Science vs. Spiritual Beliefs

Guess what? Michael is doin' it wrong.

Here we have this enlightening quote from Are We Still Here?, a self-published philosophical treatise penned by one Michael K. Brier. Mr. Brier is a multi-talented sort -- he writes philosophical (I use the term loosely) books, draws cartoons, and even paints!

I will confess right now that I haven't read the entire book. However, the chapter titled "Section the Eighth - You Actually Believe That?" caught my eye, since it has subsections about Myth, Superstition and Magic. And that's where I found this little gem, which attempts to refute out-of-body experiences:

"In order for us to see something, that thing must absorb light. That is just basic physics. Those who report having an "out-of-body" experience say they can "see" themselves and their surroundings, but if we are not visible to others then we are not absorbing light. If that weren't the case more people would be seeing "spirits". If we are not absorbing light then we wouldn't be able to see anything."

Uh, Mr. Michael? Last I heard, in order for us to see something, it must reflect light. You know, so our eyeballs can then capture the reflected light. If something absorbs light, then we wouldn't be able to see it at all -- kind of like how black holes absorb light so are invisible to the naked eye.

Now the above quote is either 1) poor understanding of how light and vision works or 2) really really bad grammar. If you interpret the first sentence to mean "in order for us to see something, our eyes must be able to absorb light," then things start to make a leetle more sense, but you are left with deciding that "that thing" in the second half or the sentence refers to the "us" in the first half.

It's sad either way, really.

I'm going to blaze through a few more pages of Mr. Brier's little missive and see what else he has to say about Myth and Magic and stuff (I don't think I could stomach the rest -- there is, after all, a portion of the introduction that tells us that sometimes women use their sexuality to....get pregnant. And that's a bad thing! Also, I don't think I could take the various references to how women don't sleep with intelligent men, which is also a bad thing.) If I find anything interesting, I'll update this post.

And YES, I'm working on Our Gods Wear Spandex, I swear!

Already updating:

Later, Michael saves us from superstition by informing us that (among other things):
1) If you make a funny face, it will not stick that way.
2) Ants aren't really that strong because, "the smaller an insect is, the less gravity affects them."
3) If you hold a sea shell up to your ear you will not hear the ocean.
4) This one is a direct quote: "If a woman has hardwood floors (shaved pubic region), she is not able to run faster because there is less drag and she is more aerodynamic."
5) Sex doesn't clear up acne (though he keeps testing that theory anyway).

The last two bits of info are the most telling, in my opinion. First, who the hell uses the euphemism "hardwood floors" to mean "shaved pubic region"?! Second, as well all know, anyone who feels they must publicly declare they are gettin' some on the intar-web, most certainly isn't.