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How could a feng shui test be devised?

Drs_Res said:
The problem I see with this is that the "master" could always say that the interior designer was using feng shui principals and just doesn't realise it.

I think you would have to have the master claim that the home is not "shuied" (is that a word?) correctly.
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Yes, but I disagree with the idea of the master arranging both rooms. Have someone else arrange the room, then have the master "read" it and confirm that it's got bad feng shui.
 
According to the feng shuiers that I've read, there is a "money center" of ones home, as well as a "money area" in each room.

Have a feng shuier rearrange 10 homes to attract money, and have an interior decorator rearrange 10 other homes. It would be good if these 10 home were arranged to include what feng shuiers comsider "bad energy", putting something in the wrong corner, for example.

Tell all homeowners that their homes were arrange to attract money.

Or tell them all something else, like their homes were arranged for "romantic happiness"

Then measure their income levels at the end of the time period.
 
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jimtron said:
I don't remember which episode of Bull**** it was, but as I recall they had several different Feng Shui "experts" go to the same house to rearrange the furniture, and they all did it differently and had different opinions. Maybe the test could be along those lines. But as Timothy pointed out, an unambiguous claim must be made. I remember on another forum discussing Chi energy with a bunch of people who believed in it. But they all had different definitions, which made it hard to discuss, and also to me was further evidence that it's bunk.
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They had a very good point in doing so- since Feng Shui is claimed to be a science, they reasoned every single expert should return the same "diagnosis", put in the same changes and get the same results. Instead, they all did entirely different things to the house, making the point that it was not a science. An art, maybe.

Here's a idea for a very unreliable test: take two homes with the exact same number of members, in roughly the same location, priced at exactly the same value and with the same income. Make one a control and the other a variable. Apply Feng Shui for a year and then compare earnings and incomes at the end of the fiscal year.
 
A lot of Feng Shui experts offer their service to businesses. I would compare for a year two similar businesses in similar locations. One gets Feng Shui makeover, the other is control.

Or compare the number of common colds for a year in similar households, with or without Feng Shui treatment.

Of course there is always the escape clause- the Feng Shiu changes were the wrong type for the people's Chinese horoscope.

Feng Shui (the less outrageous claims) is one type of woo I have very little against. I often say, this place has good Feng Shui if it's uncluttered and easy to navigate and has that je ne sais quoi that makes me comfortable. Also, I find sitting with my back to the door quite unnerving. So, if someone throws out your velvet Elvis, I don't mind if he claims he did it because of ancient wisdom.
 
Prometheus said:
It's not just aesthetics, though
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So you say.

Are there any fengshui artists in the house who make such claims?

*crickets*

Much as I enjoy a good debunking, this is fishing in the wrong hole with a straw rod (mixed metaphor well noted).

People pay money for interior design. If it's done according to principle, then so what?
 
Sherman Bay said:
The only reason I started the thread in this forum is I would like to present my friend with a protocol for a test if such were possible. Otherwise, I will be facing the inevitable "you don't understand", "it's a different paradigm and can't be tested," and "it works, so why test it," and all the other excuses we have seen time & time again. It's hard for me to stand back, watch someone try to start a business such as Feng Shui interior decorating, and not feel like there is copious, but unwitting, fraud involved.
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The way I approach people like that is to throw the questions back to them, the most important one being this:

If you can't test it, how do you know it works? How did they come up with this in the first place if they never tested it? What did they actually see happening in the real world that led them to develop a list of the good and bad practices?

I think far too often skeptics back off and start trying to prove someone's theory wrong when at best that's just giving a man a fish instead of teaching him to fish. Every situation is different, but sometimes keeping a person on their heels defending their position can be very effective.

Maybe you should ask this person if you can get in on her business. Tell her you have a line on rabbit's feet, four-leaf clovers and horse shoes, all of which bring good luck. Ask her if you can market this stuff to her customers as part of the feng shui thing she does.

With any luck she'll scoff at your lucky charms (sounds like my wedding night). When she does, explain that they are from a different paradigm and cannot be tested.
 
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leonAzul said:
So you say.

Are there any fengshui artists in the house who make such claims?

*crickets*

Much as I enjoy a good debunking, this is fishing in the wrong hole with a straw rod (mixed metaphor well noted).

People pay money for interior design. If it's done according to principle, then so what?
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As far as how many, and perhaps most, Westerners who become interested in Feng Shui are concerned, you're probably correct. They're really just in it for the interior decorating aspect. I don't think this is the case in China though. There, it's represented as, and believed to be, a real method of manipulating invisible energy that is supposed to have real effects.
 
arthwollipot said:
Good luck getting that charge to stick... :rolleyes:
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Indeed! Feng Shui has thousands of volumes of pseudo-scholarship devoted to it, and they really don't make any testable claims. Plus there are several recognized "schools" (I think this word can still be considered appropriate here if you think of it in the sense of, "schools of fish") of Feng Shui with very different approaches and principles. Whenever they fail, they'll just come back with, "Oh you must need Black Hat Feng Shui to solve your problems. I'm a master of Compass Point Feng Shui so of course I wasn't able to help you."
 
UncaYimmy said:
The way I approach people like that is to throw the questions back to them, the most important one being this:

If you can't test it, how do you know it works? How did they come up with this in the first place if they never tested it? What did they actually see happening in the real world that led them to develop a list of the good and bad practices?

I think far too often skeptics back off and start trying to prove someone's theory wrong when at best that's just giving a man a fish instead of teaching him to fish. Every situation is different, but sometimes keeping a person on their heels defending their position can be very effective.
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Excellent questions. Hard to believe, but some people exist in a world where some beliefs, while not necessarily adhered to religiously, are not doubted. To hit them with such questions where they have had none before can be pretty shocking. And some people take severe offense to even being asked.

We had a conversation yesterday over her proposed new business. The words Feng Shui were not mentioned; now she is talking about just doing a "staging" operation to make homes attractive, especially for sale. So, for now, I think I'll go with the flow.

Spineless, ain't I?
 
Sherman Bay said:
Excellent questions. Hard to believe, but some people exist in a world where some beliefs, while not necessarily adhered to religiously, are not doubted. To hit them with such questions where they have had none before can be pretty shocking. And some people take severe offense to even being asked.

We had a conversation yesterday over her proposed new business. The words Feng Shui were not mentioned; now she is talking about just doing a "staging" operation to make homes attractive, especially for sale. So, for now, I think I'll go with the flow.

Spineless, ain't I?
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Not really. If you can live with the decision you make, then it was probably the most sensible decision to make.
 
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