Dark crystals: the brutal reality behind a booming wellness craze • Hacker News Board

Re: Dark crystals: the brutal reality behind a booming wellness craze

#21

Post by richk449 » Sat, Sep 21, 2019, 2:19 PM UTC

technothrasher wrote: post #10

tyingq wrote: post #2

"According to Pew Research Center data...42% think spiritual energy can be located in physical objects such as crystals." Urgh. Is it really 42%? That's depressing.

Science education in this country is seriously broken. The elementary schools jump right into teaching procedural skills such as the 'scientific method', which is really just experimental design and is useless without teaching the basic critical thinking and philosophy of science. Those are way more important for the majority of students, who are not going to go on to be scientists. We need to start the education at…

How do you teach a preschool kid reason?

Re: Dark crystals: the brutal reality behind a booming wellness craze

#22

Post by aaron695 » Sat, Sep 21, 2019, 2:27 PM UTC

Always funny to see people find a link to the developing nations so we can marvel at their poverty.

Then we cut ties to said villages pushing them further into poverty so we no longer have to watch.

We have a whole industry around cutting the ties, making up catch phrases like 'resource curse' to justify it.

For now I am happy to see something good has come from the ultra rich finding ways to spend there money on, creating jobs for those who desperately need them.

Good little 20 min doco on mica mines in India used for makeup - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeR-h9C2fgc

Re: Dark crystals: the brutal reality behind a booming wellness craze

#23

Post by danjac » Sat, Sep 21, 2019, 2:29 PM UTC

[deleted] wrote: post #12

[deleted]

> at the start of the 20th century we invented evidence-based medicine

I'm sure evidence-based medicine started a lot earlier than the 20th century e.g. Semmelweis' theory on doctors attending child births cleaning their hands in the 1840s.

Re: Dark crystals: the brutal reality behind a booming wellness craze

#24

Post by remi_dez » Sat, Sep 21, 2019, 2:46 PM UTC

A friend of my wife and I is into crystals and is also currently dating. She wants to find someone who is open about the magical powers of crystals.

Thinking of that made me realize that I would rather date someone on crystal meth than someone on crystals.

Re: Dark crystals: the brutal reality behind a booming wellness craze

#25

Post by abakker » Sat, Sep 21, 2019, 2:55 PM UTC

technothrasher wrote: post #10

tyingq wrote: post #2

"According to Pew Research Center data...42% think spiritual energy can be located in physical objects such as crystals." Urgh. Is it really 42%? That's depressing.

Science education in this country is seriously broken. The elementary schools jump right into teaching procedural skills such as the 'scientific method', which is really just experimental design and is useless without teaching the basic critical thinking and philosophy of science. Those are way more important for the majority of students, who are not going to go on to be scientists. We need to start the education at…

Here’s an alternative view: we do an ok job of science education, but a deeply unsatisfactory job of teaching people that it is OK to be themselves and likes the stuff they like.

Crystal spiritualism to me is just a reaction to the fact that people overascribe meaning to things that they like and enjoy, as a justification beyond “I enjoy it”. It goes hand in hand with the whole spiritualism around rock climbing or stand up paddle boarding or yoga - they’re all great fun, but, modern life under emphasizes the role of fun and preference and so people justify it with spiritualism.

Re: Dark crystals: the brutal reality behind a booming wellness craze

#26

Post by remi_dez » Sat, Sep 21, 2019, 2:58 PM UTC

xwdv wrote: post #11

I was at a dinner party and I was talking to the man’s wife about my work in software and cybersecurity. She told me that she keeps a crystal next to the family computer to help protect it from computer viruses.

I would not know what to do in this situation.

Do you just shut down and walk away and find a different conversation to join?

Do you humor them?

Do you ruin your reputation and friendship by telling the man's wife "You're stupid"?

Do you try to politely explain something to someone who is dumb as a crystal and will probably never be able to understand?

Do you call 911 because they might be having a stroke or psychotic episode?

Re: Dark crystals: the brutal reality behind a booming wellness craze

#27

Post by noodlenotes » Sat, Sep 21, 2019, 2:58 PM UTC

tyingq wrote: post #2

"According to Pew Research Center data...42% think spiritual energy can be located in physical objects such as crystals." Urgh. Is it really 42%? That's depressing.

Do "physical objects" include communion wafers, holy objects, and churches? If so, this is hardly a new idea and I'm surprised it's as low as 42%.

Re: Dark crystals: the brutal reality behind a booming wellness craze

#28

Post by xondono » Sat, Sep 21, 2019, 3:02 PM UTC

danjac wrote: post #23

[deleted] wrote: post #12

[deleted]

> at the start of the 20th century we invented evidence-based medicine I'm sure evidence-based medicine started a lot earlier than the 20th century e.g. Semmelweis' theory on doctors attending child births cleaning their hands in the 1840s.

You’d be surprised how much of medicine is not evidence-based but rather eminence-based.

A lot of current practices have been found to have no evidence to back them up and are still prevalent in the medical industry

Re: Dark crystals: the brutal reality behind a booming wellness craze

#29

Post by patch_cable » Sat, Sep 21, 2019, 3:08 PM UTC

remi_dez wrote: post #26

xwdv wrote: post #11

I was at a dinner party and I was talking to the man’s wife about my work in software and cybersecurity. She told me that she keeps a crystal next to the family computer to help protect it from computer viruses.

I would not know what to do in this situation. Do you just shut down and walk away and find a different conversation to join? Do you humor them? Do you ruin your reputation and friendship by telling the man's wife "You're stupid"? Do you try to politely explain something to someone who is dumb as a crystal and will probably never be able to understand? Do you call 911 because they might be having a stroke or psychoti…

Humor them or talk about something different.

Re: Dark crystals: the brutal reality behind a booming wellness craze

#30

Post by 52-6F-62 » Sat, Sep 21, 2019, 3:11 PM UTC

xwdv wrote: post #11

I was at a dinner party and I was talking to the man’s wife about my work in software and cybersecurity. She told me that she keeps a crystal next to the family computer to help protect it from computer viruses.

Sounds like a great topic for the next Defcon...