Overview   Lab & Research   Pseudoscience     Overview     CSICOP   Evolution &   Creationism	Pseudoscience I am a dreamer. With few exceptions, more so than any person I have met. I indulge in fantasy and science-fiction; I embrace the mythos upon which these fields were established. Yet it never ceases to amaze me that so many people, especially in a civilization as technologically and scientifically advanced as we, still harbor the misconception that fantasy is reality. UFOs, dowsing, demons, homeopathy, a flat earth, Atlantis, ESP, creationist theories, the tenants of scientology... The list is nearly endless. Despite all the scientific evidence that such nonsense exists only in the human imagination, folks revel in these fields as if caught in some religious fervor. At the same time, whether intentionally or not, these people remain ignorant of the most basic principles of science, facts that make pseudoscientific fantasies appear common in comparison. I wish I could find humor in the subject of pseudoscience, but there exists too much evidence that it's a danger. Witness the Heaven's Gate incident, inspired by the ridiculous notion that a UFO trailed the comet Hale-Bopp. To a certain extent, I agree with Ted Turner's opinion: Incidents like these are "a good way to get rid of a couple of nuts." Then again, those nuts weren't my friends or family. And the same kind of nuts, by distorting facts to an scientifically-ignorant public, inspired the myth of the Aryan race as well as the old Southern notion that Negroes are genetically inferior to white men. Folks tell me I worry too much. I shrug it off, suggesting that they may be right. After all, the more pseudoscientists there are, the more well-paying jobs there are for me. Hmm. Perhaps I found some humor after all.
Mind 'Scapes, its pages and contents are © 1998 by Michael D. Hilborn, President of the Biggles 2000 Time-Dimensional Corporation. You are free to copy and use the original artwork on these pages, although I would appreciate it if you ask me first.