, at the end of my first blog post... and I'm hungry. But what do band geeks, WoW junkies, and atheists eat when they're hungry?
Keep an eye on your babies.
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