Prepare yourself for some neutronium-density stupid, and do not watch this video clip if self-confident, blithering idiots make you want to slap someone. It's the trailer for a new movie, The Moses Code, "the most powerful manifestation tool in the history of the world".
If you must know but don't want to be enlightened by a series of pompous twits, this is from some guy who made a movie about "the secret" and now wants to milk money from more suckers. A "manifestation tool" is an entirely imaginary phenomenon in which people just wish for things, and by a nonsensical "Law of Attraction," it will just appear in their lives.
In this case, it's New Age inanity wed to Old Age superstition.
I can think of one double-feature, though, that would have the combined power to rip out people's brains and turn them into mindless zombies.
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What an avalanche of bullshit.
I can think of one double-feature, though, that would have the combined power to rip out people's brains and turn them into mindless zombies.
you know, I've never understood zombies...
they've lost their minds, yet you have to shoot them in the head to kill them.
OTOH, I always see creobots (which I've always thought of as zombies) shoot themselves in the head on a regular basis, yet they don't die.
It's all so confusing.
Are you saying that the universe isn't intensely interested in my wants and needs?
This one doesn't look like it's going to be very good. For one thing, they seem to have been able to afford only a single 60W bulb for lighting.
The Moses Code (we're done with Da Vinci?)... Damn, I hope they include this little gem from "Singin' in the Rain":
Moses supposes his toes-es are roses
but Moses supposes erroniously
For Moses - he knows-es his toes-es aren't roses
as Moses supposes his toes-es to be!
It makes about as much sense...
Manifestation tool? Law of Attraction? I feel a powerful sense of repulsion when tools like the maker of this bit of dreck just won't go away, despite all of my years of earnest wishing. There are people who believe this stuff?
Well, there might be something to this whole "Secret" thing, PZ. I mean, I've got Salma Heyak chained up in my basement as I type this. In fact...
Hold on a minute...
Not Salma Heyak, you say?
I see.
A transvestite from Bangladesh, you say?
And, I have to pay?!?
Sorry about that. As you say, PZ, this whole "Secret" gibberish is utter bunk.
My neighbors believe in this stuff. They are the nicest neighbors I've ever had; they'll do anything for me, and I'll do anything for them. Except listen to them talk about The Secret. I was giving one of them a ride to the store a couple of weeks ago, and I had to actually stop her from talking about how the Law of Attraction was working out for her. Really, I told her that we'd have to go home if she didn't change the subject. I know she thought it was a bit harsh, but I'd do the same thing if someone wanted to talk to me about religion, astrology, or any other such nonsense. Not in my car! Not in my house!
"...you got one butt why do you need four cars?! OHHEEHOHAHA-HURHEEHOHA-HAHAOHOO-HOOHAA-AHH-HOOHAAHHEHOO OHHEEHEE!!!!"
Thats a terrifying laugh she has.
Whoah...dude.
What was that even about?
I think one of those guys from Milli Vanilli was there.
This is from the Moses Code site.
I want to know how they found records of this exchange between Moses and god. Perhaps James Van Praagh spoke to Moses from beyond the grave. Yes, Van Praagh is involved in this.
"I want to know how they found records of this exchange between Moses and god."
I think the cell cam video is posted on Youtube.
Oh for fuck's sake...McTaggart is here to stay! Zero-point energy and Sylvia Browne coming through people's anal tissue via telepathy.
The "Secret" and religion use the same flaky confirmation bias. For anyone who can look at a disaster that kills thousands of people and say that finding one alive is a miracle, it isn't a leap at all to see a tenuous confirmation as a sign of "proof" of the Secret.
You can't prove a negative, but you can sure make generalizations based on some statistical likelihoods. (That assumes the average person understands anything about statistics, which they don't.)
The only "manifestation tool" I need is Solidworks. :3
I think we all need to go to amazon and lay waste to the customer reviews for this book.
from the original page hosting the vid:
Adding comments has been disabled for this video.
shocker.
Of course they want to sucker some rubes before allowing commentary.
I was already at Amazon. There were only three reviews; a five star, a four star and an one star review.
Okay, I give up. I've been trying to live my life in accordance with human decency and ethics, but I'm sick of being an impoverished student. It is time for me to come up with some ridiculous scam like the Secret, publish it, and attract some dollars to my bank account. Obviously, if it's not I who scams the gullible, it will be someone else. Sucker born every minute and all that.
But then, the downside would be that there would be people out there who would think I actually believe the shite I'd be promoting. I don't think I would care to be denounced on PZ's blog.
Nevermind.
from their site:
Join millions of people from every corner of the globe in activating a 3500 year old technology that has been banned since the time of Moses. Then on April 6th, we will activate the Code and focus it on the Middle East.
LOL
5 bucks says they will come up with a completely irrational excuse as to why it "didn't work" by April 13th.
that said...
we need a pool as to what exact form the excuse will take.
I'm going with:
"Not enough believers to make it work according to the ancient formula."
any other ideas as to what excuse they will use?
The most offensive thing about this isn't it's utter stupidity, but that nose-ringed fuckjob wanker who holds forth about being at Ground Zero after 9/11, in a state of utter bliss.
All of the negative thoughts of all the skeptics counter acted against their good will.
Either that or those in the Middle East suffer from stinking thinking.
C'mon, people! Don't you remember? Scott Adams already proved that "manifestation" works when he used "affirmations" to make himself into the world's greatest cartoonist. I mean, if it works for the creator of "Dilbert," who are we to doubt him (and all of the other "world's greatest cartoonists" since he revealed the secret of his success)?
Psychologists have two words for this. It is called Magical Thinking. It is quite common in many guises.
I once saw someone trying to sell stock in a perpetual motion machine company. And even posted a few lines about the laws of thermodynamics and how perpetual motion machines were impossible. The "investors" would attack anyone who didn't believe in magic engines
Rather pointless. A lot of people lost a lot of money on that scam and rumor has it that the promoters are in trouble with the law. A fool and their money are soon parted.
All of the negative thoughts of all the skeptics counter acted against their good will.
yup, that still leaves room for:
..."but with more believers, we can overcome the negative vibes!"
I think the only requirement for a plausible excuse would be that it would have to leave room for them to make a bigger sales pitch.
gotta be several that would work...
I'd just like to point out that the Church of the Subgenius has been thwarting (or at least subtly mocking) this type of stuff for almost 30 years now. The Church of the Subgenius is the only DIPSHIT RELIGION that even YOU can believe in (or at least DISbelieve in for all the wrong reasons.)
Life is so much BETTER when there's some little something to CHOOSE....
"Then on April 6th, we will activate the Code and focus it on the Middle East."
Fuckin' A melting terrorist faces! I can't wait! Somebody better tape it in case I have to have my eyes closed!
Life is so much BETTER when there's some little something to CHOOSE....
why make the effort?
are you telling me you're not a slacker?
Oh, balls.
The way these bald apes "think" I'm amazed they're not promo'ing it with "this ancient technology is so powerful that if you don't watch, & get 10 others to watch, your parents will DIE!!!"
Uh, & the guy who does the "Dilbert" comic-strip was pimping the exact same bilge several years back, in one of his "serious" books - only you had to WRITE DOWN the affirmation for it to work, a certain number of times a day, & it didn't even matter whether you believed in it or not, it would COME TO PASS.
Sadly, as PT Barnum proved repeatedly, a surplus of dolts with surplus cash guarantees the success of such mental septicemia, every time.
Idiots, money - your new divorce has just arrived.
The Chasers' take on "The Secret":
http://youtube.com/watch?v=usbNJMUZSwo
Classic.
only you had to WRITE DOWN the affirmation for it to work
heh, there's even a manga (anime) based on a similar thing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Note
now who wouldn't pay for THAT?
I've already got a list...
#21, you beat me to it. What are they doing, using a self-involved dipshit like that to advertise their stuff? "Use the Moses Code, and you too can be a soulless freak of nature!"
...
That's because they think with their Gut.
Idiots, money - your new divorce has just arrived.
Posted by: jim
It was never a marriage, they were just living together.
That's because they think with their Gut.
that's exactly the response I was looking for.
;)
Well, I've already grabbed my hair and yelled at the computer once today - Nightwaves featured a discussion of Malthus. At least it made me want to read him, since some of the commenters hauled out the argumentem ad consequentiam.
Re: The Secret
Hmm, well, I would agree Expelled will have another movie of comparable vacuity to contend for "hearts and minds" with. This thing is so vague and new agey feeling you have no idea where it would even go. Moses? When all of a sudden did this fictional character start getting press? And he led a people? No he didn't. According to the story, which I happen to have just read, God chooses him randomly to be a leader and tells him exactly what to do to be freed from the tyranny of the Pharoah of Egypt. Moses proceeds to follow exact orders and ooh, wow, magically everything works out just as God says...um, because God was guiding all of this fictional stuff. But on top of that, God MADE the Egyptians mistreat the Israelites. How is it leading them from tyranny into freedom and self-reliance when God sets the pins up right in front of you for you to call on him to knock them down? That's not called leadership, it's called God's own personal puppet show. Code? What F'ing code? It's a story.
This video and the people in it are, as usual with these things, full of it.
But it's just plain not nearly as scary as Tom Cruise's protracted, psychotropic giggle-fest.
Sorry, but as silly as this is, it's nowhere near as offensive as a single morning in church, or the Expelled movie. People may dream on, but "The Secret" has no chance of changing the constitution. Religion however, has a very realistic chance.
But it's just plain not nearly as scary as Tom Cruise's protracted, psychotropic giggle-fest.
which gives me the perfect excuse to post my favorite TC vid...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4jo6KkFfIc
I once saw someone trying to sell stock in a perpetual motion machine company. And even posted a few lines about the laws of thermodynamics and how perpetual motion machines were impossible. The "investors" would attack anyone who didn't believe in magic engines
Ugh, I had managed to forget that snippet from last night's shift.
A coworker, with a multitude of amazing ignorances, went on one of his patented rants about the stupidity of those in management. He added a new entry last night. We do quality control in a very industrial environment with a multitude of whirling, spinning, and rotating devices. He lamented the lack of electrical generators mounted upon the drive motors for all these moving devices. All that wasted energy the company is just letting get away...
If I wish really hard for him to go away...
America, land of the huckster:
The cost to host an event as an individual is $175 with complete package, or $125 without the package. The cost to host as an organization is $285. You are welcome to charge admission to your events to cover your costs.
There are over 50 events scheduled in California already.
So depressing.
Well, lots of horse shit grows the best vegetables, that much is true.
Love your blog PZ, always a quality read and a light of reason
in a too dark world.
I will trump all this insanity with my JESUS CODE! Jesus trumps Moses right? And he's referred to in more books too right? More books = better code.
(I just hope no one comes up with a whole bible code.)
Besides, I already have God Mode activated. I'm invulnerable to everything!
What in 'ell is wrong with that bearded man's hands???? Are they being manipulated from above with unseen strings????
In the Year 2000, the world of popcorn merchandising will be transformed as Moses Code prayer meetings attract crowds of Operating Thetans to screenings of Expelled.
WHAT?! No Ramtha?!?
When did Milli Vanilli jump on this particular fraud, I wonder...?
MST3K. Just saying.
you know i heard about all this stuff long before it was given some silly-assed name. Scott adams talked about it in a book of his, but it wasn't wishing. you had to write out what you wanted like 10 times per day, or something. anyhow, it's mostly just "self fulfilling prophecy" if anything.
I got ninja'd to hell and back on this one. there was only 13 comments when i posted mine, i guess i had this window open for a while, yes?
One more reason why scott adams is freaking win and all these jagoffs are fail.
Here's a suggestion. Instead of seeing Expelled or some other dreck quasi-religious documentary, why not commit to see a real documentary sometime in 2008 instead? Too many good ones come and go from the theaters unnoticed these days. Here's one that's coming out around the same time as Expelled:
http://www.foxsearchlight.com/youngatheart/
From the trailer, it looks infinitely more entertaining and uplifting than hearing Ben Stein droning on for 90 minutes.
Is it mandatory that these people wear such strange outfits? I mean cmon. While scientists aren't necessarily known for their style, these new age folks look like they're dressed in uniforms from Capcom's Street Fighter 2.
I was just gonna say the same thing. I miss The Chaser, hope they come back soon (or at all).
Looks like the video has been "disabled"
along with the ratings and the comments. A few people managed to award it three stars.I hope you boys and girls haven't been posting mean things on YouTube.
"(I just hope no one comes up with a whole bible code.)"
Or a Quran one for that matter. Then the shit would really hit the fan.
Join millions of people from every corner of the globe in activating a 3500 year old technology that has been banned since the time of Moses.
It's been banned since Moses? Was there a commandment against it in the Bible? Is it...incest? Oooh, maybe blasphemy? Or, given the clues in the movie about 9/11, maybe it's mass murder?!
no, more likely it's making golden calves.
they're going to get together and make a giant golden cow, and point it at Mecca!
that'll show em!
What tripe, inane, banal bullshit. With new age cult-technobabble. Before the morning coffee too!
Yeah, because snatching forbidden power from the gods always works out. Just ask Prometheus, or Eve, or...Indiana Jones.
The Moses Code?
I've got the Antidote!!
SOME MISTAKES OF MOSES
by Robert Green Ingersoll
Now a Quran Code would be fun.
"The ancient code that allows you to cover women in cloth so dense that they can't but remain at home and silent, with nothing more than your thoughts."
I feel a dimly lit movie coming on.
BTW, I am also missing Ramtha.
Nothing like a horrid butchering of an accent to give one some credibility yeah?
As a side note, I showed a video of "Ramtha" to a new age friend of mine and she was livid. Not because Ramtha was full of shit mind you, but because my friend is a dialect coach. I guess ya take it where ya find it, ya know?
I want the world to think rationnally.
I want the world to think rationnally.
I want the world to think rationnally.
There. I even wrote it. Three times.
Doesn't seem to work.
That "secret" stuff is really bunk!
Ermmm....watch it again...all those people in the trailer...they're Actors.
BTW, I am also missing Ramtha.
Nothing like a horrid butchering of an accent to give one some credibility yeah?
Well, it seems to work for this guy.
After all, seeing this psychic spoon bender sketch on A Bit of Fry and Laurie, I really believe that Laurie's character can bend spoons.
"Are you sure it's not 'Fraud!' that people shout at you in the streets?"
Priceless.
Man your country sure is fecked up sideways.
Oh goody, more american drivel. The only good news is that by the time it actually gets to England it will be old news.
I think they will cling to any minor improvement that happens within 15 days either way in the middle east. Otherwise it will just be people not trying hard enough or those nasty critics and their evil vibes as they don't want world peace....boo hiss.
I should point out that the middle east is a big place. Shouldn't they be more specific or the vibes will be too spread out to be effective.
Why would anyone want to "activate 3500 year-old technology" anyway? I don't recall Windows X.II being bug free, although the hour glass was a nice "new" feature that did catch on.
Are we even sure that Moses actually existed or was he just another mythological character from that book of mythology also called the bible. I seems the U.S is suffering from a epidemic of dead brains.
That trailer sounded like a lot a incoherent babbling to me.
To me, this smacks a bit of that excreble movie from a few years ago, "What The (bleep) Do We Know?"
The black guy with the dreadlocks looked a lot like the actor who played Crockett (or was it Tubbs?) on Miami Vice.
Oh, the power of wishful thinking. There's a pony at my door. I'll be right back.
"Moses then harnessed the power found in the name of God to help secure the freedom of the Israelite slaves, but then it was locked away, never to be used again.
Until now."
RIIIGHT...and Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark was a documentary about this very same thing.
And I've got some lovely ocean-front property in Arizona I'd like to sell...
And it's Ichthyic for Teh Win.
Pointing golden cows at Mecca... now that's funny.
The people they have lined up for this (on the website) include one "Neurological doctor" and a "Scientist." I checked out the neurologist's site and he was trained at Rutgers but has taken a detour into a lot of body-mind stuff and selling things.
There's certainly truth in the fact that we have brain plasticity, can improve our lives by some well applied CBT, but it's distressing to see medical professionals throwing the Hippocratic Oath (do no harm?) out the window and lining up to participate in this.
He was also part of the movie "What the BLEEP" which is similarly awful.
It is interesting that they repeatedly use the term manifest for their Fairy B.S.
MANIFEST:
From the Latin manifestus caught in the act, flagrant, obvious, perhaps from manus + -festus (akin to Latin infestus hostile)
Their hands are unclean.
A review of The Secret in Skeptic magazine nailed the main tactic perfectly -- bait and switch back and forth between nonsense and something reasonable that seems similar to the nonsense on the surface.
The reviewer used the example of setting your mind on your desire to get a bicycle. In a reasonable scenario, your determination makes you work hard and look for opportunities, and lo and behold, you get a bicycle. This is, of course, the opposite of just sitting back and imagining the bicycle in your possession, and THE UNIVERSE then magically manifests events in such a way that the bicycle just comes to you. But The Secret is deliberately unclear about the distinction. It uses both examples as if they're really slightly different versions of the same thing. Back and forth, so that the bizarre belief rides in on the back of its similarity to the reasonable belief. There's clearly "something to it."
I notice that apologetics for so-called moderate religions do that sort of thing, too. A lot.
I have a friend who was teaching classes in Milwaukee about 20 years ago on The Power of Positive Visualization, and she says they would drive around and manifest parking spaces through their intentions. This process was called New Thought back in the 20's -- but it's much older, really. How did God create the universe? Mind and thought have power and force.
I don't think you can find a religion or pseudoscience without some variation of this in their basic belief system. The more "moderate" and reasonable religions play the bait-and-switch game more successfully.
"The most powerful manifestation tool in the history of the world"?
Pfft. Not one of these people is as powerfully a tool as Ben Stein is.
A FORGOTTEN REALMS (C) Adventure for 5-6 characters, levels 10-12.
LOL
If this "Law of Attraction" crap actually worked, I'd have the power to twist a person's skeleton out of their body with a thought and a gesture. I've certainly been wishing for that for quite a while...
What a load of rubbish...
I recently watched "The Secret" with a friend. I'm having a hard time deciding if "2 Girls, 1 Cup" or "The Secret" elicited the stronger WTF reaction in my mind. Certainly though, my BS detectors got a good test run.
But let's pretend this is all true for a moment and consider just one obvious implication. Why are we still waiting for someone to manifest an AIDS vaccine? Or maybe a universal flu vaccine? Or a solution to any of a great number of pressing problems for humanity? Sadly, it appears that those who have mastered the secret are only interested in manifesting jewelry, cars, houses, and money for themselves.