"There's an old saying; just because you're paranoid, that doesn't mean they're not out to get you. I have my own variation: just because you're insane that doesn't mean that things aren't slipping in unnoticed through dimensional gateways..." ~ Christopher Knowles (h/t to The Daily Grail for quote.)



Saturday, June 11, 2011

Wikipedia and Fringe Topics | TDG - Science, Magick, Myth and History

The Daily Grail's Greg Taylor writes about skepticism, Wikipedia, and their evil ways... excellent piece. Thanks to The Anomalist for link.

Taylor points out the numerous errors in uber skeptic Martin Gardner's editing disingenuous mangling of Taylor's Wikipedia entry on Leonara Piper. On speaking of Garnder's mistakes, Taylor writes:
They can only be chalked up to either or both (a) almost complete ignorance of the primary sources, or (b) intentionally misleading readers. Note that the below list doesn't even include the numerous instances of loaded language, innuendo, and omissions of important facts (some of which you will see if you read my entire essay). These are simply the things that he got wrong.


Taylor lists many of Gardner's mistakes, a few below:

Gardner...
  • Says that Richard Hodgson died in 1909. He passed away in 1905.
  • Says writer George Pellew died in 1881. He died in 1892.
  • Says Hodgson hired detectives to shadow Mrs. Piper and her husband after death of George Pellew in 1892. Hodgson hired the detectives years earlier.
  • Says Piper’s trances “never occurred spontaneously”. Primary source explicitly says they did.

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