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As a physicist (MS), in a world dominated by people who believe in Oprah's "The Secret", Raki energy massages, crystal energy, pyramid energy, aromatherapy, energy from chimes and the like, magnet healing, and, the "power of prayer" -- I have been asked several times for some kind of physics justification for these beliefs more often than I am comfortable with.
How do you tell these people, without appearing the sociopath, that they are gullible, that they don't have the mental powers, and especially, the mathematical skills, to discern truth from myth. How can I be honest with them, when, logically, a myth can never be disproven -- yet holding it as truth is completely irrational. To the mentally weak, there is no distinction between proof, and something that can't be disproven.
Conspiracy theories? As has been posted in at least one response in this thread, one can prove mathematically, from an estimate of the number of people required to actually carry out such a thing, that a 9/11 conspiracy would be impossible to carry out. Of course, it's not even worth doing the calculation since it would never assuage it's intended audience, or worse, prove the person doing the calculation is actually part of the conspiracy.
Is there room for myth in ones life? Yes, there is. Joseph Campbell said it eloquently when he talked about "faith". I do not remember exactly what he said, but if we accept faith as an integral part of the human condition (as we do love, greed, envy, and other irrationals), and as long as we don't confuse it with "truth", it's not a bad thing, it can define us but won't necessarily impede us.
...Dan
