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Woo or not woo?

Wowbagger said:
What I am about to say, I am not sure I entirely agree with, but here it goes:

Wearing such crystals could be a sign of motivation towards some of those goals.
I was reading Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, a couple of weeks ago. (The revised and expanded version).
The last chapter was about names parents give to their children, and if the name really mattered in their success or not. Basically, it does not.

But, (and this is where it is relevant to the topic) some who changed their names from an awful one to a good one, tended to be more successful than those who kept a bad name. The authors theorize that it is really motivation that makes the difference. Someone motivated to change their name, is likely to be motivated in other ways, to be successful.

As for the charms: Appreciating them, while knowing full well that they do not have powers, could simply be an emblem of your motivation.

Again, I'm not sure I even fully agree with my above arguments, myself. If anyone has other comments, I'd appreciate them.
(Reading Freakonomics tends to do these crazy things to people's thoughts.)

As others pointed out: I would not pay extra for ones with "powers" vs. ones without. And, I would not support anyone or any business claiming to be in the business of selling "real magic" charms.

Oh, and one more thing:
"Unexpected Miracles" sounds like an invitation for inducing post-hoc arguments.
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Well, your argument with names has been around for a long time and I agree with the premise. Johnny Cash put it pretty well in a A Boy Named Sue. Sue wasn't motivated to change his name, but it certainly toughened him up!

I can see that a kid named "Moon Unit" or "Tiger Lily" might attract quite a lot of criticism from others and the mere changing it to something more "normal" will induce different attitudes towards that person which could easily be used as a motivational tool.

Not so sure that holding on to crystals would re-create the same effect, however.
 
Elizabeth I said:
So here's my question - do you think my reaction ("pretty carving, nice idea") was woo or not woo? Why or why not?
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I think the question you are really asking is whether appreciating this pendant would constitute some kind of irrational wishful thinking of wanting unexpected miracles?
 
Well, we stopped sacrificing mature marmots to Moloch a few years back.
Actually I think that was Sunday week.
 
Elizabeth I said:
No, I'm really just wondering where people on this board draw the "woo" line in their own lives.
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A question that is more worthy of asking, is whether undertaking a certain action will benefit yourself or anyone else.

I don't see the harm in having that pendant, if however you were to go on an evangelical crusade to slaughter infidels that don't believe in christianity that kind of thing shouldn't taken in the same context as (woo/not woo) but on the basis of something is really really really wrong here.
 
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Elizabeth I said:
In a store today I saw some carved jade pendants packaged as "Feng Shui" charms, each one supposedly good for "prosperity," "happiness," "good luck," "love," etc. One was called "unexpected miracles." It was a very pretty pendant, and I thought the idea of "unexpected miracles" a charming one.

So here's my question - do you think my reaction ("pretty carving, nice idea") was woo or not woo? Why or why not?
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It is about aesthetic taste and taste by itself can not be woo or not woo, as it does not make any claims.
 
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