Lecture 1: Graphology
The lecture of Graphology was quite an interesting one. I understand how this would spark some kind of pseudo-scientific study, as writing is a form of art, and art is a way we express ourselves and our thoughts. The idea that the way we write is a subliminal expression of our character traits and personality is, by far, the most believable 'science' we've covered in this class. I personally find that the link to your hand writing and your job is where this 'science' lost all merit to me. I do not think that there is, or should have been, any correlation. It immediately delivers itself as a ridiculous idea, and loses the faith of anyone who was grasping this 'science'. Overall, this lecture was one of my favorites, due to its content and believably.
Lecture 2: UFOs & Abductions
This lecture was more in-depth than I had anticipated it to be. This lecture had delved deep into the psyche of individuals and various ways the mind reacts when attempting to remember an event. The lecture also went over various test that allow the patient/subject to project themselves onto caricatures or inanimate pictures, which allowed the doctors to delve within the mind of their patient. In summary, this lecture is probably my favorite, it is similar to Graphology in many ways as well, and it seems almost completely legitimate.
Lecture 3: Mass Delusion/HysteriaThis lecture related very much to the concluding chapters of my assigned reading, Why People Believe Weird Things, by Michael Shermer. In a similar manner to The War of the Worlds, there were a group of people that had developed a case of Mass Delusion, however instead of an alien invasion, it was related very much to reality. Particularly the Holocaust and Genocide of the Jewish people during the second World War. The group that denied and fell under delusion of the Holocaust had understood facts, but had made assumptions and read statistical data wrong, generating an incorrect belief. In a similar vein, the War of the Worlds had created a type of Mass Hysteria/Delusion on a false event, however both the lecture and the book were able to explain and elaborate on how this type of pseudoscience operates.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
I love how in your third blog you related the lecture back to “Why People Believe in Weird Things” and I can clearly see how they both connect.
ReplyDeleteHey Will,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your take on Graphology. In my posts, I also said that Graphology was one of the pseudosciences that sounded like it could have possibly been real. When you compare it to other things, like bigfoot, or psychics, graphology doesn't seem like too much of a stretch. It does still look pretty fake when you actually stop and think. People can choose to change their handwriting with practice. I really doubt that doing that would also change someone's personality.