Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Vicar Philip · 12-20-2002, 08:42 PM

Hard science has investigated the "Curse" of King Tut's tomb and found it lacking in proof:

curse link

Now when can we expect a similar headline touting the debunking of all religion?

Vicar

ShabbyChick · 12-20-2002, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Vicar Philip:
<strong>Hard science has investigated the "Curse" of King Tut's tomb and found it lacking in proof:</strong>

Someone actually spent time studying the validity of a "curse"? Uhhh...ok.

boy, I sure am glad they cleared this up for us!

Wait! Could this mean that all curses are <gasp> not real?

seebs · 12-20-2002, 09:14 PM

Well, that depends on when all religion makes easily falsifiable claims that turn out to be false.

I thought this thread was gonna be about how Anne Rice did a mummy book and then wrote utter crap about vampires for a long time and I don't even know if she did a followup mummy book, but if she did it would probably suck.

WinAce · 12-21-2002, 02:54 AM

Ooh, a supernatural threat turned out to be fake... where have I heard that before?

Sunfair · 12-23-2002, 10:39 AM

I remember watching a science show years ago that profiled some French scientists who were investigating that.

The main focus of their investigation was a kind of mold (or fungus) that grew inside of the tomb and that could (according to them) cause a kind of respiratory illness if inhaled.

It might be similar to the kind of condition that farmers can get from mold spores in hay, called Farmers' Lung. (When they develop an allergic reaction to the spores, I think.)

Anyway, I thought it was interesting, but I've never heard anything else about it.

Living Dead Chipmunk · 12-23-2002, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Ooh, a supernatural threat turned out to be fake

Yeah, tell that to the guys who died. They'll be real reassured that their deaths have been downgraded from "curse" to "uhh, big honking coincidence?"

Mageth · 12-23-2002, 02:24 PM

Hey, they're dead already, why should they care?

crocodile deathroll · 12-25-2002, 03:58 PM

The curse of the Mummy is is one of my favorite <a href="http://web2.iadfw.net/scsr/Logical.htm" target="_blank">logical fallacies. </a>

"Post hoc, ergo propter hoc" (Latin for: "after this, therefore because of this")
Assuming that A caused B, simply because B followed A.
There's been an eclipse just before every stock market crash. You'd better liquidate, because there's an eclipse next month.

Jan Haugland · 12-27-2002, 04:05 AM

I seem to recall that James Randi debunked that myth a long time ago.

Well, good thing: The recent debunking made headlines in all mainstream media. If journalists/editors starts to realise that skeptical debunking makes good headlines, we may be getting somewhere.

12-20-2002, 08:42 PM	#1
Vicar Philip Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Cozy little chapel of me own Posts: 1,162	No Curse of the Mummy Hard science has investigated the "Curse" of King Tut's tomb and found it lacking in proof: curse link Now when can we expect a similar headline touting the debunking of all religion? Vicar

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12-20-2002, 09:14 PM	#3
seebs Contributor Join Date: May 2002 Location: Saint Paul, MN Posts: 24,524	Well, that depends on when all religion makes easily falsifiable claims that turn out to be false. I thought this thread was gonna be about how Anne Rice did a mummy book and then wrote utter crap about vampires for a long time and I don't even know if she did a followup mummy book, but if she did it would probably suck.

12-21-2002, 02:54 AM	#4
WinAce Beloved Deceased Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Carrboro, NC Posts: 1,539	Ooh, a supernatural threat turned out to be fake... where have I heard that before?

12-23-2002, 10:39 AM	#5
Sunfair Regular Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: USA Posts: 110	I remember watching a science show years ago that profiled some French scientists who were investigating that. The main focus of their investigation was a kind of mold (or fungus) that grew inside of the tomb and that could (according to them) cause a kind of respiratory illness if inhaled. It might be similar to the kind of condition that farmers can get from mold spores in hay, called Farmers' Lung. (When they develop an allergic reaction to the spores, I think.) Anyway, I thought it was interesting, but I've never heard anything else about it.

12-23-2002, 02:24 PM	#7
Mageth Contributor Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Deep in the heart of mother-lovin' Texas Posts: 29,689	Hey, they're dead already, why should they care?

12-25-2002, 03:58 PM	#8
crocodile deathroll Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Darwin Posts: 1,466	The curse of the Mummy is is one of my favorite <a href="http://web2.iadfw.net/scsr/Logical.htm" target="_blank">logical fallacies. </a> "Post hoc, ergo propter hoc" (Latin for: "after this, therefore because of this") Assuming that A caused B, simply because B followed A. There's been an eclipse just before every stock market crash. You'd better liquidate, because there's an eclipse next month.

12-27-2002, 04:05 AM	#9
Jan Haugland Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 70	I seem to recall that James Randi debunked that myth a long time ago. Well, good thing: The recent debunking made headlines in all mainstream media. If journalists/editors starts to realise that skeptical debunking makes good headlines, we may be getting somewhere.

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