The Enemies of Reason

Last night I sat down to watch the new Richard Dawkins series entitled 'The Enemies of Reason' where he explores people's illogical belief in the use and practice of primitive religious values such as superstition, astrology and new age mysticism.

Whilst the content itself proved nothing new to me (as the above values are of course a sham), I was intrigued that so many people hold these pseudo-sciences in such high regard.

The interviews are a joy to watch as they are cringe worthy for the believer of his or her craft as Dawkin's simple technique of reason and logic leave them unable to answer his question or are shown to be talking a load of rubbish.

He is concerned that despite the scientific revolution and subsequent overwhelming evidence dismissing these primitive values, recent books promoting such beliefs outsell scientific texts by three to one.

However, these sciences will never solve serious scientific questions and push the boundaries of proper scientic research and I don't believe that serious scientists will start using crystals in labratory experiments - the idea is simply preposterous.

The real danger is general public opinion being swayed by this nonsense so that they might hinder real work being carried out. The real danger is that these pseudo sciences are taught in schools implanting ridiculous notions in children's heads.

These shows are important in highlighting the dangers of allowing erroneous scientific values a foot in the door because they might end up letting a dangerous stranger into your house.