2005-10-15
With "skeptics" like Pat Washburn (Oct 15 Globe, Selling futures) who needs true believers? Washburn is about as skeptical as the child who, on Christmas morning, notes the missing milk and cookies from the mantel and decides that Santa may be real after all.
She claims that each "psychic" told her one or two things that "challenged her skepticism". This credulity is exactly what "psychics" depend on: our tendencies to look for connections and to notice the interesting while ignoring the mundane. And they hope that their mark, like Washburn, will notice the hits and ignore the misses.
The Globe does its readers no favors by publishing this sales pitch disguised as skepticism, especially while we as a nation are bombarded with the "paranormal" on TV and are still the spell of a "faith-based" administration. We could all do with a bit more skepticism, particularly journalists!