Jul 13, 2024 06:03 PM
https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/critic...sciousness
INTRO: How does a person come to believe that we can use telepathy on horses and that schizophrenia is secretly a superpower?
Given the tidal wave of nonsense sustained by the Internet, the question of why people believe weird things keeps resurfacing. Some folks are just naturally prone to flights of fancy. Others, judgmental of their neighbours’ foolish beliefs, would do well to look in the mirror: their own idiosyncrasies may look just as preposterous as the ones they are quick to recognize as hokum. Despair in the face of chronic or terminal illness can also open the mind, because what is there to lose?
But another answer to the question is that nonsense can be delivered bit by bit as trust builds. Scientology is the quintessential example: on its surface, it’s simply a technique to measure someone’s distress, but spend enough years moving up its ranks and you learn about the aliens and the volcanoes. Coming out of the mouths of now-trusted friends, these science fiction scenarios sound more credible.
Until last week, I had never heard of Access Bars and Access Consciousness. At a glance, it’s a mishmash of Reiki and phrenology, yet another alternative cure-all supported by a handful of really bad “studies.”
But dig deep enough and you’ll find the horse telepathy, the repackaging of psychiatric illnesses as special powers, and even disturbing accusations of grooming, sexual assault, and cult-like behaviour. Also: a man who claims he got the whole idea from the ghost of Rasputin.
The tip of the Access Consciousness iceberg consists in a simple premise: your head has 32 points (somehow referred to as “bars”). Each point, much like in the debunked pseudoscience known as phrenology, represents something, like creativity or gratitude. According to the theory, our limitations can be released by a trained practitioner gently touching these points and allowing us to live out our full potential. Not making enough money? That’s because your money point hasn’t been rubbed by a specialized therapist... (MORE - details)
INTRO: How does a person come to believe that we can use telepathy on horses and that schizophrenia is secretly a superpower?
Given the tidal wave of nonsense sustained by the Internet, the question of why people believe weird things keeps resurfacing. Some folks are just naturally prone to flights of fancy. Others, judgmental of their neighbours’ foolish beliefs, would do well to look in the mirror: their own idiosyncrasies may look just as preposterous as the ones they are quick to recognize as hokum. Despair in the face of chronic or terminal illness can also open the mind, because what is there to lose?
But another answer to the question is that nonsense can be delivered bit by bit as trust builds. Scientology is the quintessential example: on its surface, it’s simply a technique to measure someone’s distress, but spend enough years moving up its ranks and you learn about the aliens and the volcanoes. Coming out of the mouths of now-trusted friends, these science fiction scenarios sound more credible.
Until last week, I had never heard of Access Bars and Access Consciousness. At a glance, it’s a mishmash of Reiki and phrenology, yet another alternative cure-all supported by a handful of really bad “studies.”
But dig deep enough and you’ll find the horse telepathy, the repackaging of psychiatric illnesses as special powers, and even disturbing accusations of grooming, sexual assault, and cult-like behaviour. Also: a man who claims he got the whole idea from the ghost of Rasputin.
The tip of the Access Consciousness iceberg consists in a simple premise: your head has 32 points (somehow referred to as “bars”). Each point, much like in the debunked pseudoscience known as phrenology, represents something, like creativity or gratitude. According to the theory, our limitations can be released by a trained practitioner gently touching these points and allowing us to live out our full potential. Not making enough money? That’s because your money point hasn’t been rubbed by a specialized therapist... (MORE - details)