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Why people believe weird things
“On the evening of Thursday, May 16, 1996, I walked across burning coals barefoot for an episode of the PBS dhow, Bill Nye “The Science Guy.” The producers of this splendid science education series geared toward children wanted to do a segment on pseudoscience and the paranormal, and they thought scientific explanation for firewalking would make for dramatic television. Since Bill Nye is my daughter’s hero, I agreed to host the firewalk. Bernard Leikind, a plasma physicist and one of the world’s leading experts on firewalking, got the fire going, spread out the coals, and strolled across, sans shoes, socks, or blisters. As I made my way to the edge of the coals, Leikind reminded me that the temperature in the middle of the raked-out path was about 800ºF. I tried to focus on his assurance that this was not a matter of the power of positive thinking but of physics. When you bake a cake in an oven, by way of analogy, the air, the cake, and the metal pan are all at 400ºF, but only the pan will burn your skin. Hot coals, even at 800ºF, are like cake-they do not conduct heat very quickly-so as long as I strode across the bed without delay I should be safe. My naked toes, inches away from the glowing red coals, were skeptical. This was no cakewalk, they told my brain. It wasn’t, but six feet and three seconds later, they were none the worse for wear. My confidence in science was restored, right down to my toes.
Firewalking.
What a weird thing to do. I have filing cabinets and bookshelves filled with the records of such weird things. But what constitutes a weird thing? I have no formal definition. Weird things are like pornography-difficult to define but obvious when you see them. Each claim, case, or person must be examined individually. One person’s weird thing might be another’s cherished belief. Who’s to say?
Well, one criteria-the criteria of choice for me and millions of others-is science. What, we ask is the scientific evidence for a claim? Infomercial megastar Tony Robbins, the self-help guru who got his start in the early 1980’s by holding weekend seminars climaxing in a firewalk, queries his audience: “What would happen if you were to discover a way to achieve any goals you desire now?” If you can walk on hot coals, says Robbins, you can accomplish anything. Can Tony Robbins really walk barefoot over hot coals without burning his feet? Sure he can. So can I. So can you. But you and I can do it without meditating, chanting, or paying hundreds of dollars for a seminar because firewalking has nothing to do with mental power. Belief that it does is what I would call a weird thing.
Immediate Gratification.
Many weird things offer immediate gratification. The 900 number psychic hotline is a classic example. A magician/mentalist friend of mine works one such hotline, so I have been privileged to hear how the system operates from the inside. Most companies charge $3.95 per minute, with the psychic receiving 60¢ per minute; that’s $36.00 an hour for the psychic, if the psychic works continuously, and $201 an hour for the company. The goal is to keep callers on the line long enough to turn a good profit but not so long that they refuse to pay the phone bill. Currently, my friend’s record for a single call is 201 minutes, for a total of $793.95! People call for one or more of four reasons: love, health, money, career. Using cold-reading techniques, the psychic begins broad and works toward specifics. “I sense there is some tension in your relationship-one of you is more committed than the other.” “I’m getting the feeling that financial pressures are causing problems for you.” “You have been thinking about changing careers.” Such trite statements are true for almost everyone. If your psychic chooses the wrong one, the psychic only has to say it will happen-in the future. And the psychic only has to be right occasionally. Callers forget the misses and remember the hits, and, most important, they want the psychic to be right. Skeptics don’t spend -$3.95 a minute on psychic hotlines, believers do. Calling mostly at night and on weekends, most need someone to talk to. Deep insight and improvement may take months or years. Delay of gratification is the norm, instant satisfaction the exception. By contrast, the psychic is only a telephone call away. (Many 900 number psychics, including my friend, justify it as “poor man’s counseling.” At $3.95 a minute, I beg to differ. Interestingly, the two major psychic associations are in conflict, with the so-called “real” psychics feeling that the psychic “entertainers” are making them look phony.)”
By Michael Shermer
Excerpt from WHY PEOPLE BELIEVE WEIRD THINGS New York, Freeman and Company
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