Freethought & Rationalism Archive

sakrilege · 01-03-2003, 11:52 AM

Quote:

"The September 11 terrorist attacks graphically illustrated the idea that people who claim to have psychic powers are frauds or are deluding themselves. Witness the fact that nobody predicted the destruction of the World Trade Center towers, otherwise thousands of deaths would have been averted," said Emery. "Here was an event whose impact resonated around the globe, yet it never resonated with the folks who tell you with great certainty where you misplaced your TV remove control."

L. Noctivagans · 01-03-2003, 12:09 PM

For the sole purpose of playing Devil's Advocate.... if some psychic HAD predicted the destruction of the World Trade Center, would anyone have believed them enough to evacute the buildings on that day?

And if such a prediction had been made, would anyone have paid enough attention to it to notice that it had been made? I know I certainly have no clue what events the Weekly World News predicts for 2003...

Undercurrent · 01-03-2003, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by L. Noctivagans
For the sole purpose of playing Devil's Advocate.... if some psychic HAD predicted the destruction of the World Trade Center, would anyone have believed them enough to evacute the buildings on that day?

Answer: probably not, but you'd bet we'd hear a great deal about the unheeded prediction now.

The other devil's advocate question is, "If the WTC destruction had been predicted, would that be evidence of psychic powers?" Maybe there are so many psychics making so many different predictions that one of them was bound to be right, to a reasonable accuracy.

m.

sakrilege · 01-03-2003, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by L. Noctivagans
For the sole purpose of playing Devil's Advocate.... if some psychic HAD predicted the destruction of the World Trade Center, would anyone have believed them enough to evacute the buildings on that day?

If there was a track record of success. Look at the evacuations that do occur, ie, Mt Pinatubo, when science makes a prediction.

The Lone Ranger · 01-03-2003, 06:02 PM

I think it's safe to say that if someone had called Logan Airport the morning of September 11th and said, "Some people are going to get onto two of your planes with boxcutters and hijack them; then they're going to fly those planes into the World Trade Center Towers," some kind of action would have been taken. At the very least, people would have been searched very thoroughly before being allowed onto the planes.

Airlines tend to take such warnings quite seriously, I would imagine. How many times have we read stories of some facility being shut down because somebody called in a bomb threat?

Cheers,

Michael

Mad Kally · 01-04-2003, 10:09 AM

I am so disappointed in Miss Cleo![/i]

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01-03-2003, 12:09 PM	#2
L. Noctivagans Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: South Carolina Posts: 35	For the sole purpose of playing Devil's Advocate.... if some psychic HAD predicted the destruction of the World Trade Center, would anyone have believed them enough to evacute the buildings on that day? And if such a prediction had been made, would anyone have paid enough attention to it to notice that it had been made? I know I certainly have no clue what events the Weekly World News predicts for 2003...

01-03-2003, 06:02 PM	#5
The Lone Ranger Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Eastern U.S. Posts: 1,230	I think it's safe to say that if someone had called Logan Airport the morning of September 11th and said, "Some people are going to get onto two of your planes with boxcutters and hijack them; then they're going to fly those planes into the World Trade Center Towers," some kind of action would have been taken. At the very least, people would have been searched very thoroughly before being allowed onto the planes. Airlines tend to take such warnings quite seriously, I would imagine. How many times have we read stories of some facility being shut down because somebody called in a bomb threat? Cheers, Michael

01-04-2003, 10:09 AM	#6
Mad Kally Banned Join Date: May 2001 Location: LALA Land in California Posts: 3,764	I am so disappointed in Miss Cleo![/i]

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