From: Wade Smith (wade_smith@harvard.edu)
Date: Mon 09 Dec 2002 - 20:17:44 GMT
On Monday, December 9, 2002, at 01:08 PM, Virginia Bowen wrote:
> why is that "religion" so tempting to celebrities?
Well, most celebrities are actors, and from only anecdotal
evidence, a larger than mean percentage of actors are very
gullible types who drift into all sorts of quackeries and
fringes and newage (rhymes with sewage) trends and fashions.
Shirley MacLaine is not an aberration, let us say.
It would be nice if some celebrity came on board skeptically,
memetically. Penn Gillette, of Penn and Teller, is the only
celeb I know about who expounds with regularity against
quackeries and frauds, like feng shui and Uri Geller and
scientology and acupuncture, although the list is seemingly
endless and it would take a tireless squad of celebrities (even
knowing celebrities' opinions are worth 100 normal opinions in
the marketplace) to quash irrationality.
And, presumptuous me, I doubt there are many celebrities who
would or could champion memetics.
- Wade
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