A Poem Beyond Belief

caption id=”” align=”alignright” width=”100” caption=”The Bad Astronomer”/caption

I just got to reblog this poem by The Bad Astronomer:

            <p><strong>A Poem Beyond Belief</strong> by Phil Plait</p>

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<blockquote>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>A</strong></font> is <a href="http://fallacyfiles.org/adhomine.html" target="_blank">Ad hominem</a>, attacks quite insulting,<br />
They may <em>feel</em> good but no good is resulting.</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>B</strong></font> is for <a href="http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/" target="_blank">Bible</a>, they swear it&#8217;s all true, <br />
But which version&#8217;s right? The Muslim&#8217;s, Mormon&#8217;s, or Jew&#8217;s?</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>C</strong></font> is <a href="http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-meritt.html" target="_blank">Creation</a>, 6000 years past;<br />
But when looked at the evidence is always half-assed.</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>D</strong></font> is <a href="http://www.snopes.com" target="_blank">Debunker</a>, it&#8217;s said with a jeer.<br />
But we cannot debunk without <em>bunk</em>, that is clear.</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>E</strong></font>: <a href="http://www.skepdic.com/evp.html" target="_blank">EVP</a>, hearing voices of dead, <br />
but it&#8217;s really just patterns of sound you are fed.</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>F</strong></font>: <a href="http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/hoagland/face.html" target="_blank">The Face that&#8217;s on Mars</a> is really a butte,<br />
Is there on the obverse a giant patoot?</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>G</strong></font> is for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzEaTqzMjnA" target="_blank">Geller</a>, a spoon he will bend, <br />
Is it magic or powers, or more likely pretend?</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>H</strong></font>, <a href="http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/homeo.html" target="_blank">Homeopathy</a>, infinite dilution,<br />
Perhaps better known as persistent delusion.</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>I</strong></font>, <a href="http://www.skepdic.com/ideomotor.html" target="_blank">Ideomotor</a>, the dowser&#8217;s director, <br />
It fallaciously points on a randomized vector.</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>J</strong></font> is <a href="http://badscience.net" target="_blank">Junk science</a>, it&#8217;s always reforming,<br />
from alt med to New Age, and  anti-global warming. </p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>K</strong></font> is for <a href="http://www.skepdic.com/karma.html" target="_blank">Karma</a>, you reap what you sow,<br />
but if it&#8217;s not coincidence, then how would you know?</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>L</strong></font>&#8217;s <a href="http://www.skepdic.com/levitat.html" target="_blank">Levitation</a>, they claim that they float<br />
but I think it&#8217;s just bouncing they&#8217;re trying to promote.</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>M</strong></font>: <a href="http://www.universetoday.com/category/2012/" target="_blank">Mayans</a> said: doom in Twenty Oh Twelve, <br />
In 2013 those predictions we&#8217;ll shelve.</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>N</strong></font> is <a href="http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/planetx/nutshell.html" target="_blank">Nibiru</a>, a planet of vapor,<br />
It never shows up but it looks good on paper.</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>O</strong></font>: <a href="http://www.undeceivingourselves.com/S-oxyg.htm" target="_blank">Oxygen water</a>, marks can&#8217;t get their fill,<br />
What they don&#8217;t understand is that they don&#8217;t have gills.</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>P</strong></font>: Faces in patterns is called <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/category/pareidolia/" target="_blank">Pareidolia</a>,<br />
In clouds it&#8217;s mundane but in pastry it&#8217;s holier?</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>Q</strong></font> is for <a href="http://www.quackwatch.org" target="_blank">Quacks</a>, their science is lacking,<br />
They&#8217;ll sell you snake oil with the government&#8217;s backing.</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>R</strong></font>: <a href="http://www.skepdic.com/repressedmemory.html" target="_blank">Repressed memories</a>, bad things you&#8217;ve forgotten,<br />
But it&#8217;s really the premise behind it that&#8217;s rotten.</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>S</strong></font>: <a href="http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/sylvia-browne.html" target="_blank">Sylvia Browne</a>, who randomly guesses,<br />
That people believe her is why it depresses.</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>T</strong></font>&#8217;s for <a href="http://www.skepdic.com/trudeau.html" target="_blank">Trudeau</a>, and the trash that he&#8217;s sellin&#8217;, <br />
But credit card fraud? FTC: &quot;He&#8217;s a felon.&quot;</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>U</strong></font>, <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/11/25/aliens-yes-ufos-no/" target="_blank">Unidentified</a>, the definition&#8217;s specific,<br />
But it doesn&#8217;t stop cranks thinking they&#8217;re scientific.</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>V</strong></font> is <a href="http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=444" target="_blank">Vaccines</a>, which clear germs up quick,<br />
But some folks don&#8217;t like them, they fight little pricks.</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>W</strong></font>&#8217;s for <a href="http://skepdic.com/woowoo.html" target="_blank">Woo-woo</a>, Randi&#8217;s favorite word choice,<br />
And who&#8217;ll argue with him? He gave us our voice!</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>X</strong></font> is for <a href="http://www.xenu.net/" target="_blank">Xenu</a>, scientologist&#8217;s Satan, <br />
Give us all of your money, your engrams we&#8217;ll straighten.</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>Y</strong></font> is for <a href="http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/071203-yeti-reports.html" target="_blank">Yeti</a>, the Bigfoot, Sasquatch,<br />
A whole lot of nonsense without a single hair swatch.</p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>Z</strong></font> is for <a href="http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/planetx/lieder.html" target="_blank">Zetans</a>, those E.T. mind readers,<br />
But they disappeared as they followed the Lieder.</p>
<p>
<hr width="30%" align="left" /><hr />
<p><font size="=+1"><strong><em>Now you know your ABCs,<br />
Don&#8217;t fall prey to fallacies.</em></strong></font></p>
</blockquote>

source: Bad Astronomy blog

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