4 ms·

It would be nice to believe that, but from time to time they have had the ear of Congress. There were, apparently, believers among them who thought we could bu

by dhimes 12y ago

It would be nice to believe that, but from time to time they have had the ear of Congress. There were, apparently, believers among them who thought we could build 'thought shields' against missiles. Also, they apparently funded "remote viewers" for intelligence operations.

pyronite 12y ago
The Reagan White House was advised by an astrologer. Pseudoscience is something many people are susceptible to regardless of their position.
- rmason 12y ago
  Actually it was Nancy Reagan who employed the astrologer. Supposedly he approved travel dates for Reagan. I've always believed, though I can't prove it, that his assassination attempt so rattled his wife that the President went along with the whole astrologer recommendations to humor her.
dwc 12y ago
Dowsing for bombs. Yeah, it really happened.
- rumcajz 12y ago
  Interesting. Are these people so confident that they are willing to risk they lives searching for mines or did they somehow done it from a safe distance?
  - jdietrich 12y ago
    The Iraqi government spent $85m on bogus bomb detectors that were just dowsing rods in a fancy box. Nobody at the interior ministry bothered to do any testing, or even to take the devices apart - they contained no electronics that could possibly have detected anything. Several other governments have purchased similar devices. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADE_651 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADE_651
  - moreati 12y ago
    I believe 'dowsing for bombs' is a reference to http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22380368 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22380368. In which case the perpetrators sold the kits to governments/agencies i.e. third parties were being exposed to the bombs.
A_COMPUTER 12y ago
>they apparently funded "remote viewers" for intelligence operations. This was done in part because it was believed that the Russians were doing this, and administrators didn't want a "remove viewing gap." But it was stopped because it was tried and didn't work. If anything the fact that the program was ended is a good sign.

by dhimes 12y ago

pyronite 12y ago

The Reagan White House was advised by an astrologer. Pseudoscience is something many people are susceptible to regardless of their position.

rmason 12y ago
Actually it was Nancy Reagan who employed the astrologer. Supposedly he approved travel dates for Reagan. I've always believed, though I can't prove it, that his assassination attempt so rattled his wife that the President went along with the whole astrologer recommendations to humor her.

dwc 12y ago

Dowsing for bombs. Yeah, it really happened.

rumcajz 12y ago
Interesting. Are these people so confident that they are willing to risk they lives searching for mines or did they somehow done it from a safe distance?
- jdietrich 12y ago
  The Iraqi government spent $85m on bogus bomb detectors that were just dowsing rods in a fancy box. Nobody at the interior ministry bothered to do any testing, or even to take the devices apart - they contained no electronics that could possibly have detected anything. Several other governments have purchased similar devices. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADE_651 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADE_651
- moreati 12y ago
  I believe 'dowsing for bombs' is a reference to http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22380368 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22380368. In which case the perpetrators sold the kits to governments/agencies i.e. third parties were being exposed to the bombs.

A_COMPUTER 12y ago

>they apparently funded "remote viewers" for intelligence operations. This was done in part because it was believed that the Russians were doing this, and administrators didn't want a "remove viewing gap." But it was stopped because it was tried and didn't work. If anything the fact that the program was ended is a good sign.