The Enemies of Reason

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

It was no real surprise to me that the astrologers, spiritualists, mediums and dowsers that Richard Dawkins interviewed for this programme could offer no evidence beyond the vaguely anecdotal. What did surprise and shock me was the naked cynicism of the astrologer who refused to take part in a simple experiment on the grounds that the stars and planets would somehow know they were being experimented on and cause the exercise to fail. He said this with a smirk, and no doubt an eye on the next paycheck from the national newspaper that prominently features his predictions. The spirit medium was equally cynical, and cared little for the effects that his readings could have on vulnerable people in the audience. Judging by his smart suit, I assume that he was also making a comfortable living from his activities.

I felt oddly sorry for the dowsers that did submit to a simple double blind experiment to see if they could find the bottles of water hidden amongst bottles of sand. They all seemed confident of their abilities beforehand, and then either bemused or angry afterwards when their results were no better than random chance. One woman seemed to think that it would have worked if only she had been allowed to walk on planks above the boxes. Another man explained his failure by claiming that god must have been having a laugh - I would have thought that he would have welcomed the opportunity to definitively prove his existence to the arch sceptic Dawkins once and for all ... :-)

It is disturbing that so many people are actively opposed to the simple principle of rationality, either from wishful thinking, self delusion or cynical greed. Is adherence to the scientific method of asking questions, testing the evidence and refining your understanding of the world really too much to ask for? Is a comforting lie better than the truth?

Next week is the concluding episode which will tackle alternative medicine, and it promises to be equally enlightening.