Eva said:Hold the shame if you lacked enough common sense to see the scam and you paid a fortune like in The Emperor's New Clothes tale
To me, this is the key issue. Maybe I'm stating the obvious, but just like in a fair amount of marketing, politics and religion, this (and other scams like it) rely on the programmability of the human mind. In other words, it's very possible for this device to work simply because people belive that it will.
A simple scientific test could be set up to prove or disprove that this device not only works but has any effect at all. It would require a control group, i.e. a placebo, and the actual device. If enough people could determine whether the treatment had been done or not, without knowing beforehand, then game over.
However, in the cases where people read the description and then use the device, I would bet that most will hear a difference because they have convinced themselves that such a difference exists and this device has caused it.
The part I love most is that this thing "upgrades" 10 CDs, or 40 for the more expensive model. So they have a built-in expiration on it, for the same reason. People will "think" that they've used it up and now it doesn't work any longer...
Again, this same kind of approach is used by politicians, the media, and organized religion. And I would conjecture is is just as "real" as about anything else. No, it can't be measured in a quantitative way, but there will always be legions of people who will claim that they heard/saw/felt/experienced a difference.
-Karl
Another never ending thread (and in this case most unfortunate).
Here's a little bit of fun almost worthy of the Onion.
http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~pdinda/soup_cans.html
I'm pretty sure this is just a couple of bored, respectably rational, "scientists in training" venting frustration at the crap they've been finding in Sterophile magazine lately.
But hell, with so many cracked-pot offerings out there, who can tell?
Here's a little bit of fun almost worthy of the Onion.
http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~pdinda/soup_cans.html
I'm pretty sure this is just a couple of bored, respectably rational, "scientists in training" venting frustration at the crap they've been finding in Sterophile magazine lately.
But hell, with so many cracked-pot offerings out there, who can tell?
Re: short attention span
whats worse, read this,
http://webcontent.harpercollins.com/images/large/0060531088.jpg
and mabe, if you understand what the author wrote,
this actualy starts to makes sense-
http://nanotech-now.com/Wil-McCarthy-interview-06132003.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
we may do well to remember, that just because we do not know how
something works, does not mean it does not work.
after all-
condemnation, without examination, is the height of ignorance-
Albert Einstein
whats worse, read this,
http://webcontent.harpercollins.com/images/large/0060531088.jpg
and mabe, if you understand what the author wrote,
this actualy starts to makes sense-
http://nanotech-now.com/Wil-McCarthy-interview-06132003.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
we may do well to remember, that just because we do not know how
something works, does not mean it does not work.
after all-
condemnation, without examination, is the height of ignorance-
Albert Einstein
Have you noticed the hot cocoa phenomenon? Get yourself a cup, pour in a packet of hot cocoa powder. Add hot water and stir.
Now the fun part. Hold up the cup by its handle with one hand and tap the bottom of the cup with one of your fingers of the other hand. Listen to the way the pitch changes as you continually tap on the cup.
I have heard that this is due to a probabilistic quantum mechanical field collapsing and reemerging in negative space in the vicinity of the cocoa atoms... That might be BS... I dunno....
I_F
Now the fun part. Hold up the cup by its handle with one hand and tap the bottom of the cup with one of your fingers of the other hand. Listen to the way the pitch changes as you continually tap on the cup.
I have heard that this is due to a probabilistic quantum mechanical field collapsing and reemerging in negative space in the vicinity of the cocoa atoms... That might be BS... I dunno....
I_F
sokal hoax
Or, maybe this crap is just as ingenious as the Sokal Hoax- a statement made to criticize those who would believe anything. Who knows, sometimes I am so cynical I can't tell if the crap is crap or if the real is crap or if the crap is real. All i know is that I feel really crappy for letting myself get sucked into this. javascript:smilie('
')
http://skepdic.com/sokal.html
Or, maybe this crap is just as ingenious as the Sokal Hoax- a statement made to criticize those who would believe anything. Who knows, sometimes I am so cynical I can't tell if the crap is crap or if the real is crap or if the crap is real. All i know is that I feel really crappy for letting myself get sucked into this. javascript:smilie('
')http://skepdic.com/sokal.html
"Sokaled" might serve well as a nerdy refinement of "suckered"!
Reminds me of the "Turing" number I was promted for when signing up for a forum recently. It's the first time I'd seen that garbled alpha-numeric box so named. Supposedly, a computer is incapable of distinguishing (yet) and repeating the text as shown, so it reduces spamming. The "Turing Test" is a very interesting bit of engineering history. Check the wikipedia entry.
Reminds me of the "Turing" number I was promted for when signing up for a forum recently. It's the first time I'd seen that garbled alpha-numeric box so named. Supposedly, a computer is incapable of distinguishing (yet) and repeating the text as shown, so it reduces spamming. The "Turing Test" is a very interesting bit of engineering history. Check the wikipedia entry.
Everything you know is wrong!
Wow!
http://www.belt.demon.co.uk/index.html
Don't forget to check the "products" page...
I_F
Wow!
http://www.belt.demon.co.uk/index.html
Don't forget to check the "products" page...
I_F
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